Kraton New person looking for advice...

[nino]

Good choice, short chassis, short arms, small wheels = less trouble

 

[Kavik Kang]

The needle nose pliers weren't working for me, I was worried I would break the car or body. Those pins are NEVER coming out of there, and on this car if they do they are tied too the body. I took a large flathead screwdriver and pried all four of them open. Before the metal was touching, now they all have a good 2 or 3mm gap... oh man does that ever make life easier, and I still don't see how they could ever just come out on their own.

 

[DetroitSlim]

Good choice, short chassis, short arms, small wheels = less trouble

Sounds like a woman I yousta know!

 

[Kavik Kang]

Well... I've run into my first problem. It started making a clicking sound, like a stick was caught in it which has happened a couple times. But it isn't a stick. The back wheels are either not turning or barely turning, the clicking is coming from the back. The front still works perfectly. I'm guessing that I broke a gear that drives the back wheels. It just started doing this, there was no flip or crash or anything. I've mostly been doing donuts and wheelies and going over rough terrain, it made sense too me right away that I might have broken what is probably a plastic gear.

Does this sound like a broken gear or something else? I am just guessing.

 

[bicketybam]

Well... I've run into my first problem. It started making a clicking sound, like a stick was caught in it which has happened a couple times. But it isn't a stick. The back wheels are either not turning or barely turning, the clicking is coming from the back. The front still works perfectly. I'm guessing that I broke a gear that drives the back wheels. It just started doing this, there was no flip or crash or anything. I've mostly been doing donuts and wheelies and going over rough terrain, it made sense too me right away that I might have broken what is probably a plastic gear.

Does this sound like a broken gear or something else? I am just guessing.

Sounds like the ring gear and or input gears. Only way to know for sure is to pull it out and inspect.

 

[Kavik Kang]

Thanks. Stuck out in the middle of nowhere I have plenty of time to get around too that. I will be in the city at the beginning of August, I'll just get parts at an RC hobby store while I am there so I don't have to pay the shipping and wait a week anyway. Everything on the outside is fine and it just made sense immediately too me... plastic gears... I was being so careful not to flip it or hit anything, I only flipped it lightly once over 4 times in 5.5 runs, I never even thought about it having plastic gears and all the spinning and donuts and power moves I started doing ones I figured out how. I wouldn't have done that if I had thought about the plastic gears, so it's my fault. I did like 3 runs worth of power slides, donuts, and wheelies not thinking about plastic gears not taking that for long... so it's my own fault for having too much fun when I was wanting to make at least close to the beginning of August before wearing something out. I have the car now and I love it, I knew if something broke it would be down until August.

 

[bicketybam]

Thanks. Stuck out in the middle of nowhere I have plenty of time to get around too that. I will be in the city at the beginning of August, I'll just get parts at an RC hobby store while I am there so I don't have to pay the shipping and wait a week anyway. Everything on the outside is fine and it just made sense immediately too me... plastic gears... I was being so careful not to flip it or hit anything, I only flipped it lightly once over 4 times in 5.5 runs, I never even thought about it having plastic gears and all the spinning and donuts and power moves I started doing ones I figured out how. I wouldn't have done that if I had thought about the plastic gears, so it's my fault. I did like 3 runs worth of power slides, donuts, and wheelies not thinking about plastic gears not taking that for long... so it's my own fault for having too much fun when I was wanting to make at least close to the beginning of August before wearing something out. I have the car now and I love it, I knew if something broke it would be down until August.

The teeth on those gears are pretty beefy. It takes some doing to get them to chip. At least with the 3s trucks. Sorry to hear about your problem ?

 

[Kavik Kang]

It looks like this is about the biggest job that could have happened. I have to take the entire back of the car apart for this, don't I? There won't be any videos or anything for this car yet, is there an Arrma car with a similar design for the back I could watch that would make it easier to figure out what order to take things off in and stuff like that. Right away looking at it, I have no idea how the axels might come out. I'm going to have to just figure out as I go, but I could see that they are simple designs. I was assuming they were weak plastic gears and that's how I broke them. I guess you can't do the kinds of things I was doing with these cars without breaking the gears

 

[jondilly1974]

 

[Kavik Kang]

Oh, cool, thank you for that! I understood going into it that keeping the car going is half the fun, it's just very inconvenient for me for these next few months trapped in the middle of nowhere. In a way it is a good thing something so deep into the car went wrong, I'll learn how to take the whole back of the car apart right away.

EDIT: After watching the video... that's awesome! I guess I don't have to take the whole back of the car apart. I had already noticed the tab that said "pull" and saw how it notches into the transmission... now I understand what that is. That's so easy!

 

[jondilly1974]

Oh, cool, thank you for that! I understood going into it that keeping the car going is half the fun, it's just very inconvenient for me for these next few months trapped in the middle of nowhere. In a way it is a good thing something so deep into the car went wrong, I'll learn how to take the whole back of the car apart right away.

You can buy parts online and have them shipped to you?

 

[crimsonfancy]

It should be noted that the first time removing the motor module can be frustrating. Allow time and patience and it will slide forward.
When I slid it back in, i applied a small amount of lithium grease and now it's much easier.

 

[Kavik Kang]

You can buy parts online and have them shipped to you?

I could in theory, but I don't have much money and it would cost me $10 shipping to have them send me $10 is parts. I knew if it broke I'd wait until I went to Denver in August to get parts to fix it, I was hoping it would last longer but I'm pretty sure this was my fault. I meant to drive it lightly to keep it going since getting parts would be hard here, but was only thinking about crashes, cartwheels, and flips. Sliding around, doing wheelies and donuts, is all easy so once I figure that out I put it through like 3 battery charges in a row of hugely straining the rear tires. As soon as I heard that clicking I realized that I had been going way overboard on what are probably plastic gears. So I blame myself for not thinking and remembering that I would have rather had it to putt around in and just learn control then doing all that stuff I started doing as soon as I could. Now I know that if you want to do that stuff a lot you need spare rear gears standing by and be willing to spend them, haha.

 

[bicketybam]

This is all starting to make sense....

 

[Kavik Kang]

That's very strange that you chose that, haha. I am stuck out at my father's retirement ranch in Walesenburg, CO this summer. He died in January. Before he moved to the ranch here he lived in Estes Park, CO for a few years and you could see that hotel from his window there. So you are actually close, haha!!!
Where I am now is far more remote than Estes Park, haha!
Even Walsenburg is actually 20 miles away...

 

[bicketybam]

Stay away from those twin girls. The bartender isn't so nice either ?

 

[Kavik Kang]

Haha...

Assuming it is the gears, which I am pretty sure it is, are the parts all I need or is there some type of differential grease that I will also need? I don't have any of those kinds of things yet.

There were some other things I was planning on getting at the RC store in August when I went to Denver like a hand held wheel balancer, camber and toe gauges, and a few things like that. I will also eventually need shock oil... with the price of the parts I'm not far away from free shipping from Horizon Hobby. So if I can work this up to $99 of things I definitely need, I'll take the car apart and confirm which parts I need and just have it shipped. So do I need some type of differential grease to do this... that would be one more thing for the list.

 

[Jimbobjr]

Stay away from those twin girls. The bartender isn't so nice either ?

 

[jondilly1974]

Haha...

Assuming it is the gears, which I am pretty sure it is, are the parts all I need or is there some type of differential grease that I will also need? I don't have any of those kinds of things yet.

There were some other things I was planning on getting at the RC store in August when I went to Denver like a hand held wheel balancer, camber and toe gauges, and a few things like that. I will also eventually need shock oil... with the price of the parts I'm not far away from free shipping from Horizon Hobby. So if I can work this up to $99 of things I definitely need, I'll take the car apart and confirm which parts I need and just have it shipped. So do I need some type of differential grease to do this... that would be one more thing for the list.

Yes you will need diff fluid. The Kraton 4S uses 6000cSt silicone diff fluid, per the Arrma specs. You can choose a different weight if you choose, or stay with the stock weight. Up to your preference.

The other items you are thinking of, the whee balancer and tie/camber gauges, I’m not sure if you REALLY need those ??‍? I would spend my money on fluids and spare diffs, a-arms, shock caps, wheels/tires, etc. That list would easily be over $99.

 

[Kavik Kang]

I am going to take it apart later today and confirm that it is one or both of those gears, then probably just do a $100 order on things I was planning to get in August anyway. I want the wheel balancer and toe & camber gauges because that is part of the fun of this for me, or will be once I have the tools and stuff for it over time, is setting up the car perfectly. I am also thinking that the tires being out of balance might have contributed to stripping these gears. I vented the tires and put tape over the holes, and that tape probably threw them off balance.

So... do these gears strip fairly regularly? Do other gears go bad fairly regularly? I don't really want to order expensive A Arms unless I actually break one, and the way I am driving I am more likely to strip gears and cause wear and tear damage than actually break things. What parts are most likely to give out, or give out regularly, like certain gears, etc. I am already half way to $99 with the gears and other stuff I already want, so another $50 worth of spare parts that are known to commonly wear out would be a smart thing to get.

So far I am getting the gears, differential oil, wheel balancer, toe & camber guages, and shock oil (because I am sure I will eventually need it). Is there anything else, like the shock oil, that I don't need now but definitely need to have if I am going to be into this, or parts that are very likely to wear out like certain gears, etc.

Remember, this is my first car so I don't have anything other than the car, batteries, and charger. So any critical tools or things like wheel balancers, etc, are all things I'll be wanting for the future.