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Prospek

Avante 2011 Ball Ends Failing.. Anyone have this problem?

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Hi All,

Has anyone had any issues with the suspension ball ends failing on their Avante 2011 ReRe? 

I have ran about 5 packs (2S) through my new build Avante and almost immediately began noticing play in the ball ends. One of them has now popped out completely and I can see it will soon happen to a few others, popping the damaged one back in does not help, it just pops back out.

I have just ordered a pack of 4 but they are stupid expensive, I had to pay US$45 for the pack of 4 and I am hoping they are better quality than what came in the kit although I doubt it.

 

image.png.d6a2d323d8c33bd42b3b1f160a74db36.png

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Wow. I’ve not had that problem with mine but I’ve only given it a few light runs so far.

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Is this an issue with dust and grit getting in there and wearing out the ball and its now too small? I think Tamiya released hop up dust covers to go over these.

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The one in the photo looks a beat beat, How do you fit the ball end from new? If using a pair or grips/pliers this wont help at all.

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I was using shock shaft pliers to tighten them where possible and the damage on the front is just from me trying to pop the ball back in with small multi grip pliers.

Totally understand wear and tear could cause this eventually but it was only 5 packs of which about half were doing laps around the grass back yard. I have had a few small crashes but nothing that would explain the looseness in most of the front end joints.

Anyway i'll replace them and see what happens, I can't imagine there would be an aftermarket solution for those of us that want to run this buggy.

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The ball is factory fitted on the end on these.

Could you place a washer under the screw head that will keep the rod end over the ball?

Its only going to bd a temporary fix though as if the ball is worn enough to fall out it would have a lot of play in it.

Maybe for a runner you could swap out for a similar arrangement to the egress with the plastic ends and a ball nut.

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2 hours ago, Superluminal said:

I think Tamiya released hop up dust covers to go over these.

Yes, part no. 53035 I believe. Probably pretty rare nowadays. I figure if Tamiya went through the trouble to make them, then wear must have been an issue at some point depending on the conditions the buggy was run in. When I entertained the notion of getting a runner Avante (which I shelved) I considered the possibility of replacing the the factory aluminum pieces with some plastic rod ends like those available from Traxxas. I use them on my Clod based trucks with good results.

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Not familiar with the Avante, but as others have said, maybe try a rubber or neoprene washer followed by a metal washer.  Might take out some play and keep it in tact.  Maybe also fashion a dust shield out of heat shrink or something similar.  I can definitely see that being annoying if it keeps happening.

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It looks like there are quite a few metal ball ends made for crawlers that would fit the control arm thread. May see how they compare to the genuine Tamiya piece..

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1 hour ago, Prospek said:

It looks like there are quite a few metal ball ends made for crawlers that would fit the control arm thread. May see how they compare to the genuine Tamiya piece..

If you find something usable, please let us know!;)

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I’ve seen a little of this before. The center screw can not be too tight. The ball has to able to spin on the screw with the up and down motion of the suspension arm. If over tightened then the cup has to move up and down on the ball which will quickly cause wear in the cups and be a cause of this happening. Not sure if this is the case with your car but worth checking out

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