WANTED: Maverick DesertWolf Centre Diff

[wintersdawn]

Sounds good (and easier) to ditch it and do another.

I finally sold something on eBay, my Tamiya Nissan Titan. Didn't get that much for it as it was pretty much bare bones. It was my go-to basher though for quite a long time.

[TrueBlue]

Indeed. Silver shell thrown out, but will wait a little while before I acquire another clear Desertwolf shell. I have two original shells so no shortage there. That, and I've already painted 4 shells in the past week.

You finally sold your Tamiya Nissan Titan.. is that on the DT-02 chassis? Or similar? Always a bit of a downer to get less than what you hoped for, but at least it sold. I'm still trying to sell that iridescent purple/green DW shell and a Traxxas Rustler shell...

I'm currently waiting for Tonys Tamiya Parts to get some Tamiya Mustang SVT decals in. They were supposed to get them months ago, but Tamiya UK still haven't received stock of them from Japan yet. The same guy that gave me the Desertwolf also gave me a rare Tamiya Ford Mustang SVT Cobra body shell. It's some new paint, which will be easy enough, but the decals need replacing. Can't restore the shell until the decals are in. Hate waiting!

[wintersdawn]

Yes, the Tamiya Nissan Titan is on the DT-02 chassis, a very good and stable platform from my experience with it.  

I know what you mean about waiting, hope the decals come in soon.

Out in the morning with the Desertwolf, balanced charged two 2S batteries and put the original, worn body shell and wing on, as will be running it on forest tracks with stones etc flying up.

Going to take your DW out soon?

 

[wintersdawn]

Had a good run this morning, first proper one since sorting out those couple of issues.  Glad I changed to the old body shell and wing as rolled it a few times.  It only rolled as I went off the track into the grass verge, generally its really stable, plus I don't have the steering on full on the dual rate so can't turn really sharp, lowering the potential for roll's and saving the servo a bit as less strain.  Got an hour out of the one 2S battery (an old Floureon 5200mah 25C) as was more short bursts today compared with 15 minutes run time at mostly full speed the other day.  

Also recorded and uploaded to YouTube my first RC video!  All 10 seconds of it!

 

 

[TrueBlue]

I hope they arrive soon... been waiting since at least Feb 1st for them to come back in stock.

I'd like to take it out properly at some point, but there's no where really close enough to take it. Outside the house is kinda small, too many things to crash into. The best places are about a 5 minute drive away. So will try to get out there eventually.

Yep, that's why it's a good idea to keep a basher body handy! My current shell will be the basher, and my new one will eventually take its place if the original get's too beat up. I never rolled mine, but I was just going up and down the road, only going full throttle from a standing start once... then the wheel decided to escape, lol.

Might want to keep those original wheels in good condition as well, since you can't get them anymore. Shame if they got badly scratched. The ones mine came with are available on Modelsport for like £15 a pair.

And a 10 second clip, lol. Well we all gotta start somewhere! Next time though, remember to turn around and catch it coming back!

[wintersdawn]

Yes, I was thinking about the wheels and tyres today and wondering if they'll last as they're so impossible to source.

When my DW was delivered I discovered the wheel nuts were quite badly rounded off and have only been able to unscrew the nuts on the two back wheels.  Not sure what I'll do if one of the front wheels/tyres is badly damaged and I can't unscrew the nut.

[TrueBlue]

Hm... possibly then the only way around the rounded off wheel nuts is to use a pair of pliers or something. They should easily grip the nut, even if it's rounded off... and you might be able to unscrew them that way. Thankfully, the wheels nuts the DW uses are still available to buy, so if you can remove the old ones with some pilers, you can install some new ones that AREN'T rounded off.

[wintersdawn]

I've tried a pliers but it couldn't grip the nut enough as it's rounded off too much. Also the amount of contact area is very shallow on the DW wheel nuts, possibly why they rounded off in the first place. I've got a spare set of DW wheel nuts in case I need them.

My other thought to undo the nuts is to try and file the surfaces of the nut flat again or use my Dremel type tool with a cutting disc and gradually cut it away. Saying that, hopefully I won't need to remove the front wheels for a long time or hopefully never. I do miss being able to remove the wheels though to sometimes clean inside including the wheel bearings.

Did your wheel come off your DW because the nut wasn't tight enough or was it because the axle is quite short or the wheel quite deep and so not much sticking through to screw the nut on to?

Was in Gloucester today and went to the Antics model shop and was able to get the PS-12 Silver paint I wanted, they didn't have PS-1 White. Nice to go to an actual model shop, where's your nearest one?

[TrueBlue]

Not even pliers have enough grip? Hm... problem indeed. Filing some flat surfaces somehow seems like a viable option, then you can get some new wheels nuts. Well, hopefully you won't need to remove the wheel, but I think not being able to do some cleaning or maintenance.. or replace any bearings... might get a little annoying eventually. 

The wheel came of because the nut wasn't tight enough. But I couldn't tighten it up because it caused the hex to get crushed against the bearings in the hub and the wheels wouldn't turn, so I had to loosen the nuts a little. But because of the speed the wheels where going at, it undid the nut. Thankfully, I found a little fix using some washers from AliExpress, as it was the only place that did the exact size I needed.

So you managed the silver, but they didn't have white? I think white and black are always in high demand, often seem to be sold out in many places. Is the silver for the new TW shell or something else?

[wintersdawn]

Glad you cracked the problem with tightening the wheel nuts 👍

Yes, the silver is for the back end of the TW body shell.

I just went onto the Antics website and ordered the PS-1 White for the TW, to be collected in-store. They have them in their warehouse and can send them to a nominated store for collection. Hopefully they'll send me an email when it's in the Glos shop. I don't pay until I collect. They are £6.75 each from Antics but if ordered online, say from Wheelspin, the postage is £6.95 on top for courier delivery. I'm in Gloucester once a fortnight so can collect then.

[wintersdawn]

Started thinking I better get prepared and sort out replacement wheels and tyres for the DW, just in case.  I've got spare new wheel's and tyres for the TW so all sorted there.

Saw these 17mm hex wheels/tyres on Ebay for £16.44 for the 4 (Ebay wheels/tyres).  Did you have to look for anything in particular when sourcing compatible wheels/tyres for your DW?  Cheers.

 

[TrueBlue]

Those ones on eBay should fit. The only thing I really looked for was the 17mm hex. As long as the hex was the correct size, I thought (and hoped) they should fit without a problem. 

These are the ones mine came with: 
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/fastrax-1-8-maze-block-mounted-on-8-spoke-black-2--405170

And these are the ones I purchased:
https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/jetko-1-8-buggy-extreme-tyre-tomahawk-belted-on-black-rim-2--1337894

[wintersdawn]

Cheers for the advice and links 👍

You will not believe the morning I've had trying to get one of the front wheel nuts off. I used DW40 to hopefully loosen it before I started. Tried the pliers again but kept slipping.

Moved on to using my Dremel type tool with a cutting disc attached. I cut the the nut off, just leaving the flange disc but that wouldn't budge either. I started cutting up the flange disc and took it apart bit by bit. The cutting discs kept breaking and then the tool lost torque so think its had it.

As progress was still slow I released the wheel by unscrewing the hub and steering rod to get at it easier. I kept working on removing the flange and with lots of levering and hammering it came lose. Surprised the wheel is still in one piece. 

I was then able to fit a new wheel nut and put the wheel back on.  Some of the threads got damaged during the removal of the old nut but I was able to re-thread as the nut went on.  Also fitted new wheel nuts to the back wheels as they were a bit rounded.

That just leaves the other rounded front wheel nut to release but had enough now. The picture below shows the front axle after the nut and flange were finally removed and wheel removed.

[wintersdawn]

I have a theory of why the DW wheel nuts can be a problem.  One is that the contact area to do them up or unscrew them is very shallow, making a spanner easily slip, gradually rounding them off. 

Also I think the wide flange/disc area really grips the plastic and there are indented markings on the inner side that press into the plastic.  This could make them harder to unscrew.  When I removed the wheel there were indents in the plastic too, either there by design or created by the flange disc pressing into the plastic.  That said, I don't think I'll ever lose a wheel nut because of this design, although have just ordered another spare set, just in case and because I've used my spare set now.  

 

[TrueBlue]

Yeah, those things really do grip the wheel quite tightly. Definitely can make it hard to unscrew, even when the nut's HAVEN'T been rounded off. And they definitely shouldn't come off during use. As long as you screw them on night and tight... *cough*cough*

I'm quite surprised that the pliers couldn't get enough of a grip. And the cutting discs kept breaking and then the tool itself decided it was done with being alive? Some morning.

At least you finally got the thing off, with minimal to no damage to the wheel. That would have been disastrous for sure. And no damage to the original wheel hexes either, those are also impossible to find.

And with new wheel nuts on, you can finally remove the wheels if you ever need to do some maintenance and repairs, or replace the wheels with some that are less rare. 

Although you said at the end of the message you just need to do the other side.... did you manage to get that one done or are you leaving that one for another day? Oh, and you might not have a tool with enough torque to cut anymore either. Oh dear.

[wintersdawn]

The pliers might have worked but I may not have been strong enough.

The rotary tool (like Dremel) was from Lidl less than a year ago so will be taking it back for a refund.

As I was levering and hammering the wheel I was a bit concerned I was going to destroy it but couldn't leave it in the state it was in by then, so had to keep going and hope for the best.

Yes, good to be able to remove 3 out of the 4 wheels now for cleaning etc. Still one rounded nut to remove for another day, or maybe never after the ordeal it was this morning...

The condition of the wheel after all the violence, not too bad.

[wintersdawn]

Are the original DW 17mm wheel hexes so different/special compared to the ones currently available from other manufacturers?

[TrueBlue]

I think they are different somehow... it's the reason I wasn't able to tighten the wheel nuts without the hex getting crushed against the bearing in the wheel hub.

I bought some HPI alloy wheels hexes thinking they'd be pretty much a like-for-like replacement, but they weren't.

What I think is different is the original hexes have a shallower fit on the hex pins than the HPI ones I bought. If that makes sense? In other words, the HPI ones I bought have a deeper recess for the hex pin, so it sits closer to the hub than the original hexes...

Not sure if any of that made actual sense, lol.

[wintersdawn]

Thanks for the info, have you got a link for the washers that were the only good fit so you could tighten the wheels, I may need them if I get a new set of wheels.  Cheers.

[TrueBlue]

I got them from AliExpress, so I had to wait for them from China. They actually didn't take long to arrive. I got the M6x8 (50pcs) washers with a thickness of 0.5mm, as the 1.0mm were out of stock:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32917972607.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.3a8e1802719YFk

If you get a new set of wheels, you should be OK and shouldn't need the washers. if however, you replace the wheel hexes with the best alternative (HPI ones) then you WILL need the washers to make the new hexes fit better without them getting crushed against the bearing.

[wintersdawn]

Thanks for the link and info, hopefully the original hexes will hold out so will probably be ok.

Might get some new wheels/tyres though to use on runs and save the originals, if I can get that last one off 🙈

[wintersdawn]

Came across these on Ebay and look somewhat similar to the originals so put an offer in.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126213348990

[TrueBlue]

Haha... mine also came with a set of those as well. They do look nice, and resemble some real BBS alloys. Nice set if you can get them cheap enough.

[wintersdawn]

I've decided to leave getting a replacement set of wheels/tyres for now.

After the ordeal I put that original wheel through yesterday, and it surviving, I believe the original wheels are very durable and strong.

I imagine though I will need to replace the tyres eventually as they will wear down or get damaged and I'm hoping I could get some 1/8th scale tyres that fit the original wheels.

This only being possible though if I can unglue the original tyres cleanly.

[wintersdawn]

Took the rotary tool (below) and attachments back to lidl this morning and had a refund.  The tool was £19.99 and extra attachments £16.99.

Wondering how much I will miss it as have used it quite a lot for RC and general DIY.

Also, can't sort the other rounded nut on the DW now, what a shame!  Will give me time to build back up to facing it when I get another similar tool.  Might keep an eye out in Lidl and get the same one again as comes with a 3 year guarantee and might get a better one next time.