Big Rock 3S platform - Tool sizes, fluid thickness for reference

[Diggery]

I've seen a few people asking what size things are while I've been doing the research to get my tools and spares sorted, so thought I'd put it in a thread for reference and put the oil weight in too - if you have any corrections, additions or suggestions please jump in!

For reference this is based on my Big Rock Crew Cab v3, I believe this applies to the latest 3s platform including Granite and Typhon.

Hex bolts
2mm
2.5mm
(I nearly bought one of the cool 4 packs of drivers, save money, and/or get better quality singles!)

Added - 1.5mm for wheel hex.

There are some Philips head screws on there and some 5mm nuts but the nuts are captive so no need for a nut driver.

Wheel nuts
7mm hex

Nuts themselves are M4 serrated flanged nyloc nuts so I picked a spare pack up off eBay
For nuts and bolts, I got replacements on eBay for 1/4 the price of the 'official' spares.

Turnbuckles
5mm

Shock Piston Nut
5mm.
Could use turnbuckle tool maybe, the ring end of my 5mm combination wrench will work.

Shock Oil
500cst / 40wt

Diff Oil
10,000

I've picked up 2 & 2.5 hex drivers (all my existing hex keys are T or L), 7mm nut driver for the wheels and I already have a 5mm combination wrench for turnbuckles.
I'll be getting shock and diff oil, as well as lithium grease.
Anything else?!

 

[FlipSide]

It sounds pretty good. I think you have pretty much everything covered. I'm trying to think if there are screws requiring a 1.5mm hex driver on the 3S line and I can't think of any...

For the hex drivers, make sure you don't buy MIP. They are among the best, but they are not long enough to uncrew the driveshafts from the hubs on the 3S line.

You could add some silicon o-ring lubricant to the list. You will need some to coat the o-rings when you rebuild your shocks. Many like to use green slime, but I guess any o-ring lubricant will work.

 

[ErockPzyk]

One small electric drill with clutch. Cause man if you want break alot of stuff down it speeds it up , never use to start of finish tighten unless you know your clutch like your wife .lol

 

[Ginglehopper]

The set screws on the wheel hexs are 1.5mm. I'm not sure if there are any more though.

 

[Diggery]

Just added 5mm nut for the shock pistons to shafts.
Good catch on the hex set screws, I missed those. I have an L hex key that'll be good for those.

I grabbed the power tool bits in 2 and 2.5 as well as I have a nice DeWalt 10.8V compact screwdriver.
Went with EDS drivers as my hobby shop carries spare bits to fit the handles.

I know there's loads more tools like drills, stands, lubes etc - I was just trying to capture parts specs. Maybe this should be in the tools thread.
I see some of the 6s manuals have all the tools listed but the manual for the 3s is very light and missing detail, including tools (and radio end point adjustment, which was a good video to watch).

 

[L3phturn]

One small electric drill with clutch. Cause man if you want break alot of stuff down it speeds it up , never use to start of finish tighten unless you know your clutch like your wife .lol

I wonder what the percentage of the "I stripped the diff case cover screw and need a new diff case - plastic sucks!" posts are really "I used a power drill set to fast and didn't stop in time, stripping the diff case"? Probably a substantial number. Especially when you factor in that it may have done the damage during a previous assembly and weakened it, but it doesn't "strip out" until later or during a bad crash. I'm betting it's a pretty high percentage.

 

[Diggery]

I wonder what the percentage of the "I stripped the diff case cover screw and need a new diff case - plastic sucks!" posts are really "I used a power drill set to fast and didn't stop in time, stripping the diff case"?

Yeah, a lot I reckon! Good for 'rapid' fitting but I always stop short and 'manual' the last bit on feel. Better that than "Tighten 'til it strips, then back it off a 1/4 turn."!

 

[FlipSide]

It's important to be very careful with electric screwdrivers. Double-checking the rotation direction before pulling the trigger is also a good idea.

It doesn't matter how much time you save using electric tools, it will all be lost x1000 if you need to replace a bulkhead because you ruined the threads.

 

[L3phturn]

It's important to be very careful with electric screwdrivers. Double-checking the rotation direction before pulling the trigger is also a good idea.

It doesn't matter how much time you save using electric tools, it will all be lost x1000 if you need to replace a bulkhead because you ruined the threads.

Yep. And I’m not throwing rocks, I know this from making the mistake myself. I thought the drill was on slow and the clutch was loose enough not to strip if it was not. I was incorrect on both counts. Lesson learned. There are plenty of places on the truck I’ll use a drill for the middle part of threading a screw in or out, but the diff housings are not one of them.

 

[ErockPzyk]

I was scared but I have great old 11.1 volt Bosch set and the drill works perfectly on "1 "for clutch lol, was doing beadlocks this weekend and help out alot , of course my cheap hand tools suck. !!@ oh buy decent hand tools it's worth it.

 

[SrC]

I wonder what the percentage of the "I stripped the diff case cover screw and need a new diff case - plastic sucks!" posts are really "I used a power drill set to fast and didn't stop in time, stripping the diff case"? Probably a substantial number. Especially when you factor in that it may have done the damage during a previous assembly and weakened it, but it doesn't "strip out" until later or during a bad crash. I'm betting it's a pretty high percentage.

When using a power driver, it should be no more than 12v ,variable speed, and and absolutely must have clutch. (set to lowest) I never stripped out anything.
12v is just the right speed. Many just use an 18v+ drill. No good. Not considering a clutch and a drills high speed at all. High speed melts the plastic threads and this is truly why they strip out. You cant even tell when this happens unless you touch the screws and feel the heat that occurs.
The clutch at lowest setting will not force anything. But never torque screws with a power driver anyway. All tightening is done by hand. A power driver can save you 1/3 the time when wrenching.

 

[PatMarcus172]

As one of the people Diggery mentioned asking such things, this is an incredibly helpful thread. Thanks everyone.

 

[L3phturn]

When using a power driver, it should be no more than 12v ,variable speed, and and absolutely must have clutch. (set to lowest) I never stripped out anything.
12v is just the right speed. Many just use an 18v+ drill. No good. Not considering a clutch and a drills high speed at all. High speed melts the plastic threads and this is truly why they strip out. You cant even tell when this happens unless you touch the screws and feel the heat that occurs.
The clutch at lowest setting will not force anything. But never torque screws with a power driver anyway. All tightening is done by hand. A power driver can save you 1/3 the time when wrenching.

Great clarification. I hadn't thought about speed, but of course you are right that high speed into plastic would generate a lot of heat very quickly. Thank you for the guidance around choosing lower voltage tools that are safe to use.

Do you have a couple of tools that fit the bill that work well for you? I'm looking for a good tool that meets these requirements. What about "impact" style drivers?

 

[SrC]

I have a very old cheap 4v Clutched, single speed (but very slow ) Ryobi. Probably wont find one now with a clutch. A bit underpowered at 4v. for some M4 screws.
I have not seen the new ones with a clutch lately.
But I use the Milwaukee M 12 volt. variable speed and with a clutch most of the time. Pretty popular with guys on this forum.

Don' make the mistake of using an "impact" driver as a substitute. No good.

 

[Diggery]

I have a twin pack DeWalt 10.8v impact driver and compact screwdriver. The screwdriver has a max torque of 8Nm, the impact delivers over 100Nm!

They are awesome pieces of kit but I wouldn't use one on my RC car. The battery impact drivers I have manage to drive coach bolts into plain timber without a pilot hole!

 

[Ginglehopper]

Oh, and the three screws holding the rear cap on the motor are 1.5mm.

 

[Diggery]

Bumping the old thread with more things I've learnt or picked up as stock and slight tweaks.

Check your turnbuckle lengths from the factory. Mine were some way off. I've just set the camber and toe in and made a big difference! 25-26mm gap on top links gave me 1 degree all round camber.

Changed the drive hex grub screws for slightly longer. M3x3 stock using 1.5mm hex key, M3x4 long will give much more (about 50% more) thread contact and reduce risk of stripping wheel hexes, plus the hex key doesn't have to go so deep (my bit set hex key now works).

Changed body clips to 1/10th scale, far easier than the massive ones it came with.

Ride height spacers on the shocks are thick front, medium rear and the truck sits level and rides high. I went down a size, medium front thin back and the a arms are parallel to the ground, less traction roll. Jack it back up for long grass!