T maxx 3.3 conversion

[Airgunner25]

I bought a t maxx that was what looks like to be in the middle of a 2.5 to 3.3 conversion. It already had a lot of 3.3 parts like the motor all the a arms and basically everything besides the frame, transmission, and driveline like the differentials. The 2.5 transmission messed up so I bought a 3.3 one. And it has been one thing after another, first the screws for the transmission wouldn't fit then the driveshafts were to short and then when I ordered the 3.3 driveshafts they were to long. So what would make them to long? The differentials, the frame? Someone please let me know because I am about done with this hobby and only being 3 weeks into it.

 

[hotrodrob]

Relax buddy..let's take a step back and have a deep breath...your center axles are to long because the 3.3 chassis is longer in the front!...you can cut the plastic slider shafts down to a custom length verry easily,or u can switch out the knuckle,..

 

[Airgunner25]

Yes I talked to trades and they said the same thing, thanks man.

 

[TMaxxMike]

Hi Airgunner. Your 2.5 to 3.3 conversion sounds scary. A T-Maxx 3.3 has a longer chassis. If you have a T-Maxx 2.5 and want to upgrade the motor only should not need any more converting other than change the motor.
It's alright to have a T-Maxx 2.5 with a 3.3 motor in it.
It should run just fine.
No other modifications required.

 

[Airgunner25]

Yeah but it was almost completely converted when I got it, I meant traxxas on the previous reply not trades.

 

[TMaxxMike]

I already been there is what I'm saying. I have two Maxx's that originally had a 2.5 motor. I wanted to convert them as well. I found that the only thing I could really upgrade was the motor. A REAL Maxx 3.3 has an extended chassis. You will go crazy trying to make a 2.5 Maxx into a 3.3 Maxx. They are completely different. The transmission is different. The brake and slipper clutch are different. The A-arms are different.....
My suggestion is to look for a cheap 3.3 T-Maxx with a blown motor. Do the Traxxas motor upgrade and get a brand new 3.3 for about $140. Now you have a TRUE 3.3 T-Maxx.
The main problem I found when I tried this was that the original 2.5 chassis could not handle the extra power of the 3.3. I still kept the motor in there. It works like a champ. It does wheelies all day.
Just be careful when buying parts and be aware that they are two totally different trucks.
I think the REAL 3.3 has the extended chassis and is called the 4907 or 4908.
The 2.5 Maxx is a 4910.
This is DEFINATELY the best place to get advice.
Sometimes your local hobby shop just wants to sell you something.
Do the research and save money to buy more fuel. LOL Good luck.
Can you post a few pics?

 

[Airgunner25]

Let me know if that uploaded right.

 

[TMaxxMike]

Awesome. Looks like a 4907 or 4908 . I could be wrong for sure. I found an easy way to tell which chassis you have. Flip it over and look at the chassis. If both ends look squared off then it is the shorter chassis 4910. If one end looks slightly triangular then it is a longer chassis 4907 or 4908. It looks like it has had several upgrades. I see the nice shiny bulkheads. That means the diffs have been out of it. On a real 4908 you should have the fluid filled diffs. Easy way to tell is how many screws are in the diff. A 4908 Maxx would have fluid filled diffs and 4 screws holding the diff together. The 4910 has 2 screws holding the diff together and there is no fluid required.
Looks like a nice rig for sure. If you plan on staying in the hobby then I would suggest a nice set of hex head screw drivers. You mainly need !.5, 2.0, and 2.5mm. I would get the highest quality you can afford. MIP sells a very good set of the three you need the most.
Looks like you are going to have some fun... good luck.

 

[Airgunner25]

Thanks, it has the 2.5 chassis I believe because it is squared off like you said, but the diffs have 4 screws holding them together so I'm guessing that is the 3.3 then. Would it be worth buying a 3.3 chassis since mostly everything is 3.3 anyway? Also I believe there is a problem with the throttle and brakes because if you set it where the brakes work then you don't really have much speed and the brakes are on until you push the gas even when you don't touch the brake. Or vise versa like when you have speed you don't have brakes. I'm not really sure what is causing it, maybe the servo or the linkage but the servo seems like it works fine. I think the linkage is from a 2.5

 

[IdriveSlideways]

What I was going to say was already mentioned so i don't need to repeat it. Don't get frustrated man. It comes with the hobby. It's all one big learning experience and that's what we're here for. I've only been in the hobby for just over 2 years and I'm still trying to learn. Plus there are a quite a few knowledgeable guys on these boards that would never try to steer you in the wrong direction.

 

[DXtreme1]

What I was going to say was already mentioned so i don't need to repeat it. Don't get frustrated man. It comes with the hobby. It's all one big learning experience and that's what we're here for. I've only been in the hobby for just over 2 years and I'm still trying to learn. Plus there are a quite a few knowledgeable guys on these boards that would never try to steer you in the wrong direction.

I bought a t maxx that was what looks like to be in the middle of a 2.5 to 3.3 conversion. It already had a lot of 3.3 parts like the motor all the a arms and basically everything besides the frame, transmission, and driveline like the differentials. The 2.5 transmission messed up so I bought a 3.3 one. And it has been one thing after another, first the screws for the transmission wouldn't fit then the driveshafts were to short and then when I ordered the 3.3 driveshafts they were to long. So what would make them to long? The differentials, the frame? Someone please let me know because I am about done with this hobby and only being 3 weeks into it.

IDriveSlideways is correct. You really need a lot of patience. I did the exact conversion a couple of years ago on my original 2.5 TMaxx. What you need to do is go to the Traxxas site and pull up the parts diagram for the whole truck. I would print it out coz it makes it easier to read and visualize the work u need to do. Overall the experience was great and fulfilling but it took a boatload of money to do right. It's better to buy a 3.3 rolling chassis in a financial aspect(after adding up my total parts list it cost more than a gently used 3.3 rolling chassis on EBay)and pull the parts u need from there if you have not started however since you already did there will be quite a few mods you will have to do. In my case quite a lot since I was working with a 2.5 Spider Web Chassis. If you are working with the stock one it's easier since you can drill holes on the chassis wherever you need to. When cutting the center shafts you need to be conservative and cut off a little at a time. If you cut too much, you may end up with a very weak shaft since there won't be enough contact area between the telescoping body. You may also have to widen the front shaft cutout on the chassis to make it fit. I will post pics of the top view of my 2.5/3.3 hybrid and my newly built 3.3 so you can see what layout changes you need to do. The steering/brake servo is installed in reverse as opposed to how it is on the 3.3 to make it work with the 3.3 tranny and linkage. Currently I have a 2.5 installed but I had the OS21TM in there. The converted Maxx is being used by my 5 year old as his trainer Maxx and I have that OS out for Race Modification. My newish 3.3 came with another OS21TM installed and a spare 3.3. The 3.3 will eventually make it way into the converted Maxx once my son is off his training wheels.

 

[DXtreme1]

And here is the top view with them side by side. You will see exactly the difference of length but the width is exactly the same. Both trucks have a lot of custom mods done to them. Both have the bigger 150cc tank that has been relocated to where the original transmitter battery box was. I decided to keep both EZ Start system because I got tired of having to buy a new one way bearing every few weeks when I was using the rotostart aftermarket system. It just wasn't worth the weight savings and decided to find some weight savings somewhere else.

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[DXtreme1]

Airgunner if you need advise and tips just let me know. We can even exchange contact info to make it easier. Having some1 that's done the build you are tackling helps a lot. I know the frustrations you face since I've been there and back since I'm on another build phase on the converted Maxx. I just completed the full steering bellcrank change over yesterday. I still have to do the 14mm to 17mm hub conversion since I used the conversion part on the new 3.3 so now I got to redo it again on this truck. When you do the diffs I recommend using Gravity RC diff grease. It's a pain to use coz it's super thick and tacky but the diff performance is amazing. The trucks hook so well. It drives more like a 1/8 scale buggy.

 

[Certified Mike]

It's Def good to have someone here sharing info that obviously has the experience! Just a small heads up as I think pretty much everyone new here has done it once or twice... The original post is about a year old. The dates are in the blue header bar at the top of the posts. Don't be offended or discouraged if he doesn't reply. He hasn't been on here since August.

 

[D3MON]

i know this is an old thread but thank you DXtreme1 for the info on the conversion. and beautiful trucks, making miss my old T-Maxx 2.5 classic, great rigs