Bashing in the front yard this morning

[Alwaysonauto]

with my Haibox 903 and noticed the front tie rod bolt on one side was coming loose. Now last time I ran it I actually lost the bolt in the grass. I replaced it with a longer bolt in hopes of not loosing it again if it came loose. My plan worked as I caught it before it totally 'left town' for parts unknown.
My question for the collective here is this. Is this bolt coming loose an indication that the ball joint is binding on the bolt and the constant steering action is working it out OR am I just not using enough torque in the first place to tighten it down?
The bolt I'm using now goes all the way thru the tab on the spindle where as before it didn't.

 

[Tunedfrog]

Did you use Loctite?

 

[CertifiedMike]

Did you use Loctite?

+1!!!

Nyloc nut would work if theres room on the back side too.

Blue loctite is def an RC necessity. If I have metal to metal hardware, it gets loctite!

 

[Alwaysonauto]

No, I did not use Loctite. Guess I need to get some as all I have is the red stuff.

 

[CertifiedMike]

No, I did not use Loctite. Guess I need to get some as all I have is the red stuff.

There is a liquid and a stick. I find both are useful depending on how I am using it.
Red is too strong for RC except maybe in extreme uses.
Blue works for me.
Other ppl say other colors work well too but I can't speak for or against them.
There is one designed for use in plastic specificly. It might be useful for you too.
I find plastic holds well usually.

 

[Doom!]

Blue Loctite is a must for the tool kit. These rigs have got a lot of vibrations going on when they get run. As stated above, anything metal on metal is a good candidate.

 

[Alwaysonauto]

Did another front yard bash yesterday afternoon, only this time ran my Mojave.

They sure are quick when on 3s. 2s is more than enough for fun in the limited space of my yard/driveway.
Nothing came loose either, so I'd give two thumbs up to running box stock.

 

[Alwaysonauto]

The batteries that came with my 903 are ok, but the chargers supplied with it are USB type dongles for lack of a better word that plug into the wall or a power strip surge protector in my case. The dongles tend to get hot when charging. I also have invested in some Spektrum chargers and smart batteries for my Mojave's and feel they're better suited to charging the batteries since they don't tend to get as hot as the dongles. I've been having a problem getting them to recognize the cheaper 903 batteries until just now. Success! I think this will prove to be a lot safer in the long run.

 

[CertifiedMike]

The batteries that came with my 903 are ok, but the chargers supplied with it are USB type dongles for lack of a better word that plug into the wall or a power strip surge protector in my case. The dongles tend to get hot when charging. I also have invested in some Spektrum chargers and smart batteries for my Mojave's and feel they're better suited to charging the batteries since they don't tend to get as hot as the dongles. I've been having a problem getting them to recognize the cheaper 903 batteries until just now. Success! I think this will prove to be a lot safer in the long run.
View attachment 232869

I got away from the Spectrum ecosystem before I was locked in forever. I actially just bought a Hota D6Pro.
I think the set up you have there is still a huge step up from wall dongle chargers anyway.
I have batteries like yours that came with my RC.
You NEED to upgrade those batteries!!!
If you thought your rc was fun before, wait til you run it with full power!
I had no idea how bad my batteries were until I upgraded!
I used Ovonic 2200mah with good luck.
I have no idea if brands like CNHL and Liperior batteries are avail now with tariffs involved. They are pretty good brands.

 

[Alwaysonauto]

I broke my Mojave this afternoon, bashing in the front yard again.
Tore the lower control arm at the yellow line.

 

[9x19]

Run, break, fix, repeat... maybe the lot of us ARE a little touched in the head!

 

[Alwaysonauto]

The gardener was here this morning and I asked him to cut the edge of the lawn along the driveway down so it wouldn't send the RC's flying up in the air when they hit the transition to the grass. Should be more fun to run practice laps now with that taken care of. I'm still on 50% power too.

 

[Alwaysonauto]

Got around to fixing that control arm this morning. I'm impressed with the fit of the bumper on the front where it ties into the chassis on the bottom. At first it acted as if it were solid once I had removed the four screws. Decided it had to come apart there so put a little more umph into it and sure enough, it came apart nicely.