Losi LMT Parts

[LipoShirly]

Has anyone tried one of these axel housings off of Amazon for the LMT ?
Amazon Axel Housing

I've busted the front one twice in the last month from bad landings, just wondering if this Amazon one is more for being pretty or is it going to last a little longer?

 

[Hammer Down]

Been curious myself as to the quality of those axle housings. I have the Treal’s on one rig but was considering trying those on my other truck. Maybe just buy one and give it hell before buying the other.

 

[Johnboy5586]

When it comes to LMT's treal seems to be king in durability

 

[LipoShirly]

This time the screws just pulled out of the housing... the last time it broke the front half of the housing and stripped the back half. So I'll be into it for $44 by simply buying the Losi parts...

 

[Johnboy5586]

This time the screws just pulled out of the housing... the last time it broke the front half of the housing and stripped the back half. So I'll be into it for $44 by simply buying the Losi parts...


View attachment 355900

My LMT mini did the same thing. Then the next time it broke it off the other side of the axle. So I went full treal on the mini

 

[LipoShirly]

Maybe just buy one and give it hell before buying the other.

Just placed the order. Not sure why, but my price was only $54 today ??? If your interested in trying one, now may be the time to buy it

 

[Johnboy5586]

For a full size lmt or the mini?

 

[LipoShirly]

For a full size lmt or the mini?

For the LMT, 1/8 scale. This is only for the orange , the black($88), white($99) and titanium($88) are more expensive

 

[Johnboy5586]

Dang that's crazy, I have a king sling and a bog hog but both are factory drivetrains and all, I don't really beat them like I do the mini or the outcast lol

 

[LipoShirly]

The video is from the first time I broke it, probably in the 60's that day, ran threw 2 packs before snapping that front axel housing on a crooked landing The most recent was last night, truck sat in the garage while we took a break for dinner, low 40s when I was planning on 1 quick backflip.... those minis ( I have a grom) are tough as heck

Grave Digger Launch

 

[Johnboy5586]

The video is from the first time I broke it, probably in the 60's that day, ran threw 2 packs before snapping that front axel housing on a crooked landing The most recent was last night, truck sat in the garage while we took a break for dinner, low 40s when I was planning on 1 quick backflip.... those minis ( I have a grom) are tough as heck

Grave Digger Launch

Yea they say the gen 1 and gen 2 housings on those trucks aren't the strongest by any means. And the gen 3's are better but no where near treal durability. Here's my mini grave digger, the house basher

 

[LipoShirly]

In case anyone is still looking at these , got mine installed, here's some thoughts ......

First of all I didn't think to check AliExpress, they are available there in the $35 to $100 range.
AliExpress LMT

I ordered mine from Amazon this time because I could have sent it back if it was junk.

First Problem: Attaching the spindle carrier to the axel housing. Each spindle carrier is mounted with four 2.5mm x 15mm screws (don't try and buy these from HH by the way, the P/N seems to be something of a mystery. The exploded view on-line is grayed out and the printed manual lists 2 different numbers, LOS255026 and LOS255027, neither of which produce any correct google results.)
Anyway, back to the axel housing, the screws for the spindle carriers would go in about half way and bind up, tried adding lubricant but didn't help. My first thought was that when they did the anodizing that it must have clogged up the threads somehow, so I bought a 2.5mm bottoming tap from McMaster thinking I would just chase the threads clean. I bought a cheap, old fashioned 4 flute tap thinking I was just having to get through the coating , wrong, each hole required multiple in-out, cleaning out actual chips each time, its like the holes were tapped the wrong size ??? but with the correct threads per mm ??? It was also hit or miss how far each hole was originally tapped, I could have used shorter screws but I wanted to use the originals (plus didn't have any shorter) . Spent a while gently tapping these holes...

Second problem: Inserting the diff into the axel housing. The small section of the housing that holds the diff pinion and diff was perfect. I didn't want to mess with the shims and was really happy when it slipped in snug and meshed nicely with pinion.

The problem was with the other side of the housing. When trying to fit the diff into the other side it simply would not go in. I considered removing the factory shims from the diff , but that would then make the fit on the other piece sloppy. So someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but after staring at this for quite a while, and studying the original Losi housing, it looks to me that housing with the diff pinion is what keeps the diff from moving laterally (along the same line as the axel) and that the other side of the housing keeps the diff from moving forward and back (along the line of the diff pinion) but not laterally, there can be room between bearing edges and mount.

So here is the problem with the larger housing.

My exaggerated lines show the shape of the side walls, but they definitely were not flat. You can see the tool marks on the rest of the piece and how it was machined, but this area looked like someone carved it out with a Dremel.

I considered simply using a file or going in with a Dremel and finishing the job, because I don't believe those side walls are critical, only the radius of where the bearing sits. Decided that it would look terrible, so put it on a Bridgeport and machined it flat.

Feel free to critique my machinist skills... I probably went too fast and in the wrong direction (started in the middle) and as you can see I can never remember the direction of the table crank.... I took off 0.020 from each side, and the diff just dropped right in..

From this point on the install went fine, everything lined up and fell into place.

In the end I'm happy with the results. I went with the aluminum housing for durability, not for looks. This orange was the cheapest at Amazon and I thought it would look kinda cool, I may have to spray it black someday.... If your into a more realistic look then I don't think this axel works... just looking at it from the front it has a weird vibe to it, maybe its the orange.... next step is try and break it.