Project Bula Buster

[mikhail]

excellent crawler, makes me want to build my own tranny. I had the same problem with my venom armature with the smashed posts. I cut them down to nubs and soldered the wire to the armature, it worked great. Thanks for the great pics.

[gone_wheelin]

Was the thread on here and how many winds did you and up with?

Edit: Found the Motor wind thread...I used the search button of all things.

[azvader]

Originally Posted by gone_wheelin

how many winds did you and up with?

I did 50 turns. It's still has lots of torque that's why I thinking of about 45 turns. I want a little more RPMs.

[metomwhou]

Awesome truck man!! This is probably a dumb question, but where did you get the alloy tranny case? BTW, I sent you a PM too.
Tom

[gone_wheelin]

Isn't that the optional aluminum part from Tamiya?

[azvader]

After blowing out three axle stubs at once and repairing them I decided there had to be an easier way to drop you axles and open them up. I had to remove the lower links, shocks, link mounts, drive shaft, and upper links just to get the axle off.

I made new mounts that hold the upper and lower links and the shocks. I made them removable with two screws each.




Here's how it looks now. Four 20mm screws, dropping the driveshaft, and unplugging the servo are all it takes.



As for the axle case itself I replaced the four remaining screws with 6/32 allen head screws ( ala quick change Clod axles ) and put them in from the front.



Next up is...Behind the axle steering.

[Got Rocks?]

nice! good work i like that

[Unimoger]

wow that looks great, what a neat idea!

[microgoat]

Now that's pretty damn slick. Much stronger than the sheetmetal brackets, too.

[gone_wheelin]

Those mounts are ****in sweet. How long did it take to machine those and what did you machine them on?

[sicj]

Originally Posted by azvader

After blowing out three axle stubs at once and repairing them I decided there had to be an easier way to drop you axles and open them up.

Great idea...What I did for quick-change axle shafts is removed the two inner E-clips that hold each shaft in the case. I left the outer E-clip on to hold the bearing in. Then to prevent the shaft from sliding out I cut a small piece of Nitro fuel tubing and put it in the stub shaft, then the axle dogbone end has some cush to it.

To change out the axle shaft remove the two kingpin screws, move the knuckle out of the way and pull the axle right out, slide the new one in. Bolt the kuckle back up to the case.

Much quicker than removing the whole axle from the tuck and opening it up. I can change an axle in about 2 minutes.

Now the TLT axle is a semi-floater

[Gimbal]

Originally Posted by azvader

...I made new mounts that hold the upper and lower links and the shocks. I made them removable with two screws each.
Here's how it looks now. Four 20mm screws, dropping the driveshaft, and unplugging the servo are all it takes.
As for the axle case itself I replaced the four remaining screws with 6/32 allen head screws ( ala quick change Clod axles ) and put them in from the front...

Dude, that is slick. Nice mod

[azvader]

Originally Posted by gone_wheelin

Those mounts are ****in sweet. How long did it take to machine those and what did you machine them on?

I wish I had a mill or lathe it would be faster, just a hacksaw and drillpress.

[azvader]

I'm glad everyone digs the link mounts. The stock mounts are way too soft and bend too easily, also there's no room to mod them.

I did the link mount mostly to make overall mantainance easier, although sicj has a great idea. I've seen this done before and it makes axle shafts quick and easy. Becareful not to do two at once or you'll drop the diff out of place. Also try a small loose ball bearing instead of the tubing, the tubing can compress and allow the axle to drift out under extreme steering angles ( I think I used a 5/32" or 3/16" ).

And now for the behind the axle steering I promised...




I started with a new servo plate that allowed me to 180 the servo (you can see the stock holes just ahead of the servo mounts). Next I had to make some pockets in the front link mounts to get the knuckle arms to clear . I found that too much steering angle can help break axle nubs and axle stubs. I made them match the stock MaxClimber stops. The lower link is some lightly bent 3/16" brake line. The ball end on the steering link pops off for quicker axle removal. Much better approach clearance.

[JohnRobHolmes]

That is one stout TLT! I really like the quick change idea, and how much custom work you have put into this little guy. It makes maintenance quick and easy! Are the link/ shock mounts threaded where they attach to the case, or do they just float around the screws that hold them on the case?

Glad to see my motor winding thread helped you out. It really is an easy and fun task once you get the hang of it. I have had no problems using machine wound arms- I just solder the winds directly to the comm.

[azvader]

After serveral test crawls and some mods I've finalized the BTA step-up on Buster.

I used a piece of 1/8" G-10 fiberglass chassis stock for the link, 2mm carbon for the servo plate, some random hardware to mount it, and a couple of the stock ball ends to make the link to the servo arm. Here's one I made for Grover, I have to test fit it before I drill the last hole in the link.




Running it between the upper and lower links is just gravy!! No stagging on the rocks, it's like it's not there.

[bigred]

Originally Posted by azvader

I wish I had a mill or lathe it would be faster, just a hacksaw and drillpress.

Thats some skill right there, when I first saw them I thought they were for sure machined......


Nice crawler BTW

[metomwhou]

So where did you get the aluminum tranny mounts? Rest of the truck is sick, great build!
Tom

[1BadJeepBruiser]

Originally Posted by azvader

After serveral test crawls and some mods I've finalized the BTA step-up on Buster.

I used a piece of 1/8" G-10 fiberglass chassis stock for the link, 2mm carbon for the servo plate, some random hardware to mount it, and a couple of the stock ball ends to make the link to the servo arm. Here's one I made for Grover, I have to test fit it before I drill the last hole in the link.




Running it between the upper and lower links is just gravy!! No stagging on the rocks, it's like it's not there.

Now that is trick! Nice work

[grover]

Thanks for the steering set up! It is awsome, and was soooo nice to install.

Chad-