Budget Build ZZMT Crawler

[safetydang]

I bought a ZZMT off ebay and its missing a Dog bone. Im bidding on 2 more ZZMT's in hopes of a parts truck. Anyone have a spare one laying around or should i try to make one out of some kind of clay? Or hardining putty? Maybe cut a paper clip and solder the ends? any ideas? its 3wd and its not great at crawling..

[sidewinder]

I really don't think clay is a good choice. But, if you took some wire ct to lenght, and then smaller lenghts for the cross part, you could use JB Weld Quick to glue it on. I'd do it on wax paper so it doesn't stick to the table. Then you can round the glob of JB with sandpaper after it's dry. I'm thinking that would probably be the easiest way to do it.

[v137a]

I'll check. I've got a truck that I took apart for a project, so I may have one.

[safetydang]

Thanks guys! it would really be helpful if you had one laying around i'd give money paypal for it. I tried the x mod 4x4 conversion Dogbones but they are a little to big. it cost me 17 bucks for that pack.. going to return it.

[v137a]

Looks like I've got one. PM me your address and I'll get it in the mail.

[safetydang]

thank you very much!!

[safetydang]

Photo 5.jpg

Just finished mounting up the tires. Didn't get the dog bone from the guy on here but I won a bid on ebay. Hopping that will work out for me. So far i still need to lower the gears. im using the yellow motor seems to go to fast with the black gear on there. Do all the motors have the same amount of torque? Should i go back to stock green motor?

[safetydang]

My battery is no longer holding a long charge.. run time has been like 5 seconds now.. It was working just find.. If its over charged is that bad?

[redrustbucket]

Might have fried it. Pretty sure you can get the cells from Radio Shack and make a new one.

[safetydang]

Ok fix the battery problem but new problem. Lots of binding in the gears causing them to slip and not move. When i was doing my cutting i cut all the way around threw the part where the driveshaft sits (the grove, which is also where the charger goes) So i had to reglue that on and had it working fine till i put the new Front axle in. Now the thing was binding like crazy with lots of torque twist. i held it up at a certain angle and all 4 wheels move. Wondering if the WB is the problem since i extended it a bit. Thinking i should start fresh with the parts truck i bought since that one was just missing a battery cover and a bolt from one of the tires.

[ibjamn]

To answer the other question, the green is higher in torque.

Another tip for ya; keep an eye out on electronics shops that carry cordless phone replacement batteries. Even the clearance aisle in Wall World...... if you shop there. They may have some clearance prices on some usefull nimh packs. Just look at the Mah ratings, and Voltages, and they can be dismantled to provide new cells.

Oh yeah, BTW. It's looking good.

[safetydang]

Photo 20.jpg

Ok so reduced the gear by following the tutorial. The front steering couldn't handle the bigger tires so i added 1 more MT steering gear to the front and added a MT Drive gear motor as the steering gear. No more bump steering. Found a Match Box body to Mount on there. So far its held on by some tape but I'm going to go to the Home Dept to get a Magnet or something to hold it on there. I want to stretch the WB but last time i did that i had some binding issues. I am having some now so i placed a rubber band around the front to the back to keep the Drive shaft from slipping. Anyone have any tips on how to fix the binding issue. Because if i take the rubber band off i get all the travel with out 4wd since it slips to much. Theres no point for me to do that..

[sidewinder]

Whatever you do don't use a magnet. Electronics don't like magnetic fields...unless they are part of the electronics. Velcro works great for mounting stuff, you can find it with the crack & peel tape backing in any fabrics shop or hardware store. It's cheap, it's easy, and best of all you can change the body quickly.

I can't help with the binding issue, sorry but I have no idea of how to fix it...if Redrustbucket is around he'd be a great source, but there are others here who I'm sure will jump in and help with that.

The truck looks really good btw.

[safetydang]

Whatever you do don't use a magnet. Electronics don't like magnetic fields...unless they are part of the electronics. Velcro works great for mounting stuff, you can find it with the crack & peel tape backing in any fabrics shop or hardware store. It's cheap, it's easy, and best of all you can change the body quickly.

I can't help with the binding issue, sorry but I have no idea of how to fix it...if Redrustbucket is around he'd be a great source, but there are others here who I'm sure will jump in and help with that.

The truck looks really good btw.

Oh thats very good to know. I was reading the treads on the mount (by use of magnet) and it it never said that. But after thinking about it thats right. Ok here is an update

Photo 23.jpg

Photo 21.jpg

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki9ng_fXGxc[/youtube]

So far so good. Body wise looks super good. But i want to get maybe 1 cm of WB added but I sorted out some kinks and its super fun to drive now. Thanks for the tips guys. i'll keep you posted.

[ynad]

Defender looks great!