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Rough Rider drive shafts

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Hi - I connected up a motor to my RR restoration project this morning and found that there was a lot of wheel wobble. The shafts are the mk ones with the hubs attached so not easy to see how straight they are. There is some play in the uj (original brass).

Befire I start spending money on re-re replacement parts, can anyone suggest if the problem is likely to be the uj or the shafts?

For what it is worth, I suspect the ujs...so might start there.

Any suggestions welcome - this is getting to be a money pit! 

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Check the bearings in the gearbox outputs & the suspension arm for wear.

I may have some used vintage spares if you need anything.

I'm UK based. 

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11 minutes ago, Tamiyabigstuff said:

Check the bearings in the gearbox outputs & the suspension arm for wear.

I may have some used vintage spares if you need anything.

I'm UK based. 

Great - thanks for the advice - I haven’t replaced any bearings - they are all the ball races that came with the chassis. 
 

Another question - I have noticed that the right rear suspension arm has a socket on the inside which looks about the same size as the bearing space on the outside, but the left arm doesn’t - is that strange? Have I got a non- matching pair?

 

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OK - I don't claim to be an expert on this chassis but originally these vintage models came with plain brass bearings, not ball races so check the ball races are a good fit and not worn.

Given the age of your model, it is very probable that parts have been replaced over the years and you may well have unmatched parts. 

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Thanks - the ball bearings were a bit of a mess when I took the gearbox apart - I had to give them a good clean and there was some rust on the outsides. I can’t remember how tightly they fitted into the case. I’ll take it apart and check - it will give me something to do while I am waiting for screw bag B to arrive next week which is holding me up at the moment!

 

I am short of some bearings for the wheels and had to steal some from my Frog so might buy a load to replace the old ones.

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You can spin the shafts in a cordless drill very slowly to see if there is any distortion in the shaft , the wheels get hit and can bend the shaft at the outer point

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29 minutes ago, KEV THE REV said:

You can spin the shafts in a cordless drill very slowly to see if there is any distortion in the shaft , the wheels get hit and can bend the shaft at the outer point

Great tip - thanks kev

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Right - the results are in! Right shaft is a little bit bent. There is a little bit of movement at the gearbox output, but not very much. The UJs seem to have a lot of lateral movement (although I have never seen new ones).

I will pop new bearings in the gearbox and suspension arms as a starting point. 

is it possible to straighten a driveshaft? If not, has anyone got a spare original driveshaft (with the hub mounted on it)? Alternative would be to buy a pair of re-re shafts and hubs and lose a bit of the “original”. 

Next step, if that doesn’t help will, I think, be a pair of UJs.

Thanks for the tips!

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I'm not seeing video

You can straighten the axle but if it is minute distortion it will need minute movement to counter it , or you could bend it the other way / You need to roll the axle flat - probably overhanging a shelf to let the axle lay flat , then roll it to see where the bend is , put a dot of paint on it then bend in the opposite direction to straighten . I have done this , re-check with drill for wobble . The UJ wear could be eased up if it's not too severe by tapping the rivets to tighten then slightly . You can source hardened UJ's like they used to have on the Superchamp , but they're not cheap

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2 minutes ago, KEV THE REV said:

I'm not seeing video

You can straighten the axle but if it is minute distortion it will need minute movement to counter it , or you could bend it the other way / You need to roll the axle flat - probably overhanging a shelf to let the axle lay flat , then roll it to see where the bend is , put a dot of paint on it then bend in the opposite direction to straighten . I have done this , re-check with drill for wobble . The UJ wear could be eased up if it's not too severe by tapping the rivets to tighten then slightly . You can source hardened UJ's like they used to have on the Superchamp , but they're not cheap

Thanks Kev - I’ll have a tinker. The video is showing up for me as a “play” arrow.

The UJs that I have found are silver coloured and about £8-9 each. Not sure if they are from the Super Champ though - the description says Pareto, Buggy Champ and SandScorcher. I’ll have a search for Super Champ - thanks 

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The hardened ones are dark gray / black . The chrome ones are the re-re ones , but should still ok for general running

Hardened spares parts # 117

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Update - I got new UJs and replaced all of the bearings in the gearbox and on the drive shafts and everything seems much better. The one shaft is still a bit bent - I have tried to straighten it without any luck, but I have found a pair of original shafts on ebay which are on their way.

next issue is that I couldn’t get the ball end to screw into the one front arm - pair of new ones ordered for Trigger’s broom 😂

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