Ecx_frills
Active Member
- Messages
- 25
My servo fried near the end of September (surprisingly) after running on a 2S lipo (I have an upgraded ESC that can take 2S/3S) and money was really tight so I decided instead of going to local route, I would order directly from online. Firstly, I realize now that I should have just paid a bit more to go local, I missed an entire Fall of driving and now there's snow out there That stinks!
The servo I got is a digital metal gear waterproof 25Kg 180 degree servo. I found it very hard to find specific details on what to look for but through my reading it seemed that was what I wanted.
I was surprised at just how much I had to take apart to get the old servo out. I had to take the shock towers off and completely unscrew the servo saver from the steering.
I had to use pliers to get the ball joint into the new metal arm. I checked a few times to ensure that things weren't getting stripped (which they weren't) it was just very tight. I could have kept the plastic stock arm, but I figured that since I had a metal arm at my disposal I might as well use it.
I then test fitted it to find out two things: The metal arm is a bit too tall, so it was hitting the side of the chassis. The top part of this servo is a few mms taller than the stock servo. As such, I decided I would have to grind away a bit. I ground away a part of the servo saver arm to make it fit and ground away part of the servo lid. Of course, I also ground away part of the metal arm to ensure full motion. (while I was at it, I did also grind a small part of the bottom of the servo saver as people have pointed out it hits the base of the chassis and restricts the full motion of the steering).
With that all ground away, I was able to rebuild the steering and get everything connected and zip tied and I'm back in action (I am going to wait for things to dry up out there though because I don't want to burn something else out!).
Just wanted to share my experience, I would say that I recommend just going local. A) It support 'em which is good, B) You won't wait so long to get driving again and C) The part will fit better and you won't need to grind things away.
I am a little disappointed in that my upgrade to metal gears now means that I probably won't be able to upgrade to a metal servo saver (I guess I could keep grinding away) and also a little worried that I have reduced the strength of my servo saver (though it doesn't really feel like that). Some good lessons learned here, I would be interested to hear from any of you on what you would have done differently because obviously there are things I could have done differently!
The servo I got is a digital metal gear waterproof 25Kg 180 degree servo. I found it very hard to find specific details on what to look for but through my reading it seemed that was what I wanted.
I was surprised at just how much I had to take apart to get the old servo out. I had to take the shock towers off and completely unscrew the servo saver from the steering.
I had to use pliers to get the ball joint into the new metal arm. I checked a few times to ensure that things weren't getting stripped (which they weren't) it was just very tight. I could have kept the plastic stock arm, but I figured that since I had a metal arm at my disposal I might as well use it.
I then test fitted it to find out two things: The metal arm is a bit too tall, so it was hitting the side of the chassis. The top part of this servo is a few mms taller than the stock servo. As such, I decided I would have to grind away a bit. I ground away a part of the servo saver arm to make it fit and ground away part of the servo lid. Of course, I also ground away part of the metal arm to ensure full motion. (while I was at it, I did also grind a small part of the bottom of the servo saver as people have pointed out it hits the base of the chassis and restricts the full motion of the steering).
With that all ground away, I was able to rebuild the steering and get everything connected and zip tied and I'm back in action (I am going to wait for things to dry up out there though because I don't want to burn something else out!).
Just wanted to share my experience, I would say that I recommend just going local. A) It support 'em which is good, B) You won't wait so long to get driving again and C) The part will fit better and you won't need to grind things away.
I am a little disappointed in that my upgrade to metal gears now means that I probably won't be able to upgrade to a metal servo saver (I guess I could keep grinding away) and also a little worried that I have reduced the strength of my servo saver (though it doesn't really feel like that). Some good lessons learned here, I would be interested to hear from any of you on what you would have done differently because obviously there are things I could have done differently!