Fed up with Slash
 

Argg! If it's not one thing, it's another. Never have I had so many little things go wrong on one vehicle! I run things, find the weak spot, fix it, repeat. Except with this vehicle, I'm stuck in a continuous repeat loop.

- Arms break. Get RPM.

- Diff leaks. Try the mod to seal it. Works for a few runs but then the reduced material at the seal causes premature wear.

- Went brushless, so got the FLM tranny to help cooling. Needed to modify arms to fit the tranny. Also needed to go with different hinge pin setup because the stock ones bind in the hinge pin holes.

- Found out Traxxas motor screws suck. Rated 3mm, but are slightly smaller than any other 3mm screw I have.

- Stock shocks way too soft. Hate the sagging rear end. When taking apart, noticed two of the shocks were empty. Got the Traxxas big bores (waste of money, should have used buggy shocks. But retaining rings were too small to properly hold springs in place with possible danger of popping out. Used a mix of retaining rings to get the proper fit and then used stiffer springs.

- Input shaft has side to side play causing pinion set screw to eat somewhat into the spur teeth. Shimmed it properly.

- Brushless system too strong for stock axles. Get FLM CVDs. One of the set screw holes is very tough to screw in. Used a different pin (from a Revo outdrive IIRC).

- Diff wobbles. Again, crappy diff design. Tired of messing with it, I just JBWelded the gears. Turns rather crappily (expected that), but kinda like the way it handles now. Supports my turn-at-WOT driving style.

- Rear bumper mount breaks (pretty crappy design IMO). Get the RPM mount. Doesn't line up very well and needs mods to work. Even then, not happy with the result, but should work.

- CVD pins pop out at the tire end. Mod the pins so the set screw keeps them from falling out. The retaining ring should have prevented this, but some rock or something pushed it to one side.

I'm sure there are a couple more things I've forgotten, but I want to huck this thing out the window! It reminds me of an old 1:1 car; should I keep dumping $$$ into it thinking this will be the last big thing, or do I just cut my losses and get rid of it?

Don;t get me wrong, I don't mind tinkering. But I try to make these things as tough as possible right off the bat so any tinkering is because I want to, not because I have to. Every vehicle breaks, but this is just ridiculous! This Slash spends more time on my bench than its wheels.

:sigh: Thanks for listening. Just needed to vent.

might as well keep it BG it aint worth squawt otherwise no matter what all mods it has.

From my experience which is alot with the slash as it is the most used and abused truck ive ever owned.


ditch the flm tranny mine gave me more trouble than anything else on the truck..... use the stock tranny with the rpm bumper mount makes it bullet proof in the rear:yes:

Build the stock shocks with at least aluminum caps and 60 or 70 wt oil all around (handles great like this) i use 1/8th buggy fronts in the rear

get the ST racing captured hingepins (best mod yet, next to the rpm front chassis brace/skid thing)

use the rpm chassis braces, fixes steering rack issues and much stronger design.

the trick to keeping the retaining rings on the cvds is to CA glue them :yes: yep once they are in place put a drop of ca glue of the table and take a tiny flat screw driver and get a little on it and just put a couple tiny little dabs on the retaining ring and walla they only come off when you get some acetone and want them too.

Get the Rpm shock towers or aluminum towers because the stock ones provide too much flexx and will lead to bent shafts and a poor handling truck.


there is no true fix for the diff unless you buy the flm, so just put some oil in it and let it go for 2-3 months and then fill it back up....


if prepared right it really is a tough truck.... mine has been running on 3s and 9L since it was released and its held up to alot of crap and alot of other people driving it also.....

they were cool for like 5 mins! lol

Just like a 1:1 lemon- you'll be glad to see the back end of it :wink:

wow, I have to say I have had pretty much 0 problems out of it. It just has a velineon setup in it, but I have had it a year this week, been brushless on 3s since day one.Aside from one broken rear arm, and having to pop the rear bumper mount back where it should go, and a couple stripped spurs, it's been good to me. Maybe mine is underpowered compared to yours, but I have never had a complaint with it, or felt it really needed more. Did put some losi shocks on it as well.

Yeah, sometimes I just go round and round with my Slash :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQRJxi-4fLc

Oh, I know it doesn't have any resale value, so I probaby will keep it and continue trying to bullet-proof it.

All of my problems have been solved, but it seems like when one problem is solved, another pops up. There seems to be no single weak point, the whole thing is weak. Granted, I am running a Medusa 36-50-2200 on 4s, but that's hardly "extreme" - it's really just for runtime. I did already get the RPM towers and skids, axle carriers, etc.

I ended up coming up with a solution for the bumper mount and will finish it tonight (will post pics).

I was just very frustrated with all the little things. Next time, I'm just going to stick to the 8th scale platform because it is tough and proven.

Ugg, I thought I had problems. I go over to the Trx site (because just maybe they might have something of use), and saw this: http://monster.traxxas.com/showthread.php?t=491485

I guess you have to be thankful for the good things, and motor/ESC heat is one of those for me...

no kidding BG it just blows me away with the rediculous crap on the natzi forums....

i had the flm adapter for the bumper mount but any time it would get a big hit it would bend or break the screws through the tranny plate, and eventually the tranny plate started bending, then i could never keep the hinge blocks screws tight (tried red and blue locite) but they would ALAYS work loose and the 1* blocks looked like 4s .....


how much runtime do you get out of your setup? i get a good 45 minutes to an hour of bashing with my 3s and 9l with a good 3s 5000 geared for low 40s with badlands..... i usually get bored before the battery dies.... and never any heat.

how are the drive shafts holding up? i wish mine was a little wider but i sure do need to invest alot more money in this Traxxas Slash :lol:

I don't know about the runtime. I too usually get tired and stop it before the battery is dead. But, I currently use a MA 5Ah 4s pack, and even that gets pretty toasty towards the end of the run. Pretty bad when a "100A" battery is pushed that far in a light setup geared for ~40mph. I really need to get a new 4s pack.

Other than that pin coming out, the CVDs are holding up fine, even with the RPM arms.

Best way to fix the Slash is to buy an SC10.:lol:

Even after all of the upgrades, the Slash still has a crappy, loud, and huge tranny, slipper design is horrible, suspension and link geometry suck, shock suck, need I go on?:no:

All I have done to my SC10 for preventative measures is switch out the front A-arms to GT2 arms and added a chassis brace.

My highly modded TT Slash.:sarcastic:
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t181/dezfan/004.jpg

My Sc10.:yipi:
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...zfan/020-1.jpg

I couldn't be happier with my Slash. I bought it used, all stock except for alum arms. I added a Mamba Max, Velinion motor, and 3s let her rip!


I went to my property in the extremely rocky Texas hill country and was hucking it off our MX jumps. I took some 8 ft nose dives, cartwheels, 8 ft flat lands, etc. Only damage was a popped off shock cap. I would like to see an SC10 take the beating it took.

Most reliable and resiliant RC I have owned yet!

I guess I just have a lemon, or expected more than I got then. I would blame it on being Traxxas, but I have had a converted Revo, and currently have a converted jato and converted nitro 4-tec all with very few problems (The Revo did take some doing to get the tranny solid though). The jato has been about the most resilient thing I own. Maybe that's it; the only vehicle that came electric is the only one with problems. Everything else has been converted.

Keep in mind the Slash is based off the original Rustler/Stampede designs which are ancient (roughly 10 years?). The suspension, steering, and transmission are the same with minor tweaks. Most R/Cs that can trace their roots back to then have been completely redesigned since then (Associated stadium trucks). The Jato and Revo are modern well thought-out designs.

A testament to that... My slash is running cvds made in 1990 for an srt-3

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...0822091952.jpg

I find my Slash handles like a dream... mind you I am comparing it to a Savage Flux :D

Different ppl have luck with different cars. Lots of people swear by the Revo's, I had a nitro converted to Electric and it was nothing but a PITA.

Finished installing the RPM bumper mount to the FLM tranny case. Hopefully, this will work:

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

that looks good brian! excellent idea. only thing i could see that would be better would be to make it go all the way down and hit the other 2 bolts from the tranny plate.....

I hope it works! Cutting those spacers to be exact was a PITA. As far as extending the plate down further, it would involve adding spacers to the top two screws and there are already a couple there to clear the machining for the input gear (inside).

i have to say i loved my slash

the day i got it i dropped a mm and vxl motor in it


i never broke anything but transmission gears and we beat the hell out of it


one of the reasons i liked it was the poor handleing and ease of rolling, nothing like pulling off afew perfect laps with a bad truck just to prove to yourself you can, always put a smile on my face


your post makes me miss mine, i only sold it to fund other projects

like it was already well put, the design is based on a 10+ year old rustler. i thought the rustler was the perfect speed vehicle before i got into 1/8 buggies. Now, i wouldn't touch a rustler or slash/stampede with anything more than a 2S. it's just too costly to keep up the drive train.

it ended up that running the flm transmission case with a locked(JB welded) diff with flm arms and cvds with a locked double nutted slipper was about the only way one could really bash hard with the bigger motors on MT tires. people then started to use 8ight shocks because by the time all that was done the truck had so much body roll it was dam near impossible to keep stable.

in the end, all the bling and money would have been better spent on a used buggy roller.
imo there's just no good use for a 2wd anymore unless it's a pan car.j/k :whistle:

Sounds like the predicament I'm in. Next upgrade are the shocks in the rear for the same reason.

I originally got the Slash so I could race at my LHS in the stock class. But since I rarely go to race, I decided to beef it up for more fun at the house. Later, I made a CORR truck using a buggy (MBX5) and love using that. But sometimes, being able to run the Slash for 45 minutes+ on a charge (because it is light and 2WD) has its advantages too.

I bought mine for racing also. I personally love it but it does have its down falls. The stock trans where the screws go to mesh the motor is too soft. It makes it where the screws leave indentations in the plastic which makes it a PITA to mesh it(can't change this per the stock spec rules). I also hate the diff. It just flat out sucks and leaks oil like a mofo. I have my flm diff on the way.

Other than those tow things I love it. I race stock spec and that is IMO the class I have the most fun in. You can beat the car, bang it into the walls, hit the other cars....but it'll still keep running.

The Rustler came out in 1992 IIRC, and it was heavily based off Traxxas trucks from the 80s. It's amazing how they've been able to keep the same truck alive for so long but it really is time to lay it to rest and give it a complete do-over. HPI is releasing a new 1/10th short course truck based off of the Firestorm, IMO that would be better than both the Slash and the SC10.

Based on what?

The E-Firestorm could hold a candle to a T4 if it was equipped w/ a flame thrower from the factory.:lol:

The Blitz looks to be a great truck, but the SC10 still has Associated's Championship lineage.

Yeah, I dunno bout the HPI beating a winning platform. HPI hasn't made too many racers, which is the exact opposite for AE. I love my SC10 and I haven't had any issues with it besides the bad first batch of wheels. I was thinking of trading it for a B4 or RB5 but they're so realistic and fun!

The SC10 would probably be more competitive, yes, but based on what I've seen they aren't terribly durable. I've seen more than a few of them in my LHS for repairs (I guess that alone should say something about the drivers if they can't fix their own trucks though). The E-Firestorm isn't perfect but based on what I've seen it is durable.

I'd rather have a truck that is a little more involved to drive and setup but can handle a rough tumble (which I am commonly involved in) than something that handles better but isn't as durable.

I agree. What's the point of an off-road vehicle that breaks just by looking at it? I also like vehicles where you don't have to take half of it apart to get to something (Slash tranny is a perfect example).

Who said the SC10 breaks by looking at it? It is NOT a weak truck. I race against slashes and have had high speed head on collisions and my SC10 held up just fine. The only thing I've replaced so far is a couple spur gears but that happens in racing when you crank down the slipper for more traction.

By the way, I've seen more broken Slashes than SC10s. Yesterday I raced and two guys broke more than 3 times in 3 heats and 1 main. There's a difference between someone who just launches their truck 15 feet in the air over a 7 foot jump and the guy who can actually drive. Anything breaks with a crappy driver. Maybe you guys should go drive one and then try to bash it. I'd let you drive mine if you were closer but I'm sure the guys at your local track would let you behind the wheel.

Don't judge a SC10 when you've only read it's cover :na:

As an owner of the SC10 and Slash and a couple other SC trucks, the SC10 is more durable than people give it credit for. A few simple changes(GT2 front arms an a chassis brace) and the SC10 has been every bit ad hardy as my Slash(which seems to set the bar for toughness).

Again, the Blitz looks to be a great entry and I'm sure I'll own one(may replace my Slash) to fill my SC addition, but IMO the SC10 is still the one to own.