What did you do to your Rusty today?

[cgrant26]

Moar parts!

King Headz motor mount
VG Racing Springs
VG Racing chassis brace
RPM wheelie bar conversion and Slash adjustable wheelie bar

[Panther6834]

Seems no one has posted in here in sightly over 5 months...so, let's being some live back into this thread. The 'full version' of what I did today can be found in my build thread: https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/top...ink_source=app

Here's the short version:

A little over 8 months ago, my project build, Rusty-Frankie, attempted to join the circus, as an aerial acrobat. Unfortunately, the (unofficial) 'audition' was a disastrous failure, and the truck ended up with LOTS of "broken bones". Then, for the next 8+ months, it laid in its coffin...I mean, carrier...neglected.

Yesterday, I finally took it out, so as to assess the damage, and prepare it for some major surgery. Rusty-Frankie is "dead"...but, something "new" is evolving. Like the phoenix, it is preparing to rise again. Today, I completely rebuilt the front & rear ends, and I am now searching for a new body, wheels, and tires.

Now that I think about it, maybe I should give the 'new version' a new name - "Phoenix".


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[djbird1xx]

What I did today and most everyday is continue to find screws I forgot to loctite and have thus fallen out. It's nice that my car isn't breaking anymore at least. Though I did have a fan fly clean off its wire after a small crash today. Might experiment with ventilation holes instead. I have an old VXL 2 pole motor in mine and it gets HOT. I have a 3300 KV surpass hobby system on the way though, so hopefully temps will go down with it and it will actually have enough torque for consistent wheelies.

[Panther6834]

Got more work done on rebuilding my severely-damaged Rusty-Frankie.

First, found back several days ago, I removed all the 4Tec parts at the front & rear, replacing them with the stock front carrier, and the Sl4sh/Rusty anodized steering blocks & rear carriers. I also replaced the stock A-arms in the rear with the slightly-longer Pro-Line ProTrac Sl4sh A-arms, giving the rear of the vehicle a sightly wider stance. With the new (but still unordered) body, it should look fantastic.

Getting back to today, I installed the rear STRC Sl4sh shock tower (front hasn't arrived yet)...but, in looking at the XO-1 front tower still occupying the front of Rusty-Frankie, I'm wondering if I should keep the XO-1 front tower, eliminating all (or almost all) pre-load on the front shocks, and then install external limiters (nitro fuel tubing). As for the rear, I'd install the Sl4sh front tower (once it arrives) in the rear, and keep the front shocks currently installed in the rear (with the currently-set high pre-load). Will have to see how it looks, and then decide.

I also completely disassembled the front bulkhead, disassembled the front diff, cleaned up all the parts, and then ran all parts through the ultrasonic cleaner. In rebuilding the front diff, instead of the same 10K fluid, I replaced it with 80K. I'm assuming those reading this can probably guess what's coming soon for the rear diff (currently 15K). In rebuilding the front, I also added 0.5mm washers when attaching the front A-arms to the bullhead, eliminating the front/rear movement the arms previously had. When I get to rebuildable the rear (after redoing the rear diff), I already know I'm be needing to do the same, at both ends of the A-arms.


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[Panther6834]

Today, I finished the repairs , installed the new Pro-Line Adjustable Body Mounts, and cut & aligned the body.
Technically, the body is for the Slash, so I opened the front 'wheel wells' for the shorter wheelbase. All that's left is some new wheels & tires, a good paint job, and some rear GTRs for the rear (the previous Rusty-Frankie configuration was using front shocks on all four corners),

Anyone have ideas/suggestions for a "theme" and/or color combo for the body (at least one shade of blue should be included, but not necessarily 'required')?


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[Steeeve]

I’ve been posting in the Slash4x4 section until now, but my 4.5 year old son got a Rustler 4x4 VXL for Christmas and he’s loving it on 3S! Been learning on my 3S Slash4x4 for the past year, so this was an easy transition for him luckily!

Christmas Day was a thrash around the local gravel car park and skate park, great fun and nothing broken yet, despite sending it 20ft up the ramp!!




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[Simonlebon]

Two months ago my son and his friend (late elementary school aged) said, "we want to build battlebots." My wife and I thought that was too much to take on in the short term, but we wanted to encourage that engineering spirit. Cool, he wants to progress from lego building to something more complicated. After talking it over, my wife's brother raced RC cars when she was growing up and so did my step father, so we both had some previous experience from the outside. And I have always been interested in picking up the hobby whenever my other 10+ hobbies needed another addition.

So we bought his friend a Stampede 4x4 unassembled kit for his birthday a week later and gave him and my son a deadline of Christmas to build it, with some adult help when they get stuck or need advice. They spent 1 or 2 hours two times a week building it. They did well and got it running just before Christmas. So we bought a few more... two Rustler 4x4 VXLs and a Slash 4x4 VXL so that everyone had a car to drive on Christmas morning. SO far everyone is loving it. And now the upgrades start. The techie in me gravitated right to the telemetry side of things. But I have some aluminum parts I have to swap out too. I have also found that the Dusty Motors covers are amazing additions to keeping things clean inside. I'll have to post a pic when we are outside all together again racing them around the neighborhood or at the park. Needless to say... the other kids in the neighborhood look like they want in too. We may have started a neighborhood trend.

[Frankie Figs]

Where do I start....Well, I got my used Rusty ( do we call it a R4sty? ) yesterday afternoon and promptly tore it apart to assess any damage from the previous owner(s).

It's originally a brushed truck and the plastic toe and camber links are bent to heck so I'm going to hit up Jenny's for some VXL take-offs.

The shocks had been leaking for God knows how long and they're mostly empty. I transferred the shocks/springs from the Slash over. They already have STRC caps. I'll order up some GTR's. Thinking of going with XXL's on all 4 since the truck has a bit of a rake.

The steering is a bit jacked up. Not sure if it's just the bent plastic toe links or what. I had to recenter the servo horn ( it's supposed to be straight up when the servo is on center, right? ) because it was pointed at about the 2 o'clock position and adjust the threaded rod between the horn and the bellcranks to make it longer so the wheels were straight when the trim is centered.

It came with a VXL motor and an SCT8 ( like a Max 8 ) ESC. The ESC doesn't have the right connectors for the VXL motor (3.5mm) and it has the wrong battery connector. So I stole the VXL-3S from my Slash and used my VXL 3500 motor since the one that came with the truck has rusty ( no pun intended ) bearings. The 540XL I ordered for my Slash still isn't here so when/if it ever shows up, I'll throw it in the Rusty. Right now, I've got it geared 15/50 since it has the 3.92 axle gears ( VXL is 2.85 ) and I'm running 4.3 SCT tires from my Slash.

Two of the hexes were stripped and those two 2.8 wheels are trashed so I'm running SCT tires and stole the STRC hexes from my Slash. Traxxas 17mm adapters are in the mail and I have some 5" tall tires I'll be using when they arrive.

The body is completely thrashed and that's the last thing I will be replacing. Since everything seems to be good enough, I slapped it together and tossed in a 3S pack. It rips pretty good and the motor stayed cool. Probably helps that it was 41° outside! I had forgotten how much differently a 4wd RC drives cuz I've only been driving 2wd for the last few years. The brakes are FANTASTIC!! I'll be posting more as things get fixed/upgraded

[Frankie Figs]

Update to Beater Bomb. Blew the rear end out. Ordering the VXL ring/pinion gears for the front and rear diffs. The brushed gears aren't strong enough I guess. So the truck sits in pieces right now. I got my 540XL and HW 4S ESC mounted up though!

[Panther6834]

In the R4sty I'm converting (for the second time), I removed the HW electronics (XERUN XR8 SCT ESC & 4100kV motor), and (mostly) installed the new electronics - Castle Mamba Monster X ESC & 1512-2650kV motor.
Also installed was a Ruddog 40mm aluminum HV High-Speed Cooling Fan, attached to a Yeah Racing Aluminum Fan Mount for 1/8 motor, and the Traxxas 6814 center diff (filled with 80K diff fluid), with the case swapped for the HR Machined Aluminum Center Diff Case.
However, until the new STRC Slash Electronics Mounting Plate arrives, the vehicle will be be staying inside.

~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[GTSDart340]

Put a 540XL and a VXL-3S of of a Hoss into my Rustler 4x4... This thing screams on a 14t pinion. I'll keep monitoring the temps, but I may bump it up to a 16t to see how she runs!

Rustler 4x4 VXL

[Panther6834]

Put a 540XL and a VXL-3S of of a Hoss into my Rustler 4x4... This thing screams on a 14t pinion.

Yes, to it does. Until last night. I've been running a 4100kV on stock gearing...and, on 3S, it easily broke 60mph. Once I figure out what the bearing needs to be, will have to find out how it does on a 1/8 2650kV motor (on 3S & 4S).


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[Frankie Figs]

Put a 540XL and a VXL-3S of of a Hoss into my Rustler 4x4... This thing screams on a 14t pinion. I'll keep monitoring the temps, but I may bump it up to a 16t to see how she runs!

Rustler 4x4 VXL

I have mine setup with 20/54 gearing for a starting point. I also have SCT tires so they are a little shorter and lighter. I'll see what happens. I also have an 18T pinion to try as well.

Yes, to it does. Until last night. I've been running a 4100kV on stock gearing...and, on 3S, it easily broke 60mph. Once I figure out what the bearing needs to be, will have to find out how it does on a 1/8 2650kV motor (on 3S & 4S).


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

Your truck is gonna FLY with that 2650! I had an RC8Be with the MMM 2650 system and it was a flat out animal on 4S!

[GTSDart340]

I have mine setup with 20/54 gearing for a starting point. I also have SCT tires so they are a little shorter and lighter. I'll see what happens. I also have an 18T pinion to try as well.



Your truck is gonna FLY with that 2650! I had an RC8Be with the MMM 2650 system and it was a flat out animal on 4S!

I used the stock Hoss settings to start, at it's pretty similar. I ran it pretty hard tonight and the motor was still cool enough to touch. I'm thinking of going to a 17t to see how it acts. I am running the stock Talon tires right now, Sledgehammers are in the future though.

Rustler 4x4 VXL

[Panther6834]

Your truck is gonna FLY with that 2650! I had an RC8Be with the MMM 2650 system and it was a flat out animal on 4S!

Was hoping to find out soon...but, SMC is out of stock on the batteries, so I will have to wait a little longer to find out. With the 4100kV on 14T/54T gearing @ 2S, it was blazing fast...and, on those rare times I ran 3S, it was like a rocket.

With the 2650kV, I'll be starting with 16T/54T...but, I'll also be ordering a 17T & 18T pinion. I'm also considering the possibility of swapping the spur to 52T...possibly even to 50T. Being a much larger motor, at lower kV, it should run considerably cooler...which means I should be able to gear it higher.


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[Trx4newb]

I finished soldering up my new-new 1/8th scale power system with 6.5mm gold bullets. (Do those still kill werewolf?) Lol jk.

Also, my first decent wire tuck! Quite proud, though I'm no pro...just hate dealing with messy garbage wiring jobs (automotive tech for 13-ish yrs) ... Let me know what y'all think! This is the "revival/ resurrection/rebuild of my old 1/8th powered Rustl4r. Call her project "RustBl4r" or "R4stler". Had her neck-snapping-fast before i recently was group bashing by some very high voltage power lines, and the MOMENT i hit full throttle, i lost comms with Rx, not sure why failsafe didnt work, but she was going, god, maybe, 49-62 mph STRAIGHT INTO A PARKING-BLOCK/CURB....im gonna start a (re)build thread ASAP and put pics of the carnage, and the healed wounds.

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[Frankie Figs]

I got Beater Bomb back together with VXL ring/pinions, VXL center shaft, VXL turnbuckles, new drive shafts front and rear, new bearings in the diffs, and some good used bearing at the hubs ( old ones were toast ), new ultra shocks ( Hoss take-offs ), Traxxas 17mm adapters, 540XL, and EZRun 4S capable ESC. Good thing this truck was free lol I threw on some old ( 10 years or so ) white Ofna MT3 wheels with old school Pro Line 30 series Badlands ( not Traxxas style bead ) stretched on them.

Here are the pics I snapped today. The body is BEAT and will be the last thing I replace





Diff pics. The difference between brushed and brushless is HUGE

[Frankie Figs]

I thought I'd snap some more pics of Beater Bomb so we can all see that big block 540XL chilling in there. I changed out the gearing to 18/54 for a start since I upsized the tires. Just need to get my RX ( in the mail ) so I can get out there and test out the 540XL and experience some tire-shredding torque!

[Panther6834]

Good good, and bad, news (why do they almost always seem to come paired together?). After problems with the MMX ESC & 1512-2650kV motor, right out of the box, and having to ship them both to Castle for repair/replacement, both were returned to me approx a week ago. Not that Castle every bothered to tell me what, exactly, the problems were (they're 'fixed', so I guess it doesn't really matter), but they did replace the ESC (whatever the problem(s) was/were, not only are several others having the same problems, but I'm guessing it's not repairable...they're just shipping out brand new replacements). As for the motor, whatever damage was caused by the ESC, this they fixed. As for that good/bad news.....

Good news: After receiving the package a week ago, and it just sitting there, I finally got to test everything (ok, not "everything", but that'll be explained shortly). First, I tested the ESC & motor, without actually installing either in the vehicle. Without a sensor cable (I'll get to this in a minute), everything works perfectly. After installing the motor to the motor plate, estimating the correct position for the pinion (I was off, but by less than 1mm...will adjust later), installing into the vehicle, and getting the mesh just right (on first attempt), I tested everything again (albeit, again, without the sensor cable). With the original ESC, the spur & pinion just "vibrated" (related to whatever the ESC's problem was)...with the new ESC, we have liftoff.

Bad news: Unfortunately, I can't test (yet) with the sensor cable. Why? Because, in shipping the replacement ESC, not only did Castle not remember to remove the sensor cable harness from the defective ESC & return it to me, but they also didn't remember to include a new sensor cable harness. So.......I just called Castle, and they're shipping out a sensor cable harness to me. At least the vehicle is (sorta-kinda) 'operational'.

No worries, tho, as I still have a few other things needing to be done. In the meantime, until the sensor cable harness arrives, I've got a few other vehicles needing my attention...e especially my Class 3 Comp Crawler rig, which I need to make certain is ready for Scale Nationals, which starts two weeks from today. Here's a sneak-peak (pay no attention to the finger holding the ESC in place...lol)


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place



~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[Frankie Figs]

Glad to hear you’re more or less are back on the road!! I too am on the road again! The 540XL should be the standard motor in the 4x4 trucks. It rips very well and stays cool enough. In the summer I may need to gear down a little since it runs right about 145 now and it’s 54 outside. Running 18/54 gearing and 5” tall tires.

I’ve been having an issue with the grub screw that holds the drive hub ( splined thing ) on the slipper shaft coming loose. I lost one last night but I had a spare. I used blue thread locker last night and let it cure overnight. It lasted about 20 mins before it came loose again. Luckily I didn’t lose it. I put red thread locker on it this time and put a piece of heat shrink over it so I don’t lose it if it loosens up again.

I was too lazy to cut the heat shrink because I forgot to grab the scissors lol

[GTSDart340]

Glad to hear you more or less are back on the road!! I too am on the road again! The 540XL should be the standard motor in the 4x4 trucks. It rips very well and stays cool enough. In the summer I may need to gear down a little since it runs right about 145 now and it’s 54 outside.

I’ve been having an issue with the grub screw that holds the drive hub ( splined thing ) on the slipper shaft coming loose. I lost one last night but I had a spare. I used blue thread locker last night and let it cure overnight. It lasted about 20 mins before it came loose again. Luckily I didn’t lose it. I put red thread locker on it this time and put a piece of heat shrink over it so I don’t lose it if it loosens up again.

I agree on the 540XL. The 3500 is a great motor, but it's a bit small for the 4x4 vehicles. The 540 is great!

I just added the Sledgehammer tires on my Rusty. Looks much better, can't wait to try it out!

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[Frankie Figs]

I agree on the 540XL. The 3500 is a great motor, but it's a bit small for the 4x4 vehicles. The 540 is great!

I just added the Sledgehammer tires on my Rusty. Looks much better, can't wait to try it out!

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Looks MUCH better! The 3500 is great in the 2WD trucks and it’s fun on 2S in the 4WD but it’s a little temperamental in the 4WD. The XL is the right choice. Can’t wait to test 4S!

[Frankie Figs]

@gtsdart340 are those Hoss take offs?

I’m wondering if tagging is a thing and I guess I’ll find out lol

Edit: doesn’t appear to work

[GTSDart340]

@gtsdart340 are those Hoss take offs?

I’m wondering if tagging is a thing and I guess I’ll find out lol

Edit: doesn’t appear to work

I'm still around lol, but I didn't think the tags work.

Yes, eBay Hoss takeoffs.

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[Frankie Figs]

I'm still around lol, but I didn't think the tags work.

Yes, eBay Hoss takeoffs.

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I'm thinking I'll go with Maxx take offs since I have 17MM adapters on my truck ( well two are still on it ). Next investment is going to be closed-end wheel nuts so I won't lose the adapter retaining nuts on the left side again. Since we're on that subject, does your Dart still have LH thread lugs on the driver's side?

[GTSDart340]

I'm thinking I'll go with Maxx take offs since I have 17MM adapters on my truck ( well two are still on it ). Next investment is going to be closed-end wheel nuts so I won't lose the adapter retaining nuts on the left side again. Since we're on that subject, does your Dart still have LH thread lugs on the driver's side?

Yeah I thought about going to the 17mm, but I have Tekno axles and didn't want to try and figure out how to use the adapters.

Yes, my Dart still has 10 LH lugs. It's got factory Kelsey Hayes disc brakes too.

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[Frankie Figs]

Yeah I thought about going to the 17mm, but I have Tekno axles and didn't want to try and figure out how to use the adapters.

Yes, my Dart still has 10 LH lugs. It's got factory Kelsey Hayes disc brakes too.

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I went 17mm because I have a few laying around. After today's fiasco, I may just go with Hoss take offs and just alternate when I want to run 17mm wheels. I've honestly never had an issue with the regular 12mm set up

If I could afford an old school Mopar, the lugs would be the first to go!

[GTSDart340]

I went 17mm because I have a few laying around. After today's fiasco, I may just go with Hoss take offs and just alternate when I want to run 17mm wheels. I've honestly never had an issue with the regular 12mm set up

If I could afford an old school Mopar, the lugs would be the first to go!

Nah, I like that it's different! I will never let a shop take the wheels off unless I'm right there watching though! I've managed to get a few spare lug nuts, and I think there's reproduction studs available now.

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[Frankie Figs]

Nah, I like that it's different! I will never let a shop take the wheels off unless I'm right there watching though! I've managed to get a few spare lug nuts, and I think there's reproduction studs available now.

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I'm sure there are repop studs for the hardcore restoration guys. I'd definitely stock up on spares if I was to keep the LH studs. I had a customer ( I work for AutoZone ) with a Valiant and he was looking for LH studs/nuts. I told him we didn't carry them and he lost his mind lol he refused to use RH studs/nuts!

[GTSDart340]

I'm sure there are repop studs for the hardcore restoration guys. I'd definitely stock up on spares if I was to keep the LH studs. I had a customer ( I work for AutoZone ) with a Valiant and he was looking for LH studs/nuts. I told him we didn't carry them and he lost his mind lol he refused to use RH studs/nuts!

I worked for O'Reilly several years ago and found the part number for the LH studs and nuts. I think dorman stopped making them recently though.

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[Frankie Figs]

I worked for O'Reilly several years ago and found the part number for the LH studs and nuts. I think dorman stopped making them recently though.

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That's entirely possible. I'm sure our system just didn't have them listed. I let the black hole of selling parts suck me in. I did 8 years in the stores and I'm coming up on 2 years at the corporate office.

To stay on topic for the thread I'm going to rant a little about our lovely US Postal Service. Two weeks ago we had 10" of snow on the ground. Now they're using that as a crutch to say "deliveries are delayed". I've had a pack of blue shock caps, blue C-hubs, and blue front and rear bearing carriers sitting at a local facility for over a week. In the meantime, USPS has delivered other RC parts and other packages right on time. Obviously, these parts aren't keeping me from driving my truck but it would be nice to have them /rant

[Frankie Figs]

Well...went a little wild over here! I removed the roll cage from the stock body since the body was junk anyways. I had to zip tie the motor wires and battery leads out of harms way ( so they don’t hit the asphalt when I roll it ). I also had to zip tie the front mount to the tower since there’s not a snowballs chance in heck it’ll stay in place while playing. I managed to bend the brand spanking new center driveshaft some how. I didn’t have any rough wrecks or jumps. Who knows. I put the stock plastic one back in. We’ll see how it holds up to the 540XL on 3S. On to the pics.

[VisionSlash42]

Well...went a little wild over here! I removed the roll cage from the stock body since the body was junk anyways. I had to zip tie the motor wires and battery leads out of harms way ( so they don’t hit the asphalt when I roll it ). I also had to zip tie the front mount to the tower since there’s not a snowballs chance in heck it’ll stay in place while playing. I managed to bend the brand spanking new center driveshaft some how. I didn’t have any rough wrecks or jumps. Who knows. I put the stock plastic one back in. We’ll see how it holds up to the 540XL on 3S. On to the pics.

That's funny! Does anyone else look at that and see "Rustler 4x4 Sand Rail"?

[Frankie Figs]

That's funny! Does anyone else look at that and see "Rustler 4x4 Sand Rail"?

That's exactly what I see! More so, a rock bouncer. I'm going to put bigger tires on it, like UDR sized which are about 5.5". The tires on my truck now are 4.4". Heres a rock bouncer. Look up videos on youtube. They're wild!

[Frankie Figs]

Another update. Got some Slash Ultimate take-off blue ano bits! Also picked up some sweet blue shock caps. I need some blue wheel hexes next, already have the Traxxas 17mm kit. I'm going for all Traxxas aluminum hop-ups on this rig. Why not right?

[Balsamic Vin]

i broke it.

[GTSDart340]

Installed a king headz motor mount plate, aluminum slipper clutch adapter, and replaced the velcro battery strap with a nicer one. Also greased all 3 bearings for the diff and put clean grease on the ring and pinion.

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[KennethMiller19]

Not today, but over the weekend: Put a GPM motor fan on her, and tested it out with a few runs on 3s lipos. Motor stayed fairly cool, definetly an improvement. I was worried that the mounts for the fan would slip, but everything held together nicely, even after I rolled a few times. Kind of a pain to put the fan in; not much room in the chassis to work with, but finally found a spot to mount it.

Little known fact:. Slapping your favorite sticker on an RC body DOES make the car faster.