Maxx 3.3 Steering Blocks
 

I was experimenting with trying to upgrade my E-maxx to the T-maxx3.3/Revo steering knuckles as a low cost way of beefing them up, and I thought it would also allow me to use the t-maxx/revo stock drive shafts on it to save some weight over the steel CVDs and still have a pretty strong drive line.

Well it didn't work out exactly like I planned...

I did get the 3.3 knuckles on there no problem, but for some reason the stock 3.3 drive shafts don't quite fit in the E-maxx diffs. You can't quite get the 3.3 drive shaft onto the diff drive pin far enough to get the hole for the threaded pin to line up. Its just off by a tiny bit, but enough that you cant get it on unless you elongated the hole in one of the parts. I thought this was weird, why would they make it so close, and not make it actually fit interchangeably? I know the revo diffs are different that the emaxx, but I thought the t-maxx 3.3 was the same.

Anyway... I made it work with some revo CVDs I had. Perfect fit.

The interesting thing that I discovered after I finished the fronts and started looking at it is the 3.3 knuckles extend the width by over 1/2 inch per side. Kind of a cool side effect I wasn't expecting. With my offset wheels I'm now just a little over 18inches wide on my emaxx. Using RPM arms, 3.3 steering knuckles and offset rims.

Not sure if anyone knew about this little upgrade that get you an additional inch of width. Just thought Id post it to see if anyone else has tried this, and if anyone knows of an easy mod to get the stock 3.3 drivshafts to fit the stock Emaxx diffs. Id rather use them than the CVDs to get some weight out.


Heres a pic of the fronts done w/ 3.3 knuckles and the backs with the stock widemax knuckles. (yes I know the toe need to be adjusted). Pretty big difference.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...z/CIMG1163.jpg

I was thinking of getting a conversion sort of like this myself.
Did the stock turnbuckles and all bolt up. You can run the revo rims for stock width or the wabash rims. Let me know how it holds up.

To get Revo knuckles/U-joints to fit maxx drive pins you need to grind the relief on the drive pin back further. I found this out last night while I was trying to get my center revo drive shafts to fit the emaxx tranny on the ERevo. I had ground down the end of the drive pin first thinking it was just too long. But after doing that, it still fit the same way. Closer inspection showed that the end of the knuckle was bottoming out at the end of the flat on the pin.

No, I needed to get the Maxx 3.3 tunbuckles to make it work. They are diferent than the widemaxx turnbuckles. I actually used the JDcarbon t-maxx 3.3 turnbuckles and revo ball ends with the tall hollow balls. This whole thing started for me because I was looking for ways to put my fat maxx on a diet without sacraficing durability.

As far as rims go. Ive only tried the stock maxx rims, the proline stablemaxx offsets and the Maximizer offset beadlocks. All of these fit no problem. I looks like just about any rim that works on the e/t-maxx will work for this setup as well. I'm sure the revo rims will work, thats what the t-maxx 3.3 comes with isnt it?

I'm actually thinking about getting a couple of the t-maxx 3.3 diffs to throw in this thing and then I can use the 3.3 drivshafts as well. I want to shave as much weight off of this thing as I can and my original plan called for running the tmaxx 3.3/revo shafts for the weight savings.

Anyone know how much stronger the 3.3 diffs are vs the e-maxx diffs? They should just bolt into the same bulks right?

I actually tried that already. The thing is to get it on far enough to line up the holes you have to grind the end of the drive pin and the end of the palstic knuckle. Then when you get it on far enough, the outside diameter of the plastic knuckle starts rubbing on the diff housing. I suppose I could have taken a dremel to the diff housing, but I just figured enough was enough.

From what I was looking at I think the only way to make it work (well) would be to elongate the hole in the steel diff shaft, and that was a little more than I could do with my dremel. :027:

I think I'm just gonna try and pick up some 3.3 diffs one of these days. For now, the revo CVDs are functioning fine, just a little heaver than the sliders.

If I go this route may be easier to pick a 3.3 tmaxx up and convert it out from there. Sell the tmaxx stuff off on ebay. Thanks! I have to wait on this project though.

I'm using 3.3 parts on my g-maxx,3.3 knuckles,arms,bulks,towers and sliders.I'm using 1/8 diffs in ultralite cases,7075 cups and centre MIPs though.

I made diff outdrive shafts for the sliders,the distance between the drive pin holes is accurate to get the grub to line up with the slot in the bulk to get a driver in (see pics).Then the slider is shimmed against the bearing race which also prevents the bevel gear mesh from tightening(the shaft can't push in)

I bought UE 2.5 Ti turnbuckles without thinking they might be too short,the solution was to use LST rod ends and shock pivot balls,they're the perfect length and nice and beefy.The picture is with a fair few degrees of rear toe in.

Had to remove a little from the knuckles and rod ends for clearance and make spacers to set the bump steer geometry.They turned out great,work perfectly.

My chassis is somewhere mid-atlantic right now.
i'm using UE ti pivot balls(hopefully strong enough with plastic arms), UE servo saver kit,UE turnbuckles,1930/8,4s lipo,single speed coupler,strobe,big bores,......

I liked the 3.3 parts because i prefer to use platic arms,bulks and towers and i like the 3.3 sliders,no pins to fall out and they're nice and smooth and should be strong enough.Also i like a full set of spares and it's cheap to get the 3.3 parts from ebay chop shops.Should be a relatively light build too.

I would go for the RD Racing Revo Knuckles with the larger bearings and the 23mm hub kit w/ the 8mm axles. Should be a nice combo.

What kind of chassis you plan to run gustav? I like that set up.
What did you make the out drive shafts from?
I was thinking of the 1/8 diffs but wasn't sure how to get them working properly. I not sure the power I going to run right off either. Nothing to major. Only 4s lipo is the plan as well.

Well i cheated and just used a pair of chopped e-maxx tranny output shafts,i could have machined them myself but it was just easier since they have the right part to attach to the sliders already, so i didn't have to worry about getting the slider yoke to spin true.

I just took them down to the right length in the lathe and drilled the holes with the pillar drill.Just lots of careful measuring needed to work out the length of the shaft and the distance between the holes.Could just be done with a dremel/hacksaw and a bench drill.

The chassis is alu g-maxx,going to try the short wheelbase at first.Never had a maxx before.

I think Im a little slow today... :002: I'm not quite getting how the short extensions you made attach to output shafts of the diff. What do the short extensions attach to?

They are the outdrives themsleves,1/8 diff have the bevel gear seperate from the shaft,the shaft and drive cup are one piece on 1/8 diffs.

3.3 stub axles would have worked perfectly if they were a little bit longer.

Edit;
I've just realised something,the stub axles ARE exactly the perfect length for these diffs,the holes are already the exact right distance apart (these are LST diffs BTW) DOH! So basically all you need are a pair of LST diffs and 4 of the stub axles,cut off the threaded part and you're good to go,ready made outdrives to attach sliders to 1/8 diffs!

I made a new set from stub axles,they fit the sliders better.Now to rebuild the diffs i just built yesterday:007:

That is pretty good. Now let us know how they work out when complete. You going to run diff oil in them?

I got the rear diff assembled and the rear end back together and i don't see any problem at all,they're spot on.

I took the shafts down in the lathe to 3.5mm from the centre of the bevel gear pin hole,the same as the original outdrive.

All i had was 20k oil so i used that but only just over half full since it's a little thick.Now i just need my chassis to arrive and i'm ready to go.:027:

Off topic but I need a body to use on the non-extended g-maxx.Any suggestions? I want to cover the batts as much as possible,i know it won't cover them completely.

Very nice gustav. Much more robust solution than I would have come up with.

I think I need a simpler solution though. I'm not looking to buy an expensive diff set if I can get a maxx 3.3 from ebay for around $10 each and that will solve my problem. I don't need bulletproof for this truck, I'm only running a 9L in it.

My question now is, Does anyone know exactly what the difference is between the stock emax diffs and the 3.3Tmax diffs? Is it just the housing? If thats the case, I should be able to solve my problem really cheap. But I'm not sure how changing the housing will allow the 3.3 shafts to fit.

I actually think the 3.3 diffs are like the Revo's. Im pretty sure there sealed, new diff cup, ect.

I was thinking i should have just used 3.3 diffs because like you say for $10 you can get a new one if you need to.I guess this way i can throw in an 8s lipo setup if i feel like it and not nurse the transmission.

If you're not running tons of power then the stock 3.3 diffs will work out a little lighter,racers often use them for that reason and shimmed correctly they should do fine.

I thought it was only the cases that were different too,if they're sealed that's a bonus.

How do I shim them properly? :002: I just got 2 sets on ebay for 10.50 each and I'd like to set them up right before throwing them in. What exactly do I shim and what do you use to shim it with?

Well they should be shimmed correctly from the factory but some companies are better at this than others.I would just run them if they feel and sound OK.I normally just run complete diffs as they are unless they feel horrible.

if you push and pull on the outdrives and there's not alot of backlash and they spin nice enough so the mesh isn't too tight then they should be fine.

When you use something like hybrid bulks or the UE ultralite cases they need alot of setting up since they're made to fit different diffs.The stock diffs are made to fit those cases and they probably just use a set number of shims so apart from tolerances they should be good.

Basically you want the ring and pinion mesh to feel and sound right(not to loose and not too tight) without alot of slop between the bearings or preload on the bearings(too few or too many shims)

If they did need it then a LHS or Mike would get you shim sets.

So basically... Don't worry about it unless I have a problem.


OK... Now I'm really confused.:confused: I just went to the exploded views on the traxxas site and it looks like the the emaxx and the 3.3 diffs are identical with the exception of the housing and some upgraded bearings. The cup, gears and output shafts are the identical part numbers. So if the stock 3.3 shafts don't go onto the emaxx diffs cuz they bottom out on the shoulder of the flat, they theoretically wouldn't fit on the 3.3 diffs either cuz they use the same output shaft. I gotta be missing something????

Well yeah in theory then they should fit the diffs you have already unless they were fouling on the cases.I guess you'll find out when you get your new diffs,maybe the exploded diagrams are wrong:032:

The hummer h1 by proline seems to be a low hanging body. I got the sut style. It some down pretty close to the chassis. I can take a pic if you wan to see. It would be on a estended version but reg body length.

Yes please,if you don't mind.I saw the one on Ryan's MaxxBling is pretty low,not sure what that is though.Escalade maybe?

It is not as low as I thought. It give you an idea any way. YOu can drop you body post down some more than I have. Attachment 1489


J concepts has a pleazer type body that works decent. Not sure of the maxx body though.
Ryan had escalade on the maxx bling.

Cheers Leroy,i think it will be OK,i've got AE cups and i might make a plastic guard aswell.

How wide are the AE cups. Would a lipo pack 2" wide fit into them? Looking for a better way to hold the Lipos than the Gmaxx strap.

The ae cups are 1 7/8 in wide. Inside.

Well thats not gonna work then.....

For what it's worth I have worked on a 3.3 maxx for a friend of mine. The fit of the axle to the output shaft was tight. I also believe that the diffs are exactly the same with the only difference being the case. It has 4 screws instead of 2 to hold it together better. I also like the knuckles with the two arms instead of one. Good luck with the shafts and maybe they will fit on a 3.3 diff housing.

The thing about the 2 arms instead off one, is that the bump steer is adjustable like a Revo.

I don't want to jack this thread but I don't see the adjustment on the knuckles, unless you turn the ball shaft upside down. I just figured it was a more solid setup.

You change the ball ends. They have set of ball ends with different off sets, and shim/spacers, ect.

yes. Its the adjustable ones. The exact same part as the revo steering blocks. In the setup sheet for the t-maxx there isn't any direction for adjusting for bump steer though. So Im not sure if it actually makes a diference like on a revo.

When i put mine together i put the rear outers a little higher than stock,stock has them in the middle and there's still some toe in on compression there,it's a slight adjustment really,hard to judge it by eye anyway.

so what everybody is saying is that the 3.3 driveshafts wont fit into an e-maxx of the bat. I also understand that you need the knuckles. So what im really asking here is that if i still use the maxx diffs would the 3.3 cvd's work on the maxx?(including the 3.3 steering block and turnbulkes)???

Im thinking of doing this but dont want to mod anything just a quick and easy install.

I used revo cvds on the my emaxx w/ the 3.3 steering blocks. no issue. bolted right up. Cant say about the maxx 3.3 cvds. I havent tryed them. I would think there would be no issue though. Should bolt right up.

thanks im really considering the 3.3 cvds than mips.

Now I'm really confused.... :confused: I got my 3.3 diffs saturday and just got around to quickly checking them out this morning. The holes on the stock 3.3 drive shafts don't line up w/ the holes on the 3.3 diff output shafts. How is this even possible?

I checked it out on the traxxas website. The revo and t-maxx 3.3 use the exact same part numbers for the drivshafts, and the t-maxx 3.3 and the e-maxx use the exact same part numbers for the diff output shafts. If I modify the shaft opening on the 3.3 drive shaft, so the holes line up, the drive shaft starts rubbing on the diff housing.

The stock 3.3 plastic slider drive shaft should be an exact fit for the 3.3 diff. So what the heck????:019:

I must be missing something here??? It just doesnt make any sense...:007:

I'll have to spend a little more time looking into this tonight when I have more time, but I'm looking for ideas as to what I might be missing and how this can be possible? This is insane....