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Transmission help for a newbie, please!

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T

theflyguy

RC Newbie
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Hi there,

I have the original T-Maxx 1.5 that has been sitting in my garage for a long time. I pulled it out and started tinkering with it - got the engine to fire up just fine, BUT... the truck won't move. The engine just revs and revs but the tranny will not engage. From what I recall, the truck should just start to chug chug chug forward and then take off when it hits a certain RPM but... it isn't doing that.

I wouldn't mind fixing it - but I'm a total newbie. I understand from reading the forums that one (or more) of the tranny gears might be stripped (although the truck hasn't sustained any damage and worked OK the last time I used it years ago). If you could help me out by telling me what to check and exactly how to do it (please use small words :D) - I'll give it my best shot.

Thanks and Happy Holidays.
 
Check to make sure your slipper clutch is tight. You can youtube a video on how to do it. Make sure your clutch bell and spur gear are meshed with each other as well. Will the truck roll freely back and forth with hardly any resistance? If not your brakes could be too tight or you may have a gear inside the tranny stripped. It really could be numerous things your just going to have to start narrowing it down one prob at a time till you find the issue.
 
If it has the reverse which being a pro.15 it should it may be stuck in between forward and reverse. Make sure you're getting full engagement from the forward and reverse servo.
 
LOL!!! I just had the same problem with a used 3.3 tmaxx.It looks mint,in real good shape.I was tuning the motor and when I put it on the ground,it just slightly moves and revs and revs and don't move WTF!!First thing I thought of is the clutch as well.I'll check that clutch adjustment first.Oh well it's just a rc car.It can be fixed!!!
 
UPDATE: Well I took apart the entire transmission and had a look - it did appear to me that it was stuck in between forward/reverse. I freed it up and put everything back together. Looking forward to testing it this weekend - unfortunately I leave for work early and come back home late during the week these days... LOL. Will let you know if it fixed the problem or not. The transmission was surprisingly easy to pull apart and work with, though. I adjusted the slipper clutch as well but I think the tranny was my problem.
 
yep classic stuck in between gears... if its free it should be fine. may not shift from fwd to reverse but it should be fine to go fwd. best thing to do is get the Robinson Racing Forward only conversion
 
No luck - engine starts like a champ, revs but the truck won't move an inch. I have done the following:

1. Tightened the slipper clutch

2. Taken apart the tranny completely - found no stripped gears. It looked to me like it might have been stuck between forward and reverse but I freed it up and this had no effect.

3. Lowered the idle speed to as low as possible without the engine stalling out.

All the gears are turning when the engine is running... anything else I should look at before this baby finds it way to a trash can? :hehe: It's probably something very simple. This truck has barely been used - it's been sitting in my garage for years.

Thanks friends.
 
AH-HA! Partial success! I can get the truck to move... backwards. That's right, by manually moving the forward/reverse servo I can get it to go in reverse only. So... what's next? Would a FOC kit fix this? If so, which one would I buy - remember I have the very first model T-Maxx that was ever built (1.5 engine, bought the truck pretty much right after it was released).

Thanks again!
 
Well I did some research and it looks like Traxxas makes part 4994X that converts pre-2002 T-Maxx's to forward only. Think this would fix the problem? Thanks.
 
Yeah that should take care of it plus it will remove a lot of moving parts in the transmission. Less moving parts = Less that can go wrong.
 
Got the part at my LHS (12 bucks). I'll probably install it tonight and give it another go tomorrow. Thanks for the help!
 
i snapped the pin that holds the gear into place where the selector is between forward and reverse... check that. i have a temp fix atm with a new pin but the inside of the gear is chewed out and if i hit reverse and forward too much ill prob snap it again. i have the replacement here tho for when it breaks on me :D
 
Forward Only Conversion was completed with one minor problem. The two screws that came with the kit to plug the two holes in the tranny don't seem to fit. I have the very first model T-maxx that was made (pre-2002) did they change something as far as the size of these holes? They look like they should fit but they won't stay in. Any thoughts? Do I need to buy a different size plug screw? The kit came with a 5x6 roundhead screw and a 4x6 roundhead screw. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
 

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