Associated disappointment

[godale03]

Hey guys......took the t4.2 out yesterday and i wasn't on the track more than 30 minutes before i split 3 rod ends. Right down the middle. I have never seen such a mass part failure on a premium kit before. It wasn't cold yesterday either...around 62. I dont know if i should call associated or just buy the rpm ends and forget about it.

 

[Cornholio]

I'd call them just so they're aware of the crazy freakish failure! Good weather yesterday here too, hoping to get out a few more times before its starts freezing!

 

[Rolex]

Plastics, just like metals can fail due to some problems in the process.
I'd suggest calling them and offering to send back to parts for their diagnosis.

 

[MR4X4KING]

I agree with Rolex

 

[Sixtysixdeuce]

I dont know if i should call associated or just buy the rpm ends and forget about it.

Both.

It sounds like a problem, but were you really not gonna put RPMs on it anyway? I have a dozen Associated vehicles, and only the 18T and TC3 still have stock rod ends. Everything else is RPM. I never had the splitting issue you describe, but the RPMs definitely hang onto the studs better.

 

[jctalkrc]

poor quality parts

new ofna TS4- 3 minutes run bad esc. 45 days later replacement from ofna . 5 minutes test run , chewed up spur gear. No run again. replacement only from ofna. Ok this time test run on nice clean indoor track. I've been out of hobby for 35 years so learning all over again. NO it is not like a bike! 5 min testing at half speed and a couple of bumped walls later no steering. Pulled servo apart and found thin plastic gears all stripped. Just plain poor cheep parts. I have servos that are 30 years old with better gearing. Anyway, ordered new metal geared one and put it back together. Have not run it since. At this point not sure if I I should keep replacing bad parts with better new ones or just start all over with new truck ? It seems a shame to walk away from a $500 truck if the only problem is some bad luck. Any ideas? Maybe I just made a poor choice to try and get back in the hobby. :\

 

[Sixtysixdeuce]

new ofna TS4- 3 minutes run bad esc. 45 days later replacement from ofna . 5 minutes test run , chewed up spur gear. No run again. replacement only from ofna. Ok this time test run on nice clean indoor track. I've been out of hobby for 35 years so learning all over again. NO it is not like a bike! 5 min testing at half speed and a couple of bumped walls later no steering. Pulled servo apart and found thin plastic gears all stripped. Just plain poor cheep parts. I have servos that are 30 years old with better gearing. Anyway, ordered new metal geared one and put it back together. Have not run it since. At this point not sure if I I should keep replacing bad parts with better new ones or just start all over with new truck ? It seems a shame to walk away from a $500 truck if the only problem is some bad luck. Any ideas? Maybe I just made a poor choice to try and get back in the hobby. :\

On the ESC:

What battery are you running? Some need to be calibrated for LiPo low volt shut off; If not done, the battery may run too low and smoke the capacitors if you keep giving it throttle.

On the gear:

Not such an uncommon issue with RTR kits. The people assembling them will not take the kind of care you do when building a kit. Loose screws, poorly fitted or adjusted parts, etc. are par for the course with RTR stuff.

On the servo:

RTR servos are also notoriously cheap. Some do OK (I've had no issues with the unit in my Prolite), but it's just kind of accepted that RTR servos have short lives and/or lackluster performance.

Get your new servo in, then go over the whole truck with a fine tooth comb. Look for anything that is out of adjustment, too loose, too tight, and so on.

 

[godale03]

Plastics, just like metals can fail due to some problems in the process.
I'd suggest calling them and offering to send back to parts for their diagnosis.

Yeah. I will go ahead and give them a call. It was really bizzare. Its not like I had them threaded all the way up to the cup either. I built them to length as specified in the build. I could see one failing... but 3 failed identically within minutes of one another.

 

[RoketRdr]

On the ESC:

What battery are you running? Some need to be calibrated for LiPo low volt shut off; If not done, the battery may run too low and smoke the capacitors if you keep giving it throttle.

On the gear:

Not such an uncommon issue with RTR kits. The people assembling them will not take the kind of care you do when building a kit. Loose screws, poorly fitted or adjusted parts, etc. are par for the course with RTR stuff.

On the servo:

RTR servos are also notoriously cheap. Some do OK (I've had no issues with the unit in my Prolite), but it's just kind of accepted that RTR servos have short lives and/or lackluster performance.

Get your new servo in, then go over the whole truck with a fine tooth comb. Look for anything that is out of adjustment, too loose, too tight, and so on.

Everything he just said. I've been out for 20 years myself and just got back in 6 months ago. Everything SSD just stated is exactly what I have found. Tweak your radio and ESC for the proper battery settings, upgrade your servos and go over all the screws and bolts yourself.