Trail finder 2 SWB linked up

[ternandbern]

After breaking a front leaf on my trail finder swb i decided it was time to upgrade. The stock suspension on this was way to stiff. I put traction bars in the back to keep the rear leafs from breaking but it still didn't keep the front from breaking. This is a picture of it when i first got it.

 

[ternandbern]

I did a little research on the rear 4 link and it didn't seam to fit very well, too short. i actually wanted to make the wheel base a little bit longer. When i was at the hobby shop i ran across this link kit. It has everthing for the yota axles for front and rear for $70.


I didn't actually know exactly what it was but i could see it had most of the right stuff "thumbsup" i also grabbed some of these rod ends.

 

[ternandbern]

After playing around with some link and rod combinations i was able to get the rear exactly how i wanted it.


The front was a different story since the panhard link was designed for the axial rigs, going the opposite direction of TF2 steering link. This was a problem that i could not figure out a way to move the servo around from. I decided to go ahead and try a 4 link. Lower links are from the kit and the upper links had to be custom made using 2- 56 rod inside of stainless tubing. the link around the tranny was a bit tricky!





It has a bit of bump steer and articulation steer so we will see how it all works out..

 

[ternandbern]

Wheel base is now 10.5", which is still about 5/8" less then my TF2. I think the new wheel base will be perfect. It is just short enough to run the stock drivelines but i will probably upgrade to some punishers eventually.



I cut off the fender flares on the body to start the trimming process. I will trim some more and then give it a new paint job. I also have some 90mm king shocks arriving today. Should look pretty sweet when its done!

 

[BadWagon]

Very creative, but it looks really high now. Are you worried about the COG?

 

[ternandbern]

I was hoping to get a little bit of lift but I figure it will be maybe 5mm higher? The new shocks are 90mm vs the 70mm stock shocks, but they mount about 10mm lower on the axle and they have 10mm more travel. The way it is fixed right now it measures 85mm eye to eye which i figure is a bit high and the shocks will droop to about 80mm. Not too worried about the cg just have to drive different "thumbsup" Longer wheel base helps too. It also looks a lot higher after i cut the fenders off. 8)

 

[ternandbern]

Crap.. looks like my shocks won't be here till tomorrow

 

[whitrzac]

For those that want to keep the stock wheelbase and 3link...

I'll be makeing a new thread soon with some upgrades. Photobucket has gone awol.
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/rc4wd-trail-finder-2/560950-rc4wd-tf2-swb-3-link-front.html

 

[ternandbern]

Some pics with my TF2 wheels and tires. Looks good, not sure which i like better.

 

[ternandbern]

Body trimmed up and looking good. Articulation should be perfect with the new shocks. Now i just need to sand it a bit and get it ready to paint. I'm not going get crazy with making the body perfect for paint since its going to get beat up anyways, but i have to say that painting is one of my favorite parts. Im always excited to see how the new color looks on there. For this project i've decided to go white with blue accents.

 

[ternandbern]

8)

 

[ternandbern]

 

[ternandbern]

Put my 45 turn rc4wd motor and brushed esc back in it and ran a battery through it yesterday. Everything worked really well! Pretty happy with it now, except for the white paint job.. Going to repaint it flat black. Would have looked a lot better on my brother in laws jeep in black. "thumbsup"

 

[ternandbern]

found this on ebay. Looks like a good deal.
RC4WD TF2 Based All Custom Hard Body Jeep Scale Truck 1 10 Winch Lights 4 Link | eBay

 

[ternandbern]

 

[new2rocks]

Looking good. How are you liking the new suspension setup?

 

[ternandbern]

Thanks. I'm happy with it, the extra wheel base is perfect and the articulation has really made this little rig capable without being overkill. It needs some scale details and some windows though "thumbsup".

 

[ternandbern]

 

[ternandbern]

Well its been a while since i've posted on this but i just did a little modification that i have been wanting to do for a long time and i thought i would share it.

When i first started running this truck the first thing i noticed was how the king dual spring shocks would jam on the slider. I think these shocks look great and if you drive on just rocks you may never run into this problem but i will never buy shocks again that run a dual spring sliding collar. I drive a lot of trails and they are usually muddy since it is the northwest or should i say northwet!





Almost every time i run this truck at least one of the shocks spring sliders jams up causing only the bottom spring to work... from wherever the collar jams up..
which can also causing no spring compression on the bottom spring retainer, more than once i've had to replace because it got lost and fell in the mud!!...

I looked forever for full length external springs and found nothing in the same diameter. Well i had all these internal shock springs from my trail finders and after playing around with a few different springs i found the 70mm internal springs worked best "thumbsup".



And now its probably the best its ever been!! I had been wanting to get softer springs for it and now i've got them! Ride height is a bit lower so i also added some fuel tubing bump stops.







Tested it out for the first time today and it was awesome! side hills great and im really impressed with the low ride height. Articulation is great too!

 

[ternandbern]

Best of all i never have to worry about the shocks jamming up."thumbsup"