Well, I tried the buggy again with my new DX3.0, and it seems to be working perfectly. I also rebuilt the center diff, but Patrick said that wouldn't help, so I am assuming the 2.4GHz radio helped a lot. I rolls freely and doesn't lock up how it used to.

yeah, if u guys dont have a dsm 2.4 ght's setup, u NEED one for bl suff

makes driving soo much more fun

Well, after not getting any sale hits on the CRT.5, I decided to re-do it. Actually, I did get one potential buyer, but found a few things wrong, so I backed out.

The goal for the rebuild is going to make things MUCH lighter and lower the COG. I already took about 20% of the unneeded material from the motor mount, recreated the ESC/rx tray/CD brace, and started making a new battery tray. Still aluminum, but more thought going into the design to reduce weight.

I plan to run a Medusa 36-50-3300/MM on 3s. I'll also be using the DimensionEngineering ParkBEC (tiny 1.5A version) - this BEC works perfect on the Slash, so it should be perfect for the CRT.5. I got the ESC, motor, and BEC in the mail today (thanks Mike!). Gonna start looking for a 3s lipo with between 2500mAh to 3500mAh.

Anyway, after I pulled all the old custom pieces out, I decided to refill the F/R diffs. I had never touched them from stock so it was time. Man, there was hardly any fluid in there! Just enough to lube them and that's about it. Either that or I have a pretty good leak - which is not likely judging by the lack of goo near the outdrives. While I had the diffs apart I noticed the steel bevel pinion gear was broken in the front diff. The little sleeve literally broke off the rest of the bevel gear. I looked a little closer at the rear diff and noticed you can push/pull the outdrive about 1mm in the diff. Maybe that slop caused the break? Who knows. So, I decided to add a shim to the outdrives (on top of the o-ring and under the pin/gear). I have one, but need 3 more. The LHS is looking but is having difficulty finding them.

So, does anyone have any 6mm ID X 14mm OD X "really thin" diff shims they are willing to part with? Or a link to get some somewhere? I look at various places and can't find them.

Brian,

Have you checked McMaster Carr on those???

I'm out of the state currently otherwise I'd check my parts stash for you...

Pro.

btw...my CRT.5 build starts next week.

Dang it! I searched there too. I probably just went down the list of parts looking at the pics and missed it. I know that will work too because I already used an extra shim from my Hyper8 kit. And they have the bevel gear I need too! My LHS already ordered a bevel gear, but it's nice to have an extra part or two laying around. :smile:

Did you happen to notice that the shims are free? Weird...

ProCharged: I thought of MMC, but I would have to order other stuff to make shipping worthwhile. Sucks to pay more for shipping than the cost of the part!

Brian - You're gonna really like that Medusa in there. That's what I finally settled on in mine and it runs really well. The MM handles the 3S quite well using the internal BEC. I don't recall exact temps but I know it wasn't even an issue the last time out at the track. With the external BEC it should be even better. Keep us posted on the re-build!

I hope so. It's more than I wanted to spend on something I was planning to get rid of. I like the 36-50-2200 Medusa in the Slash on 4s - it runs MUCH better/cooler than the 5700 did, so I expect good results with this setup.

Lol, the only "cheap" motor I am using now is in my e-Jato (CC 4600). Everything else either has Neu or Medusa. Man, once you go with a better quality motor, the Feigaos just don't cut it anymore! :smile:

Lol, I got my replacement spur from Nitrohouse, but the "free" shims didn't arrive. I called them and apparently they aren't free. They updated their price and will ship them out (for free) if I pay for them. Oh well. :smile:

FYI: The shims come 5 in a package

Update
 

I had placed the CRT.5 for sale but there were no takers, so I figured I would redesign it.

First off, there were several goals I wanted to achieve:

1. Address the motor/ESC heat issues. Some people like the Mamba Max combo, but it got too hot for me, even geared low (46/12). Obviously, top speed was crap and things were still a bit warm. So, I went with a Medusa 36-50-3300, MM ESC, DE BEC, and 3s lipo. On 4s with all the settings turned down, this will easily flip the truck on its lid, yet stays quite cool. :smile:
   
   
2. Reduce weight. I cut a lot of extra material from the motor mount, redesigned the battery tray so there was no bottom layer, and some other minor areas.
   
   
3. Lower center of gravity. This version still has the ESC over the CD, but this time, I lowered the ESC shelf by around 12mm. Not a huge deal, but it looks better. The receiver is much lower as well.
   
   
4. Come up with a better battery tray. My old one would sometimes throw the pack if I crashed hard enough because there was nothing to keep the bottom of the pack in place and would slide out. The new tray is similar in design, but longer, deeper, and the velcro is routed differently. Also, I started heating the aluminum with a torch before bending and that decrease stress cracks tremendously (the old tray had strain marks and stress cracks).
   
   
5. Come up with a solution to always breaking bodies. This was annoying. I don't like prepping and painting bodies to begin with, and the first time out, the body would crack right in the front fenders right where that little cut out for the upper arm is. I believe this was caused by the combination of poor driving, less material at that spot, and the leverage due to body post position. Well, I made new body post mounts that 1) raise the body by ~7mm, 2) spread the front mounts apart by 10mm total, and 3) move the body posts more towards the windshield. Even with my taped body, it seems MUCH more sturdy when I push down on the shell.
   
   
6. Do something with the steering servo wire. It is VERY close to the CD and routing is a PITA. So, I modded the CF servo brace and routed the wire under it and up. Much cleaner.
   
   
7. Replace the CD fluid. This should have been done out of the box. The factory uses just enough to lube the diffs and even that is super thin. Due to my driving style, I opted for 5k in front/back and 120k in the center (yes, 120k). I love how that handles. At the same time, I noticed that the outdrives move in and out by 1mm. So, I added one shim (6x14mm from Ofna Hyper) to the gear inside the cup (as opposed to the one on the spur/bevel gear). Not only did this help that extra play, it helps tighten the outdrives from moving up and down in the diff "sleeve".
   

Now for some pics:

The new battery tray. It's hard to see, but I JB-Welded the chassis openings to keep rocks and stuff from hitting the lipo. Then, I added a layer of lexan to further shield the pack. The hole in the tray is to access the tray mounting screw:

http://scriptasylum.com/forumpics/crtp5_newtray.jpg


And some of the typical pics. Don't mind the crappy electrical tape on the motor - that's temporary:

http://scriptasylum.com/bl_conversio...crtp5_v2_1.jpg

http://scriptasylum.com/bl_conversio...crtp5_v2_2.jpg

http://scriptasylum.com/bl_conversio...crtp5_v2_3.jpg

http://scriptasylum.com/bl_conversio...crtp5_v2_4.jpg

http://scriptasylum.com/bl_conversio...crtp5_v2_5.jpg

I work 5min from their Bensenville warehouse. I WILL PICK UP part part and ship them to you personally .................with pleasure.

LMK

I opted for the RC-Bros/Smokey Racing BL converion kit...since I'm the Senior moderator there and because Mike (surprisingly) never responded to my emails.

Looks nice. I hope to post pics of mine next week.

Pro.

I actually got the exact shims I needed from nitrohouse. It's not obvious from the site, but each package contains 6 shims IIRC. I got 3 packs just in case, so I should be all set for a while, lol. Speaking of which, I would add one 6X14mm shim to each of the F/R diffs. Feeling the play before and after adding it, there is a marked improvement.

Not a bad kit. I like the motor mount and battery tray. IMO, they should also provide a protection plate that goes up against the spur to prevent it from cutting into the battery. The motor mount/CD mounts do look like they have extensions to help prevent this, but I get a little paranoid having a relatively sharp metal-toothed object spinning at around 10k rpm within mere millimeters of the battery. :wink: Also, I would have liked to see a little more work done to the top ESC/rx plate to lower the ESC and rx a little.

Thanks. Not as nice as some using Mike's kits but it gets the job done and I was able to address all the shortcomings I could think of - and cheaply (discounting the hours spent making the parts).