Flux on LST shocks w/FLM towers

[scarletboa]

stock nitro shocks FTW!

they are dirt cheap, perfect stiffness, react very well to oil changes (i prefer 35wt) and the y are pretty smooth.

once the flux shocks go down in price, i might just run 8 of them on my BL savage.

[JThiessen]

Originally Posted by Finnster

How the hell did you bend your tower? Its like 8mm thick! Wow...

heh.....well, ya know....I guess I'll say that I am a bit reckless with it.

I have a set of ten-eighty launch ramps that I use as jumps (mostly since we dont have any tracks in our area). You can catch some good air off those.

I think I'm only mounted one set of holes higher than yours - but yes, I think going down another set would have helped in that regards. But this thing handles so poorly as it was, I would rather go up with it. The last set of pics doesnt show it very well, but I changed the orientation of the shock mount by rotating the upper screw hole down/inwards to the only hole that it would fit into. This seemed to put the stiff direction of the mount more in line with the load path, although I would have liked to rotate it just a little further. These shocks are mounted a long ways off the face of the tower, thus they can impart a very large moment on that plate, and in the area where the holes are, its not 8mm thick - more like 4-5mm (but I'd have to mic it to verify that). And with all those holes, its not a very stiff cross section. It appears that with the angle the mount was originally situated, combined with the likelyhood that the screws loosened some, it was very easy to bend it.

I've never been a big fan of aluminum parts for this very reason.

[JThiessen]

I blew out my ankle last night playing basketball, and couldn't do the 3/4 mile walk into work (yes, its that far - worlds largest building by volume). So after watching as many hunting shows on TV as I could possibly stand, I figured I could manage to sit on my stool in front of the work bench and start fixin' on the Flux. I have the extended TVP's to install, the FLM diff cases, and the new Flux diff gears. I also needed to get it all apart and get the rest of the sand out of it (not familiar enough with the Savage yet to know where the tricky dirt hiding spots are).

First thing I noticed while taking it apart was that I sheared the upper shock tower mounting screws off. That sand must be a heck of a lot harder than one thinks. Hopefully, the FLM cases will take the loads better (knock on wood).
Next thing I noticed is that there is a ton of grease in the output cups, both on the diff's and on the tranny. So they were packed with dirt and grease - definitely something to monitor - anything that is metal to metal and holds dirt in place is a bad thing.

Putting the new TVP's one was quick and easy.
First shot shows the length difference - much more than I was expecting!
[IMG][/IMG]

These TVP's actually raise the tranny/motor/esc slightly - stock, the center shafts sit level. You can see the angle they sit at now. Might be about a quarter inch difference.
[IMG][/IMG]

After getting those installed, I moved on to the diffs. This pic shows the sheared off screws, and the greasy mess inside the housing. Very easy for dirt to get in, and must not be the best gaskets in the diff.
[IMG][/IMG]

While trying to pull the diff apart, I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing and stripped one of those damn phillips head screws. I managed to drill out the head, and pull it apart. But...I couldnt get the vise grips on what remained of the screw. So now I gotta order up a new cup (nobody carried any in stock locally).

So thats pretty much where it sits now. Will update as I progress....or digress....