Savage Questions

[Greywolf74]

A friend of mine gave me his older Savage 25 and I was wondering how much of the Savage SS parts are compatible witht the 25 and if theres not alot of compatabilty what would it take to convert my 25 into an SS. The reason I ask is because I know a guy with a lot os SS parts that I could pick up pretty cheap and I'm wodnering if its worth it.

Thx.

 

[NCNitro]

The SS and 25 are nearly identicle. The SS was a kit that did not come with radio or servos and you had to assemble it, the 25 came rtr. All the parts are interchangable between the original 21, 25 and SS. So if you can pick up a bunch of parts cheap, go for it.

 

[olds97_lss]

The only thing that may have been different back then would have been that maybe the diffs had 2 internal spider gears vs 4.

 

[NCNitro]

The only thing that may have been different back then would have been that maybe the diffs had 2 internal spider gears vs 4.

My SS originally came with two gear diffs, after blowing the rear I switched them both to a 4 gear set up and never had another problem with my diffs.

 

[olds97_lss]

You could probably do yourself a favor and get a couple new ones for the XL off ebay. They run much better gears now (machined vs cast/ground) and they have alloy diff cups. Can usually snag them for around $30 a piece shipped.

You may not be able to use the cases, but the diff itself, bearings and pinion gears are interchangeable. They changed the cases/towers when the X came out and have kept them the new way since.

On ebay, it's best if you can see the gears in the photo. If the ring gear is black on the back, it's the machined one. The older ones are a gold/brass color.

The "bulletproof" ones are the best, but may cost a bit more. HPI has had at least 4 diff versions for the savage.
1) Original cast/ground ring gear 2 spider plastic cup
2) Original cast/ground ring gear 4 spider plastic cup
3) Newer machined ring gear 4 spider alloy cup
4) Newest Machined "Bullteproof" with less teeth ring gear/pinion 4 spider alloy cup

#4 was their best to date.

 

[Rolex]

Excellent info.

 

[olds97_lss]

I never upgraded mine past the #3. The diffs were part of the major upgrade I did to it. I also used alloy diff cases, which posed their own problems, but ran very solid for a good year as a primary basher with an LRP28 in it. I haven't driven it in over a year... sits on a shelf...

 

[NCNitro]

I'm not going to worry about it until I need to. But thanks for the info, I will definitely go with the better gear sets if and when I grenade another diff. But with the proper shimming, and grease, as well as the 4 spider gears I have not had a single problem with them, so if it aint broke, I aint fixing it, lol.