Is it bad that I only have 3 out 4 stainless steel drive shafts and the other being the stock plastic one?

[TraxxasSlash4x4]

So about a month ago I purchased a Traxxas slash 4x4 vxl. I played with it everyday and so on. I bought new suspension kits that included, stainless steel drive shafts, wishbones (front and back) , adjustable shocks. When I assembled the kit all onto the truck chassis things were going just fine. Until i ran into a problem. My front right drive shaft bearing wasn't going onto the bulb of it. I forced getting it on but it didn't work I noticed that the fitment was to wide so i tried a different bearing and it didn't work, it's the physical shaft and not the bearing itself. So now my question can I have 3 out of 4 stainless steel drive shafts on my truck with one stock plastic one?

 

[bill_delong]

Yes, it will "work", but your balance will be slightly off and I suspect you might feel a slight amount of "torque steer" as the side with less rotating mass will tend to pull faster on that side. Chances are you may not feel any difference if just bashing around the yard, but it may be problematic if you take it to race at a local club then I predict the cornering will be inconsistent with one side turning sharper than the other.

***EDIT***
Another factor is the plunge will be different where the side with more plunge will generate less grip, so if possible I would place the oddball shaft on the front to make it less noticeable.

 

[DavidB1126]

If you got all 4 driveshafts than it all works. If it works it's fine. you would notice a difference in rotating mass since the plastic is less bulky and lighter as those steel ones they are a little heavier and might be more bulky. Like @bill_delong said bashing is ok but for club racing it's not.

This is why I dont like to get Amazon or eBay kits since some parts might not fit or have binding.

What kit did you get? They might sell a different stub axles or shafts.

 

[TraxxasSlash4x4]

If you got all 4 driveshafts than it all works. If it works it's fine. you would notice a difference in rotating mass since the plastic is less bulky and lighter as those steel ones they are a little heavier and might be more bulky. Like @bill_delong said bashing is ok but for club racing it's not.

This is why I dont like to get Amazon or eBay kits since some parts might not fit or have binding.

What kit did you get? They might sell a different stub axles or shafts.

I got a 80$ kit that came with wishbone suspension, adjustable shocks, driveshafts, steering pieces. The shafts are stainless steel. Thank you both for the tips! I haven't taken to to the track yet but I just drive it around my local parks and streets, streets not as often.

 

[TraxxasSlash4x4]

So It turns out I wasn't going crazy. The driveshafts were broken! There is a thread that is holding a a pin which is holding the bulb of the shaft, apparently it couldn't take more than 2 miles per hour without literally losing the whole shaft. I recommend not buying the kit that comes with the whole control arms, drive shafts, suspension is fine, I don't think I'm able to keep just the suspension, could buy it from them for 20-30$ and return the rest of the stuff. But please don't waste money on metal stuff like this. Not to mention steering brackets and turning mounts were all wobbly even though the screws were tight. I should've just spent the 13$ to buy a single drive shaft....

 

[bill_delong]

If you want quality then go with the TEKNO upgrades:
https://www.teknorc.com/product-vehicle/slash_4x4/

Warning, once you see the quality of their parts you will wish you bought a TEKNO SCT410 in the first place, more info here:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/sho...4WD-SCT-is-the-best-***Updated-16-OCT-2019***

 

[DavidB1126]

Yep tekno has good driveshafts. MIP makes good ones too. I got the MIP X duty shafts on my slash 2wd and they had been awesome. They are a bit too heavy duty for my liking but it still works. I just need to do rebuild them once in a while since i go off road alot. I got some surface rust in the shafts where the pin goes through but its alright. I do re grease the splines once in a while too or even for regular maintenance. Traxxas has their Extreme Heavy duty driveshafts but there still plastic. The stock traxxas driveshafts has a problem where the pin pulls through the plastic.

 

[bill_delong]

Rust can be avoided by cleaning the car after every use and spraying all metal bits with WD40 Dry Lube before storing indoor away from humidity, etc

 

[Bogda89]

I am not sure what kind of drive shafts you have but many aftermarket eBay stuff is junk. I bought one slash with those driveshafts. They rusted after couple of years with only one battery pack during summer (no snow or salt). They use different bearings, you have to drill wheels because shafts are bigger diameter, and the biggest problem was turning angle. They have much more limited turning abilities so no sharp turns. In reality you spend money to make your car worst than factory. I had to buy original front shafts to make car usable again