Carpetfuzz gets a Ascender Bronco

[carpetfuzz17]

I acquired a Bronco from a buddy. I thought I was getting a good deal by the pictures that I received. Then the price was right also. So I sold 2 Mylaps transponders and had my new toy delivered. Once I got a chance to sit down and look at I discovered the pile of turd in front of me. I have been advised to post pictures and ask for help in seeing what's wrong and what needs replacing. One of only things that it has going for it is that it has the 2 speed. Catch is it is missing a gear go figure. This kid royally screwed this thing up. I can tell all the bearings are going to need replace as it looks like it had seen water and lots of it.
Parts that I know that are missing
1 gear in 2 speed
Motor plate
Slipper pads
Slipper hubs
Spur gear
Receiver lid
Parts that are going bye bye
Wheels and tires
RC4WD ARB diff cover
I am looking for all feedback on what to do








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[carpetfuzz17]

Also forgot to mention the shocks are all getting rebuilt.

What's the recommendation on oil for them?

[smog]

Dont know for sure, but stock oil weight is pretty light, maybe 20wt? I just put 32 in my Ascender and its significantly heavier

[Natedog]

I put 30wt in my Ascender shocks.

[kincer]

One thing for sure, you'll get an understanding of how things work on a Ascender right away, It doesn't look that bad to me from the pics though, I downloaded the manual for the Bronco from Vaterra and that will be a big help. I'm not much help with these yet bud, I'm an Ascender newb too lol

[M1tch]

Looks like a good base to work from anyway. If you can run the trans in single speed, just do that maybe. I don't know if the gears are available seperately. Single speed on 3s is fine for me. Shocks work well with a few mods, see Rich Trujillo's shock mod thread for more on that.

Shock Setup Tip for reducing Torque Twist

Hope you get it sorted and running ok. These Ascenders are addictive. I have 3 now. 2 runners and 1 spares as it's cheaper that way (I told myself).

[carpetfuzz17]

Thanks for the input guys
Next is there anyone where who is making the parts that I am missing? Would rather purchase here if at all possible. Also any upgrades that I should be looking for? This is going to be a winter project as I am in no big hurry. Snow started flying this morning so it's looking like indoor carpet racing is going to be the order of business. I have all winter to get this thing straightened out for spring so I want to do it right the first time

[smog]

You could quite easily make a lid for your receiver box using styrene or some other material if you care to. It may be that someone here has some of the pieces you need kicking around, but those are all available parts that are inexpensive. The missing gear from the trans is the only real PITA. Are you sure buddy doesn’t have it laying around his bench somewhere? It’s odd that it is missing. Not sure you can get that without buying a set. Someone here might be able to confirm that.

Are those wheels aluminum beadlocks? The MIP driveshafts are a bonus, it always brings a smile to my face to see that steel.

[carpetfuzz17]

Originally Posted by smog

You could quite easily make a lid for your receiver box using styrene or some other material if you care to. It may be that someone here has some of the pieces you need kicking around, but those are all available parts that are inexpensive. The missing gear from the trans is the only real PITA. Are you sure buddy doesn’t have it laying around his bench somewhere? It’s odd that it is missing. Not sure you can get that without buying a set. Someone here might be able to confirm that.

Are those wheels aluminum beadlocks? The MIP driveshafts are a bonus, it always brings a smile to my face to see that steel.

Getting ahold of him now is next to impossible. He got what he wanted and is leaving me hanging. Soon as he runs out of money he will calling to sale something else . I will have the upper hand then.

I believe I can get the gear in a set for a couple bucks. I did forget about the MIP shafts. Those were a nice bonus. The wheels are plastic with aluminum rings. Not my style nor are the tires so at this point they are just to hold up the truck when on the bench. Just junk to me.

[kincer]

Put what you don't want up for sale, one guys trash is another guys treasure. Somebody will want those.

[Alexander_0_1]

I have those tires on my ascender, my shocks are short though, probably 90-95mm.

[carpetfuzz17]

Originally Posted by kincer

Put what you don't want up for sale, one guys trash is another guys treasure. Somebody will want those.

Not a bad idea. Probably going to make them a sweet deal

[carpetfuzz17]

I decided to redo the shocks... surprisingly they weren't that bad actually really clean oil but cleaned them slopped up the o-rings and rebuilt and fresh oil I decided to go with 25wt. Got to the lady shock and found this...what kind of mess did I get myself into



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[kincer]

Wow, how does that even happen?

[carpetfuzz17]

Originally Posted by kincer

Wow, how does that even happen?

It was hiding on the inside and couldn't see... I asked the kid what the hell and never heard from him...would really like to know myself...if I were to guess I would say soldering iron like I said what kind of pile did I get myself into...maybe thinking I should just sale it for parts but don't think it's even worth it

[kincer]

It's not that bad bud, you can get a new set of shock bodies and caps for $14 then you could do the shock mod for taming torque twist.

[Shinchu]

mix up some epoxy and apply inside the cap.
goes without saying but clean it really good with degreaser, soap/water then rough it up a little so the epoxy will bite.
not a bunch just enough to seal up what looks to be a huge hole.

hey the truck is not a total loss its a great start for what can be rebuilt into something WAY more awesomer.

tires look to be 1.9 stretched over a 2.2? or 1.7 over a 1.9 i cant really tell but the tires might be worth keeping?
new wheels and foams would be a great idea though.
diff cover get you a pair of SSD ascender covers and never look back.

one cool thing about a truck like this, you wont be scared to "hurt it"! hammer down and lose the frown!!!

ASCENDERS ASSEMBLE!!!!!!!!!
anyone got anything laying around??? handle it in PM though so we don't get ban hammered.

[carpetfuzz17]

Surprisingly the shock doesn't leak

[Yeti.stealth]

Chassis looks good to me!

[kincer]

Nice job on that battery tray fix today, you should post up some pics for others that may have that issue.