cavalier 0 Posted September 29, 2022 Hey, I'm new to the club but a long time Tamiya enthusiast. Currently in the middle of an FF01 rebuild and noticed my front shock tower is crack on the screw hole the fixes the top of the dampers in place. Been searching for a while and can't find a replacement anywhere. Did anyone ever make aluminium/carbon upgrades for this part and rear? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OldSchoolRC1 984 Posted September 29, 2022 Very common, Not sure if there are any upgrades floating around anymore, but there are a couple of solutions. I found the easily solution was to use some CA to bond up the crack, and then (carefully) drill it out with a 3mm bit and use a long 3mm machine screw and nut ilo the threaded screw. I do that with almost all of my newer Tamiya kits when I build them to prevent stress cracks wherever I can. On a long post like that, I'll actually trim off the cracked portion and use a spacer behind the shock to take further stress off the plastic. Alternately, you can find some tube material that just fits over the plastic and trim and glue it on to reinforce the area. Either/or will solve it, the stock part is not dead - just needs a little love. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicadraus 6201 Posted September 30, 2022 Here's what I did to mine. I first reinforced the part with cable tie and super glue. Then I used long screws inserted from the back coming out in front and screwed the ball head but onto it. Hope this helps. If you have access to a 3D printer, redesigning a new one would be nice. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichieRich 685 Posted September 30, 2022 I kinda feel like this front shock tower is a poor design. The mounting of the shock so far out makes it like a lever that will eventually weaken/break the plastic. Maybe there's an aluminum replacement out there? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cavalier 0 Posted September 30, 2022 I'm sure in the past I've seen an aluminium replacement for the rear tower but the rear one is unlikely to get stressed so probably a waste of time other than to make it look cool. Seems to be a gap in the market for a better front mount though. At least now I know it's not a total write off and I can modify it a bit Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicadraus 6201 Posted October 16, 2022 On 10/1/2022 at 5:04 AM, cavalier said: I'm sure in the past I've seen an aluminium replacement for the rear tower but the rear one is unlikely to get stressed so probably a waste of time other than to make it look cool. Actually the rear is just as brittle as the front. If Tamiya used another type of plastic or a carbon-reinforced ones, then those parts would have not suffered the same flaws. I also reinforced my rear shock tower with carbon fiber 2mm board because that part also cracked and broke. The CF shock tower reinforcement... 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMballistic 28 Posted October 19, 2022 @cavalier a good easy fix would be to cut the plastic tube off the tower (highlighted in red) and replace with an aluminium standoff. Standoffs: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284388626643?hash=item4236e210d3:g:3-MAAOSw3WhhAccE&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4EuSOSfRn%2F4KYT4p4jT4pu02ocQgY6PyUkBNYji2iqz43naDEcg8Cu%2FCm4t1AEfpPBRSqxE6BU2Rx8K9ANewp6o%2F%2FTLuPDkOU%2FbsNQI%2Fykr%2BXIAUnqMWMCHhBXqczOUVMn0GZz1Ph%2BijfpGcTZxJg3jK1nJNabT66Pzv2NLmSLNpeGK1HPoIDnNttGIJFfDgqyQ3udAUz1Yb%2FJWuEtrC9ouSIYzjH1j2yFRZK5HX2jxozcC%2BXg7dodC7dM9Cwo8FhCoWYpjH2k07s5s3wW3iCJ%2F58mkFeBwbNSMzxeHy9Ewx|tkp%3ABFBMxJmPmv5g 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jacktpwang 0 Posted November 8, 2022 What I did was used 53640 ball nuts and used long screw from back to front. That worked pretty well. Or you can get FF01 kit from shapeways. You will need to order the carbon bits from fiberlite to work with the shapeways kit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rich_f 233 Posted November 11, 2022 On 10/19/2022 at 8:13 PM, GMballistic said: @cavalier a good easy fix would be to cut the plastic tube off the tower (highlighted in red) and replace with an aluminium standoff. Standoffs: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284388626643?hash=item4236e210d3:g:3-MAAOSw3WhhAccE&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4EuSOSfRn%2F4KYT4p4jT4pu02ocQgY6PyUkBNYji2iqz43naDEcg8Cu%2FCm4t1AEfpPBRSqxE6BU2Rx8K9ANewp6o%2F%2FTLuPDkOU%2FbsNQI%2Fykr%2BXIAUnqMWMCHhBXqczOUVMn0GZz1Ph%2BijfpGcTZxJg3jK1nJNabT66Pzv2NLmSLNpeGK1HPoIDnNttGIJFfDgqyQ3udAUz1Yb%2FJWuEtrC9ouSIYzjH1j2yFRZK5HX2jxozcC%2BXg7dodC7dM9Cwo8FhCoWYpjH2k07s5s3wW3iCJ%2F58mkFeBwbNSMzxeHy9Ewx|tkp%3ABFBMxJmPmv5g This - but I would also suggest using a plate front and back to spread the load on the remaining part of the mount, preferably going all the way across to the other side like Nicadraus'. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cav101 4 Posted January 13, 2023 When I picked mine up, it also had cracked shock mounts. I stopped by my home store and picked up an aluminum rod 1/4". Cut to length then drilled and taped to the 3mm It made for a nice project. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites