Kraton Tight Steering

[Brker]

As the weather is getting nicer, we've finally been getting our cars out there again. And of course I broke it.

Had thought the servo went bad, so i replaced it with a Savox yesterday but the steering is so tight, neither the old servo nor the new one can turn the wheels. What can cause the steering column to stay so tight? I feel like something is bent preventing easy turning. Any ideas? Also, looks like I need a spacer between the HR arm, recommendations?

Edit: I may simply replace the entire steering assembly. Where to buy?

 

[helizrnew2me]

got to be the servo saver ,same thing happened to my outcast .the top screw got tight .all i had to do was loosen it up a little .try loosening the screw circled in white in this picture .

 

[bennyly]

As the weather is getting nicer, we've finally been getting our cars out there again. And of course I broke it.

Had thought the servo went bad, so i replaced it with a Savox yesterday but the steering is so tight, neither the old servo nor the new one can turn the wheels. What can cause the steering column to stay so tight? I feel like something is bent preventing easy turning. Any ideas? Also, looks like I need a spacer between the HR arm, recommendations?

Edit: I may simply replace the entire steering assembly. Where to buy?

View attachment 15828

View attachment 15829

yes will definitely need a spacer for the HR arm. As for the steering, check the screw mentioned in above post and also check servo saver adjusting nut.

 

[nulli]

Steering plate might have bent too much.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

Check the pillow balls too - if they are too tight, nothing will move the front wheels. But the suspension won't work either.

 

[Brker]

I've taken the front end apart - almost everything. And it appears that sand is everywhere; I've been using it at the beach. I removed almost everything and attached the servo again, its moves the steering arms flawlessly back and forth. SO i think its just sand/dirt in some of the ball joints as mentioned.I'll put it back together tomorrow and see how it goes.

What spacer should i purchase, any recommendation?

Thanks again for all the replies.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

For spacers, grab a pack of flat washers from Home Depot. Stack a few to fill the gap.

 

[dpricenator]

I was going to say the pillow balls. I always spray some graphite in there when I tighten them down. I go all the way tight, and then back off about 1/4 turn. And if you want to upgrade something in there, try the hot racing bell crank assembly. but you need graphite on the servo save cams.

 

[nulli]

With the servo unattached it's good to see if there's any binding in the steering system by going through the whole shock shaft range while turning by hand. Also won't hurt to check that the front drivetrain doesn't bind either using the same method.

 

[Brker]

Ok, by trial and error I figured it out. If I screw the red nuts that go against the pillow balls, I cannot move the wheels back and forth by hand (never mind trying to move them using the servo). The solution is to not tighten them all the way (check out where they yellow arrow points too in the photo, you can see i didnt tighten all the way). I have to replace the rubber inside that nut - what is the part # or what is it called?

Also, I added 1 washer as a spacer (pic 2). I couldn't add more washers because the screw isn't long enough. But this is working well enough. Thank you

 

[Jerry-rigged]

yes, for those red pillow ball caps, I will snug them down, then slowly back off till I can feel a tiny bit of play in the pillow ball, then go about a 1/8 turn tight. Or close to that, you just need to play it by feel.

 

[RCROD]

Ok, by trial and error I figured it out. If I screw the red nuts that go against the pillow balls, I cannot move the wheels back and forth by hand (never mind trying to move them using the servo). The solution is to not tighten them all the way (check out where they yellow arrow points too in the photo, you can see i didnt tighten all the way). I have to replace the rubber inside that nut - what is the part # or what is it called?

Also, I added 1 washer as a spacer (pic 2). I couldn't add more washers because the screw isn't long enough. But this is working well enough. Thank you

I also had some front end problems, including tight steering and suspension that was very squeaky, and this was after only 5 runs. I wasn't sure if I bent something, or maybe my servo saver tightened up. I took everything apart and also found the red pillow ball caps were too tight. I removed both front steering turnbuckles, then removed all 4 pillow balls, and polished my balls on both sides. Ooops, I was going to keep that part hidden. It took me about 3-4 times tightening, then loosening each pillow ball cap only 1/16-1/8" each time, before I was confident they were just right. It takes a small turn of only 1/16-1/8" before they become too tight. TIP: By removing both the steering turnbuckles makes it very easy to see how free moving the steering blocks are when tightening the red caps. I also had both red caps loosened a bit before tightening one down at a time to ensure the steering blocks turned freely without any binding.

SIDE NOTE: The pillow balls weighed 15.0g each, so 60g for all four. Titanium pillow balls, where are you?

My camber was out on the right side, and I did not have any Arrma suspension arm spacers, so I added a 6x14x1.2mm washer (6x12 would have been better) while I had the upper pillowball out. Camber is now good, but this is a just a temporary camber fix until I get some composite suspension arm spacers, as the washer I used weighs a massive 1.1g, compared to 2 plastic spacers that weigh only .2g. Aluminum spacers would also be a good option.

Brkr in your picture, it looks like your red caps are possibly too loose. Make sure the inside black pillow ball cups are seated into the pillow balls before tightening down the red caps, or they will not go in all the way and become tight before the red caps are threaded in enough.

Before the above, I took apart my V3 Kraton rear end and removed the lower suspension arm hinge pins, since I also had a lot of rear suspension noises (squeaking, etc), hoping this was the problem. I was shocked at what I saw, as it looked like I had been running my Kraton through saltwater. The hinge pins were extremely "rusty", and surprisingly, after ONLY 5 runs?

Although I have some spare lower hinge pins, I wanted to save them for when I actually bend one, not change every few runs due to rust. After cleaning up the extremely rusty hinge pins (using 800, then 2000 grit + Autosol biker cream), with some elbow grease, they were good again. I did put a small coating of water resistant white trailer wheel grease on before re-installing, to hopefully prevent them from rusting so quickly again. I also did the front lower hinge pins and they were definitely not as bad, but also starting to rust a bit. Hinge pins I've had had on other RC's don't seem to rust like this, and they've seen lot's of snow. Not sure if the Arrma hinge pins are just really poor quality material, (recycled beer cans?), as I even tried to avoid most of the extremely wet areas while driving. However, I do like the aluminum inserts that Arrma designed into the composite rear suspension braces though. This adds strength, without adding a lot of weight.

Anyways, here' s some pics before & after cleaning the pins. You can easily see how bad the hinge pins were after only 5 runs? Everything is now nice and smooth again.



Anybody else experience the lower hinge pins rusting so quickly?

 

[dpricenator]

I was going to say the pillow balls. I always spray some graphite in there when I tighten them down. I go all the way tight, and then back off about 1/4 turn. And if you want to upgrade something in there, try the hot racing bell crank assembly. but you need graphite on the servo save cams.

Ok, by trial and error I figured it out. If I screw the red nuts that go against the pillow balls, I cannot move the wheels back and forth by hand (never mind trying to move them using the servo). The solution is to not tighten them all the way (check out where they yellow arrow points too in the photo, you can see i didnt tighten all the way). I have to replace the rubber inside that nut - what is the part # or what is it called?

Also, I added 1 washer as a spacer (pic 2). I couldn't add more washers because the screw isn't long enough. But this is working well enough. Thank you

Heck yeah! Glad you found it.

On another note, I'm getting better at diagnosing RC car troubles. Holiday Inn Express is paying off.

 

[RCROD]

brker. The black plastic part inside the red caps that the pillow balls seat into which I believe you are looking for is, are sometimes called; pillow ball cup inserts, pivot ball knuckle washers, or pivot ball cup bushings. However, Arrma calls them "Steering Linkage Spacers"? I don't think you can buy these separately from Arrma, and have to buy their Composite Front Steering Blocks (part # AR330187.) Here's the link for the part you need: https://www.arrma-rc.com/part/AR330187.
Another option is JennysRC. You get the steering blocks, pillow ball "cups" (Arrma's steering linkage spacers), aluminum red caps, bearings and pivot balls, plus you get the rear hubs, bearings, etc. Great for spares and good prices also.

dpricenator. Do you mean you sprayed graphite inside your pillow ball cups? I wanted to also do the same, but wasn't sure if this would attract way too much dirt, etc. I gathered any lube would be exposed constantly every time the pillow balls pivot in the cups, especially when the steering is turned all the way?

 

[Jerry-rigged]

The great thing about graphite is that it is dry, so it won't attract dirt like a wet lube would.

 

[RCROD]

The great thing about graphite is that it is dry, so it won't attract dirt like a wet lube would.

That's good to know. Since we drive these Arrma's through some very dirty and muddy areas, I thought putting "anything" in there at all would unfortunately have some sort of negative effect, as I would think this would attract "some more" dirt, due to this area being exposed constantly.

 

[dpricenator]

The great thing about graphite is that it is dry, so it won't attract dirt like a wet lube would.

Exactly

There are other dry lubes that come in spray cans but I just got a couple tubes of the white graphite powder.

Also, if you get the HOt Racing Derlin Hub Caps, there is a replacement for that Black part you are missing. They are made of derlin and are white. The Delin is CNC cut, and offers less friction than the standard black plastic part. for $9 it's a solid upgrade from the stock.

http://hot-racing.com/?partnumber=AON21N02;c=926

Hot Racing heavy duty aluminum hub nuts (pillow block bushings) with Delrin pivot ball cups for the 1/8 Arrma Kraton BLX, Outcast BLX, Senton BLX, Talion BLX, and Typhon BLX. See vehicle model compatibility in comments below.
FEATURES:
- CNC machined aluminum, anodized red
- Delrin pivot cups for durable and smooth operation
- Integrated o-rings capture hub nut to to steering block to prevent inadvertent movement
YOU WILL RECEIVE:
- Four (4) aluminum hub nuts
REQUIREMENTS:
- Installation
SPECIFICATIONS:
- O-ring: 8.5x1.8mm
COMMENTS:
- Fits the stock Arrma AR330403 steering blocks as well as the Hot Racing AON21M01 and AON21MA01 steering blocks
- Replaces Arrma AR330196 aluminum hub nuts
- Known to fit the following Arrma vehicle numbers. Please check your vehicle's literature for the vehicle number. If a vehicle is marked as "optional", this indicates that the part and/or vehicle may require modification for proper fit.
- Kraton: AR106005, AR106015, AR106018, AR106029, AR106031
- Outcast: AR106021, AR106027, AR106032, AR106033
- Senton: AR106007, AR102654, AR102673
- Talion: AR106003, AR106014, AR106030
- Typhon: AR106001, AR106013, AR106028

 

[Jerry-rigged]

Years ago, I did use graphite, but got tired of how messy it is. Currently I use a "Dry" bike chain lube -
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Finish-Lin...rvr_id=1451591161215&;toolid=10001&rmvSB=true
Goes on wet, but the carrier quickly evaporates, leaving the Teflon behind. There is also a version that uses wax or a wax Teflon blend. Works, and is a lot less messy than the powered graphite.

 

[RCROD]

I forgot about Hot Racing. Their parts are good, although their customer service is not. Although Arrma already includes "aluminum" caps, it maybe worthwhile to maybe buy the Hot Racing HD aluminum hub nuts (pillow block bushings) just for the Delrin pivot cup inserts, as these would last longer, and be smoother. Furthermore, these have integrated o-rings and it looks like the HR caps may have cut out holes to lighten them? Has anyone weighed the HR caps, as definitely worthwhile if they are also lighter than the stock Arrma red caps?

I still wonder about putting any lube in the pivot ball cup inserts (due to their constant exposure), as any type of lube (even if dry lube) will probably attract more dirt? FYG, I have used dry lube on my MTB chain before, and it does attract some dirt?

 

[Jerry-rigged]

The Dry lube didn't attract dirt to you MB chain, the dirt came just because it was a MB. Heck, even my road bike attracts dirt. I clean it up, go for a ride on dry clean roads, and come back with a dirty bike. WTH? LOL