Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I love just about everything on my trx4, but hate the drive shafts... I cannot seem to get them not to bind. I realize that the splines seem to need to be in the correct groove, however after spending an hour trying to find that specific groove I'm about to just use some axial wb8's...

Anyone else struggle like myself?

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Mine were pretty stiff feeling for newish driveshafts. I put a MIP in the back and it was so much smoother. My WB HDs are excellent in comparison.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

The tolerance of the stock shafts are junk, way too tight. They move fine when absolutely brand new, but once any particulate of dirt gets in them they start to gall against each other and seize.

I myself, am waiting for official release of MIP driveshafts, a set should be cheaper then piecing one together in their build a driveshaft line.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Yeah racing had some:
http://www.rcmart.com/stainless-stee...h=595_739_1966

But no clue how they are fit or perform, just a option.

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Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Yeah.. I have seen those and others.. but I am kind of a mip snob so am afraid to buy any thing but mip ;)

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I guess I'm kinda in a hard spot... I usually replace my axial stuff with traxxas maxx shafts. I don't really like MIP's I never had a set that fit nice and remained quite, and didn't have slop. Only trucks I run them on anymore is Clod race trucks. The maxx shafts are too big in diameter for the trx-4.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I noticed mine had a bit of rub on the motor/tranny plate, I pulled the set screw and spun the shaft on the tranny output 180 degrees and it cleared. The clearance to the plastic near the driveshafts is way tighter than it needs to be.

I have a feeling what I observed may be different than what you guys are seeing though.

Aside from that they seem tough enough but time will tell.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I agree, not only do they bind, but they’re fragile. I figured out a fix to strengthen them, but I can’t wait for a better option.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I've found mine have held up well (although they are binding pretty bad). One thing that likely helps is I do most of my driving with the diffs open, so it reduces the binding forces when the truck is in a tight squeeze (like a trench).

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I'm not having any failure issues with them, however the binding frustrates me... Hampers suspension cycling to a point, and all the added stress on the drive line (joints/outputs/pinion) can't be a positive.

I just threw on wb8 HD off of a bomber I run maxx shafts on ironically..... happy I did

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Speak of the devil! MIP just listed their TRX-4 products today!
MIP HD Driveline™ Kit, Traxxas TRX-4 Defender, #17110

I ordered a set of their drive shafts and will report back on how they turn out.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Damn, I just installed new GPM drive shafts last week.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Hmmmm... that is tempting. Maybe I should give MIP's a 10th try!

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Based on the photos, they look comparable to the stock shafts, perhaps a touch larger.

https://teal.secure-host.com/miponli...17110-pic1.jpg

They do call out that they're slimmer than the X-duty drives, but also not perfect scale:
"Our new Scale-ish™ MIP HD Driveline™ features scale looks and light-weight construction, compared to our MIP X-Duty™ Drives; nearly 30% lighter and 25% slimmer"

I found a healthy coating of red'n'tacky helps take a lot of the slop (or at least the rattles/vibration) out of their loose tolerance on my ascender MIP shafts. I think it's a fair trade off, as tighter tolerance means it's (in theory) easy to jam them up.

I'll post photos and feedback when they come in.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Ordered a set... hoping that they inproved the slop a bit

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Mine arrived today, and I'd say I'm very pleased with them!

There's very little play in the splines "dry", and zero when I covered them in red'n'tacky.

And they are appreciabely smaller than the MIPs on my Ascender:

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/membe...4407-64688.jpg


And they are comparable to the stock shafts in terms of size:

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/membe...4407-64686.jpg

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/membe...4407-64687.jpg

I won't get a chance to run them till this weekend, but already they seem way ahead of the stock shafts. I could barely get the rear stock shaft off, it was seized too much. IMO, this is a must-do mod on the TRX-4.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Wow the look really good. Keep us updates on how these mip's are. I just might have to get a set one day.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I have RC4WD super-scale driveshafts on my SCX10 II, and they've given me no problems.

https://i.imgur.com/SUztju0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9LPnUXX.jpg

Granted, my SCX10 weighs about 900g less than my TRX-4.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

If you mean this with the grinding on the trans

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...830f25e08e.jpg

than mine infected too, i think that it's caused by the tide space between drive shaft and trans and dirt :mrgreen:

also my inner spline was nearly unmovable, so drive shafts on the list.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Those new MIP driveshafts look great! I bet they would work well on the SCX10 II also with their slimmer design. I'm going to keep the RC4WD driveshafts I have on my SCX10 II, but given the significantly higher weight of the TRX-4, I may opt for the MIP driveshafts instead.

Re: The New MIPs are great
 

I love getting packages in the mail, especially when they arrive sooner than expected. MIP drive shafts and HR heavy diff cover showed up last night.

The New MIP drive shafts are perfect, go together in about 10 minutes, come with a few spare parts and have no friction. They also add that additional weight down low.
While I haven't seen anyone break a Traxxas shaft yet, the MIPs are a great upgrade.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

The stock shafts are too tight a fit on the splines. My rear barely moves, but the front has freed up a bit after about fifteen hours of use. I guess I don't hate them, but I certainly don't like them either.

What's the deal with MIP using longer than needed outputs on everything lately? It seems that the MIP output yokes have a longer distance from the retaining through pin to the centerline of the "U-joint". Is that an illusion? I don't like that it creates a little extra operating angle and increases the leverage on the pinion bearings.

Is there clearance on the trans for the older style, regular AX-10 outputs that take a 4mm thread? It looks like these new TRX4 versions use 3mm?

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

How do you know the outputs are longer than necessary? Have you fitted the driveshafts to your truck? You can't tell from a single picture whether there's stuff that the outputs need to clear on the side the camera can't see.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

next drive shaft option
for Traxxas TRX-4 #GAX0060, ,(GAX0060) by GRC Heavy Duty Front Rear Center Shaft Set Black

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

For what it's worth, I had my truck out this weekend with the MIPs, and report things went fine. Despite the incredibly dusty conditions (see picture thread :) ), the shafts continue to move freely, and have no real play or slack to speak of.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I would be extremely surprised if MIP X-CVDs started binding. I've had the same pair of MIP X-CVDs installed on my Wraith for years; I've driven them through mud and water many times, intentionally never washing them, just rinsing them off and re-oiling them when they start to squeak. (part of my chosen aesthetic for my Wraith is "dirty, oily, scratched, beat-up, and rusty".) They still work perfectly. It's my own personal long-term torture-test for MIP X-CVDs.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I've had great success with using WD-40 silicone... the silicone is water resistant, and the wd is a great cleaner..

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

WD40 silicone is *just* silicone, nothing else. WD40 is just a brand-name now, it doesn't have anything to do with the actual formulation of the spray unless you buy the original petroleum-based water repellent spray.

Anyway, silicone is not optimal for metal-on-metal lubrication. It's best used for plastic-on-plastic or metal-on-plastic. It's better than nothing for metal-on-metal, but petroleum oil or grease is still far superior for metal-on-metal.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I installed the MIP driveshafts on my TRX-4 yesterday. I took before-and-after pictures to show the difference in driveshaft angle caused by the "unnecessarily long" endpieces.

Before:
http://i.imgur.com/RwD4SMg.jpg

After:
http://i.imgur.com/koqxWys.jpg

Yes, there is a difference, but it's so small that it's certainly insignificant, especially if you lubricate the joints like you're supposed to. After assembling and installing the driveshafts, it's obvious that the reason those endpieces are "unnecessarily long" is so MIP could use 4 of the same endpiece. Otherwise they would've had to make a special-size one just for the front transfer-case output, which would've increased the cost of the driveshaft kit.

If this style of center driveshaft catches on, maybe MIP will make them for other vehicles as well, and then we will have more sizes of endpieces we can mix-and-match to our hearts' content.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Hello,

I'm installing the MIP's on a brand new / never ran TRX4. The instructions state that there shouldn't be a gap inside of the hub / end yoke. Is this acceptable / normal?

<a href="https://imgur.com/gF1S8nW"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/gF1S8nWh.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

If the driveshaft is installed as far onto the transfer-case output as it can be, then it's fine.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I have this same grinding as well.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

I think it's more important on the axle side.

Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

do they have more clearence between shaft and trans or is it the same. my concern would be that i would have same prob with grinding as with stock if some debris finds it's way.[emoji41]

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Re: Anyone else hate the driveshafts?
 

Sand can get stuck in the narrow space between the output yoke and the underside of the transmission, but steel will resist abrasion much better than plastic.

If you want to get fancy, you could glue a small piece of felt into the space between the output yoke and the transmission, so sand can't get in. It will still catch microscopic dust, though.