Power To The Portal (Makeover)

[balln]

Took some time this weekend and took the old chassie setup apart to start cleaning everything up and swapping over to the new one. Didnt realize how much work was actually ahead of me.

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[balln]

First thing was to cut the brick off and get the front end cleaned up to fit the front skid. Then cleaned all the gears and bearings and stuck them back into place with some fresh grease.

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[balln]

Next on the list was to rebuild these portals. The front set have been bugging me for yrs. They have had quite a bit of play and I finally took the time to address the issues. You can see in the first couple pics how much the CV's wobbled around in the portal housing. Dug around and found some brass bushings cant remember what they came from but I do believe they came from a Tamiya kit. Possibly the highlifter I had back in the day. Then I drilled the centers out so the stock cc01 plastic bushings would snap in. Plan to replace with bearings but these will work for the mock up process. Once those were good I then stuck it back in the lathe and turned the brass bushing down to slide into the portal housing. Once all together it tightened every thing up and got rid of all the slop and the CV is now centered and stays that way. Also had to make a few super thin shims to snug up the bottom output shaft. Then it was time to add some fresh grease and snug them up tight and man they are better then ever. No play at all and everything spins so smooth. Next will be the steering setup and then have to figure out how to mount the front shocks with the new arched arms. Still need to weld some sort of shock tabs to them.

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[balln]

More updates. Front end is together. Still need to swap some hardware out for new and correct lengths but you get the idea. Got lucky and the losi mrc shocks fit perfect. I was winging it when I flipped the stock upper shock mounts on the other side of fender wells and drilled some holes for them to slide through. The shock tabs on the new arched arms at full droop line up perfect when the shocks are fully extended. Also forgot to post that when I welded up Animalhippies rear truggy setup a few weeks back he gave me a set of swampers I plan to use on this build. Also got some pics last night from Dave at 3dprint2form.com that the new body is under way. Cant wait to see the 4dr pathfinder.

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[stonecold]

Dang that's going to have some serious travel, what length are those shocks?

[balln]

Originally Posted by stonecold

Dang that's going to have some serious travel, what length are those shocks?

The Losi Mrc shocks compress & extend more then the stock cc01 shocks. I ran these in the stock location with stock susp so no cutting up wheel wells and they did improve the travel. If you look back in this thread you will see more pics of them installed with the stock setup. And I believe these are 74mm from eyelet to eyelet.

[chino63]

Nice work with the bushing. The portals are great when new but less than stellar after a few (hundred) batteries through them. I was surprised at how well the gears hold up seeing as how small they are. Keep up the great work!

Is that the motor plate I made?

[balln]

Originally Posted by chino63

Nice work with the bushing. The portals are great when new but less than stellar after a few (hundred) batteries through them. I was surprised at how well the gears hold up seeing as how small they are. Keep up the great work!

Is that the motor plate I made?

Thanks. They have been through alot lol. There wasnt any wear on the gears. The bushings definitely helped get them back to like new. And yeah that's it still works great. Just wiped it down and stuck it and the motor in the new tub.

[chino63]

Originally Posted by balln

Thanks. They have been through alot lol. There wasnt any wear on the gears. The bushings definitely helped get them back to like new. And yeah that's it still works great. Just wiped it down and stuck it and the motor in the new tub.

Haha, so have mine on the green mog!

The stock and aluminum aftermarket motor plates suck, they move around too much. If you ever get rid of this, keep that motor plate. It's the tightest one you'll find.

[balln]

Blew the rear end apart and man it was nasty. Inside axle housing was crusty and dry. Cleaned and polished everything back up and oiled the bearings and packed them and a ton of red-n-tacky back into the housing. Shes now rolling smooth once more. Next on the list will be chopping up the belly of the new chassie for the carrier bearing, lower link mounts and belly pan. The new 4dr body is getting printed now and turning out great. Cant wait to see it come together and get it mounted. The Ultimate Scale Truck Expo is creeping up fast and I would really like to have something to take with me.

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[balln]

One last post for 2019.

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[SFC K]

That is going to be sweet!


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[Highmark]

Really really cool to see you still have this and are getting it back in shape! Any updates since 2019?

[balln]

Man I need to get back on this. Haven't done anything to it since the last post. Its sitting in the shop all freshened up with a ton of dust all over it. Need to find some rear shocks then get the wheels mounted and figure out body mounts for the 4dr body.

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[balln]

Finally got around to looking and ordering some shocks for the rear. Hopefully I'm able to find some time here soon to make some rear upper shock mounts and get it sitting on some wheels and tires. Then move on to body mounts and get this Pathy body on it. As you can see its been sitting and collecting dust along with the two bodies in my shop.

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[chino63]

Wow, nice crawling type truck! Where can I buy one like that?

[meatmonkey]

Yeah, right. I'll take one too please.

We ever gonna get to see the body assembled?

[balln]

Haha. Maybe one day I'll get some time to get back on it. Have to many projects going on right now. I use my home shop to work out and is usually filled with other people's toys rather then mine. Also the last thing I want to do when I do get a little free time is go back out into that shop and work.

[balln]

Got a little progress done today. Fixed the pinion angle and made rear shock towers. Not sure if I like them tho. They make the back section more rigid and do what I need them to do. They do seem tall but the body should hide them well. Its nice seeing it after all these yrs sitting on all 4s again. Next will be mounting the body.

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[chino63]

Looks good my friend, glad it's still around. 👍