My Senton 3S BLX is constantly getting gravel in steering

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hellofromsweden

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Arrma RC's
  1. Senton 6s
Hello fellas and greetings from Sweden!

---Not sure where to put this thread, feel free to move it if its in the wrong place!---
After long and thurough research i got myself a Senton 3s BLX. haven't had a car for 15+ years or so, was driving nitro back in Kyoshos glorydays.
So far i've had two runs with it, massive fun and im quite content with the overall construction of it. Except for one thing that keeps giving me problems:
i keep getting small stones and gravel into the servo rods(unsure of the proper technical terminology in english), but the small space under and around where the actual rod from the servo connects with the steering. If im turning and burning gravel, they keep ending up in there which makes the servo unable to move because the gravel blocks the rod/arm from moving in the way it's supposed to. And im thinking that i can't be the only one blasting on soccerfields with gravel etc?

SO: im calling for the Arrma think tank to hopefully assist with some advice and tips to this problem. Also, do anyone know of a service/after running-guide (what to wash, brush, oil and so on after a real messy bashing)?

Cheers!
 
Have the same problem with my Senton. I moved on to a Granite for this reasons and others.
 
Can you post a picture of the area in question? Hopefully there's a simple solution to seal this area off from catching debris
 
Can you post a picture of the area in question? Hopefully there's a simple solution to seal this area off from catching debris

Sure! Pictures in order as follows: bottomchassi, right turn, left turn and front. As you can imagine theres plenty of ways some gravel can get in and reek havoc infront of the servo.
 

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How much can this hole be closed up and still allow full range of motion?

IMG_8364.jpg

You can cover the bottom ^ hole (under the one circled in the picture) from the inside the chassis with gorilla tape
 
Looking closer at the pictures it appears that the hole is already as small as you can get it without interfering with the servo arm. It's closed off pretty well for right turns but opens up wide on left turns, which is probably where most of the gravel is making entry

there needs to be some sort of shroud there blocking off debris while still allowing the servo full range of motion....maybe a small scrap piece of polypropylene or a Dust Motors cover that will fit 1/10 scale
http://www.dustymotors.com/
 
Looking closer at the pictures it appears that the hole is already as small as you can get it without interfering with the servo arm. It's closed off pretty well for right turns but opens up wide on left turns, which is probably where most of the gravel is making entry

there needs to be some sort of shroud there blocking off debris while still allowing the servo full range of motion....maybe a small scrap piece of polypropylene or a Dust Motors cover that will fit 1/10 scale
http://www.dustymotors.com/

Yes exactly, theres a few mm of wiggleroom but basically its as small as it gets. I don't know what they were thinking. Or is it not a car made for sand and dirt? :)
Im thinking if i can fill upp all the free space where the gravel sticks... with something. I wont be able to keep everything out either way i go about it...
Thanks for your thoughts!
 
For a cheap easy fix, I used some leftover screen material for a window or screen door, some hot glue, and some relief cuts to block problem areas like that. Works pretty good, but it only lasts so long before it falls off or tears. I will say, with the granite, it seems like I get more rocks inside from the tires kicking debris up into the body and then down into the chassis than through the small holes. I tried some screen inner fender wells which worked better, but still failed early.
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I started making some from kydex, but never finished due solely to pure and utter laziness and beer...
 
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i recently purchased a granite 4x4 blx3s and a 2018 kraton v3 (which ive yet to run it) but last few runs with granite has been at the gravel pits and i been getting stones and such up in the servo arm area as well, and even worse...small stones and dirt been getting into my spur gear from the small gap in between the chassis and its been chewing up my spur gear a little bit at a time. i have to remove the power module and take a wire brush to the spur gear cuz theres dirt and small stone particals embeded in the spur rear. i love my granite i truely do and im super impressed with arrma products....i think im gonna invest in a chassis cover or something of the sort
 
i recently purchased a granite 4x4 blx3s and a 2018 kraton v3 (which ive yet to run it) but last few runs with granite has been at the gravel pits and i been getting stones and such up in the servo arm area as well, and even worse...small stones and dirt been getting into my spur gear from the small gap in between the chassis and its been chewing up my spur gear a little bit at a time. i have to remove the power module and take a wire brush to the spur gear cuz theres dirt and small stone particals embeded in the spur rear. i love my granite i truely do and im super impressed with arrma products....i think im gonna invest in a chassis cover or something of the sort
You can remove the power module and cut out (or drill a hole in) the chassis right under the spur gear. There was an indent on my mega chassis right there which made it easy to do. It'll give all the small stuff a way out.
 
Been having the same problems with my boy's Senton. I picked a good size rock out of that area while doing my brushless conversion. He said not only is it a lot faster it steers so much better. I too was going to go with putting a screen on the bottom side as well. If anyone has a better solution, please post. Thank you
 
https://tboneracing.net/products/dusty-motors-universal-shroud-dust-cover-pick-a-size

These strike up a curiosity, but I've never heard anything (good or bad) about them. I don't get into gravel enough to have too many issues. I really thing the rocks bounce off the inside of the body and sneak into the chassis, which this would likely resolve. Anyone out there have any experience with these? Or does everyone just use pantyhose?
 
Do you know of a make-it-yourself-guide to a pantyhose dustcover? :)
That cover would probably solve it once and for all. Im gonna try to make something like yours Jeremy before i go off and buy something for an additional 32 dollars... almost that i consider writing to ARRMA customer service demanding they send me a cover. I mean it took me like 4 minutes of driving on a normal asphalt street before it happened. Jason, what you're saying about the spur gear is defintely something to keep an extra eye on...
 
Do you know of a make-it-yourself-guide to a pantyhose dustcover? :)
That cover would probably solve it once and for all. Im gonna try to make something like yours Jeremy before i go off and buy something for an additional 32 dollars... almost that i consider writing to ARRMA customer service demanding they send me a cover. I mean it took me like 4 minutes of driving on a normal asphalt street before it happened. Jason, what you're saying about the spur gear is defintely something to keep an extra eye on...
I've never tried, but I imagine a section of pantyhose open on both ends slid over the chassis and choked off on either end inside the front and rear diffs. I chose to use screen since I had a problem with walking into the store and asking where there pantyhose are...
 
I have same problem but haven't really worried about it just quit driving in gravel but I am going to try and think of something
 
Very easy to solve this problem! :)
You can cut a piece of plastic and fix it with velcro. :cool:

Me, I put only a piece of foam and roll in the gravel. This prevents small rocks from entering or the servo arm. (y)

The problem I had with the Senton BLX ...
It's the engine. I broke (2 ESC BLX 100) before noticing that the engine was causing the loss of my ESC.
I replaced it and now it works really well. (y)
Yvan :cool:
 

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do you know what was the cause of your motor that was causing the blx100 to go out?
 
Someone needs to try those Dust covers for the Slash and see if it fits.
i was at my local hobby shop and they have the univeral dusty motor dust covers for chassis. the size i opened up and looked at and streached it over my granite was the small/meduim+ size. don't really understand there size units but thats what it said on the top of the circuilar package it was in. thats the size
 
Very easy to solve this problem! :)
You can cut a piece of plastic and fix it with velcro. :cool:

Me, I put only a piece of foam and roll in the gravel. This prevents small rocks from entering or the servo arm. (y)

The problem I had with the Senton BLX ...
It's the engine. I broke (2 ESC BLX 100) before noticing that the engine was causing the loss of my ESC.
I replaced it and now it works really well. (y)
Yvan :cool:
Ahhh! Best idea so far! Im building on that idea and thinking of a exactly measured piece of styrofoam, with a small gap just enough for the servoarm to move around. Would be a two part operation, one bottom piece and one top. Looks great in theory... in my mind that is :)

do you know what was the cause of your motor that was causing the blx100 to go out?
+1

i was at my local hobby shop and they have the univeral dusty motor dust covers for chassis. the size i opened up and looked at and streached it over my granite was the small/meduim+ size. don't really understand there size units but thats what it said on the top of the circuilar package it was in. thats the size
I found this at an swedish onlineshop: Arrma senton 1/10 short course shroud cover
Doesn't say what it measures tho. Backup if my styrofoam construction fails.
 
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