How to learn to work on your T-maxx

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jtboogie

RCTalk Talkaholic
Messages
237
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2
Location
Houston Texas
RC Driving Style
  1. Bashing
I recently got a t-maxx right before Christmas. I'm new to nitro but got a hang of how to tune pretty quickly. Did the break in procedure truck performed great, had a small issue with when the body was on but then I cut out the windshield and back window and only oiled the primary air filter and left the outer one dry, and from then on truck ran great with the body on, of course by the end of the first week I had took a rough crash when I was going full throttle and then hit the breaks a little too hard and the truck locked up and did about 10 front flips landing on the front end almost every time. Broken bulk head and axel carrier, no big deal 20 bucks worth of parts. However I have no idea how to take the truck apart and am completely nervous to do so thinking I will never get it back together. So I take it to my LHS takes them a week and cost 25 dollars to do so. Once again, no big deal. About a gallon later, the slipper clutch went, bought a heavy duty rebuild kit, and decided I wanted to add a Integy 3 piece clutch and flywheel kit, as well as reverse. Took it too my LHS again and the guy told me it would be about 10 days. well that was January 3rd. I just got the truck back on Tuesday Feb. 15th Really wasn't happy about that. But the guy who did the work claimed the whole motor and trans had to come off and that there is 100's and 100's of pieces involved in installing the reverse and clutch and slipper clutch. This was of course why I didn't even think about trying to do any of that work myself either. But now I take my truck out yesterday, fires right up, find a good tune real quick. I had also had him install a aluminum bulkhead, so now I can't pop a wheelie at all but I could tell from how the truck was taking off and running my tune was right. I had checked out the reverse with the truck off and saw the servo was pulling the pin out, but when i fired the truck up I didn't try it out at first. So anyways I'm bashing around making high speed runs cutting donuts. However I was starting to realize the truck wasn't stopping anywhere near as quick that it use to. Like I said before it braked so hard that it would flip itself forward if you hit them too hard. I figured maybe it was because of how much heavier the front end was with the bulkhead. Well I ran up to close to a fence, and finally after starting to walk towards it to turn it around remembered I had reverse, so the truck was stopped and i flipped the button on the remote, waited a second and gave it throttle, the truck backed up. I stop making sure the truck is stopped I'm even holding the brake for assurance I flip the button on the radio back to forward, and I take off forward and bring it back around to me and stop. I know the truck is for stopped because i'm again holding the brake. I flip the button down for reverse, and give it throttle, and it backs up but horrible grinding, sound. DAMNIT I couldn't believe that after all the time I spent researching it and asking if reverse was a bad idea to install, and most people said not to, and I went and spent 50 dollars on the part and 50 to have it installed and it breaks the first time out, and I even made sure to stop there wasn't even a question if it was stopped or not. Truck runs fine going forward but continues to make the noise when in reverse. So i decide to run the tank of fuel out before putting it up and I realize when I tried to climb a dirt hill that the front wheels aren't spinning. I lift it off the ground give it a small amount of throttle the back wheels turn and one of the front one kind of half turns and the other front one does nothing. I put it back on the ground and lift the rear wheels off the ground, and with the front wheels touching the ground they do nothing just the rear wheels spin. Then as I'm finishing the little left in the tank I'm running across loose gravel and realize when I brake only the back wheels are braking? I'm so pissed that now there is more problems with the truck after only being out of the shop for a day and being in the shop for over a month. Of course I already am taking it back to the LHS to get what ever is wrong now fixed because I feel maybe the trans wasn't put back together right or something. And I told them if the reverse was already stripped to just take it out, I guess I learned a hard lesson and wasted 100 bucks while doing it. Like I said I know nothing about taking these trucks apart, but after this trip to the LHS I really don't want to have to take it back there ever. So my question is How do you guys learn to work on these things? and I mean how did you learn when you knew nothing about it? I feel this is the only way I will stop dumping money into the hobby shop to fix things over and over again. And I really want to learn how so I can just buy the parts and fix stuff myself, and not have to worry about how long my truck will sit in the shop and wonder if it will work right when ever I do get it back. I really enjoy the hobby, and don't want to have to get out of it because I go broke paying someone to fix it because I don't know how to.
 
Well Man the easiest way of working on them is to download the exploded view or you t-maxx, go to traxxas website search for your car under download you'll find manuals, exploded views and parts list, but really the more you do it yourself the better you'll be at it. the exploded view shows every part number you need if something breaks and shows you a whole diagram. buy yourself a good tool kit and just try, i believe the hardest thing about taking them apart, knowing you might wanna clean it while its apart.
 
There is only one way to learn and that's to just do it.

Your truck came with a manual and exploded views of how it goes together. The Traxxas website also has them available. The exploded views will show you how it goes together and what needs to be removed first in order to get at a certain part.

Take a pic of the area you are working on before taking it apart so you know what it looks like put together. When you think you will forget how something went together, take a pic of it before taking it apart.

Label removed screws according to where you removed them from.

Once you start doing it, you will wonder what all the fuss was about.
 
This is why i believe kits are better than ready to run then you understand what you got makes trouble shooting and repairs a breeze!:p:
 
Take a RTR completely apart and put it back together and it becomes a kit.

I've done it to every RTR I have ever bought.
 
The TMAXX Topic here has alot of good info as well
 
Take a RTR completely apart and put it back together and it becomes a kit.

I've done it to every RTR I have ever bought.

How right you are rob then you can catch the mistakes the factory has made.:p:
 
The only mistakes I have come across are no oil or not enough oil in diffs (Baja 5B and 5T) and the lack of threadlok where needed on occasion.
 
The only mistakes I have come across are no oil or not enough oil in diffs (Baja 5B and 5T) and the lack of threadlok where needed on occasion.
Funny you mention that I was wondering why the diffs in my friends baja 5b had no diff oil!
 
I also recommend a parts/screw bin from a hardware store. number the bins, and as you take apart a section of the truck put all those srews/small parts in a bin and then log truck section and bin number on paper. Also work on a cloth or towel. I use a square yard of white denim from the local fabric store. If you drop a screw it will not bounce as far. And loctite, loctite, loctite every metal to metal piece of hardware. The blue removable type. ;)
 
Just go for it, clean off a workspace, summon your tools, stay organized and dig in! I actually used to be excited when stuff broke, that meant that i got to dissemble my rig to find the problem, all the while learning the internal workings of the car. But now when stuff breaks i just get annoyed!! :hehe:
 
Download the PDF's of your truck and jump right in, get a good tool set and be hands on, these things really are easy to work on for the most part, and you'll learn quick, I can swap engines and trannys in like 20-30 mins now, I used to be a newbie once but I just jumped in hands on and figured it all out, if I have a question I post on here or the traxxas forums and if I can't get help here, THEN I seek out my Local Hobby Shop for advice and possible repair. They charge $10 an hour and the turn around is very fast....

Best of luck!
 
I was a little intimidated at first as well. Being new to the Nitro world, I really didnt want to start disassembling things, and not know how to put em back together.
I finally got over that in about a month and stripped it all down for a good cleaning. I had no problems...I just kept track of what screws went where and kept seperate piles.
Now days, maintenance is a breeze. I have taken the truck apart and re-assembled it a couple of times. I recently converted my 4910 to the 4907 (longer chasis) and had to upgrade and modify as I went. I big deal.

Just get in there and get your hands dirty. :D
 
Jtboogie I am also new to the hobby and have had mine for about 4 months. I have crashed mine a bunch of times and stripped spur gears and gears in the tranny and I had no clue on how to work on these things and after the first time of breaking something I just said well here I go.
I did use some of the diagrams and parts list to help along with the dismantle and putting it all back together. Thi biggest thing is that you just gotta go DO IT and not be afraid. I can't say that it isn't frustrating at times but at the same time it's good to learn. For me it's kinda similar to building and making some of my own fishing lures, I have spent countless hours on both but so far it is pretty enjoyable, and frustrating.

So with what I just said SHOW NO FEAR and start digging.
 
I've been in the hobby for about two months. I got a beat up used original tmaxx pro 15. It didn't run when I got it. I figured if I can do minor car maintenance, why not this. So I started. I had no diagrams or manuals. Only my iPhone for pics. I took alot! I used blue painters tape and taped screws together base on where I took them from. I just wrote where they came from right on the tape. I stripped the engine to because the car sat with fuel in it. While I had it apart I sealed the engine also. I've now stripped it ttwo more times since the first and didnt even need pics last time. It gets easier as you go. Jump in!!!

One suggestion. If you take apart the engine, sink your HSN and count the turns. Also sink your LSN till it is flush. Count your turns again. Write them down so you can set them back to where they need to be.
 
Pretty cheap for a life lesson jtboogie....Working on these things can and will give you the confidence to work on other things too, lots of money to be saved through a lifetime of doing it yourself, and besides when you do it yourself, you know EXACTLY what your getting, and don't have to wait for someone else to squeeze it in or get around to it.......I started out a long time ago, had to fix my own stuff....and it gave me the confidence to tackle other things..........rebuilt my first alternator at age 8, and was the neighborhood mechanic(bikes,lawnmowers,gokarts,etc..)....built my first motocrosser at 12......built my first car too.....66 impala SS with a big block and drove it legally at 15 1/2.....Ran mid 13's at the track too.....then I got into show cars and really turning wrenches for a profession at 18 at 20 did a few years with the Navy, then back to wrenching, got into stock cars,late models, and imca mods...not driving, but working on them.........and in 1990 I bought an old truck that nobody wanted.... fixed er up and now 21 years later that ol truck has won a housefull of awards and has center stage at what's probably the biggest flamethrower show in the country, which I have ran for the last 5 years.....yep it throws fire too........so don't think of these broken parts you have as crap, treat em all as a learning experience...... and soon, you won't have to look for others experience.... you'll have it yourself.........Steve
 
Will masher tires prevent the t-maxx 3.3 from doing a wheelie? Anyone know?
 

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