LOSI LST XXL Conversion ideas

[mistercrash]

Has anyone ever thought of getting rid of the E clips on the LST's suspension? I did some web searching and it looks like the 4 mm hinge pins with E clips could be replaced with M4 X 0.7 X 55 mm 12.9 grade socket head cap screws. These screws don't have threads all the way. only at the end, leaving a long shoulder before the screw head (not sure but it looks like around 40 mm long) that could act as the hinge pin. Put an M4 washer on the screw, slide the screw in, put a second washer and a lock nut and cut the excess threads with a dremel. No more E clips. I also thought about using the shock shafts but the screws would be easier. I know there's other Losi RCs that use threaded outer hinge pins but I'm not sure of their dimensions and I won't pay 5 bucks plus shipping just for two.

Here's a link to the screw I'm thinking about.
http://www.fastenal.com/web/products...5PF0000&ucst=t

The image in the link is not representative of the real screw which does not have threads all the way up to the head. I found a CAD drawing of the 60 mm and 50 mm screws but I couldn't find a drawing of the 55 mm screw. The 60 mm screw has a shoulder of 46 mm, the 50 mm screw has a shoulder of 36 mm. A little more than 38 mm is needed so the 55 mm screw with an estimated shoulder of 40/41 mm would be perfect.

[JThiessen]

JAILBIRD found these http://www.teamstrc.com/ebproductdet...mainid=3&id=68
You might get away with sckt hd cap screws if you are still running all plastic parts there, but the finish on them is not meant to be used as a bearing surface. Thread length on them should be around 14mm - so your guess of 40mm was close. Probably function ok though. Use a nylock nut.

[mistercrash]

Someone on the LST forums gave me the link to the ST Racing threaded hinge pins also. Like I said to him, $20 plus shipping for 8 bugs me a bit. They look good though but for $0.65 for a screw and the Nylock nut, I can have the same thing, maybe better for so much less. All it needs is a little effort on my part to make the surface of the shoulder smooth. I'll just chuck the screw in the drill press on high speed and use fine sand paper to smooth out the shoulder. It'll work very well I'm sure of it.

[JThiessen]

Tightwad!!!

[mistercrash]

Tightwad? What does that mean. Language barrier I'm French remember... If it means that I'm a cheap bastard then you would be right

[JThiessen]

Yeah, we'll just settle on cheap bastard!!!

[mistercrash]

I couldn't wait for the 5 ID X 2 mm cross O rings to come in so I found O rings at the hardware store that had imperial measurements that were close enough and reassembled the front shocks with the 5 mm shafts I made and the valves for the shock pistons. I also got some M4 screws to replace the hinge pins. I went with the 60 mm long ones and the shoulder was just right. I just had to cut the excess threads since the shoulders were so smooth I didn't feel the need to polish them. only the front suspension is done for now. I bashed it on 6S and it all worked very well. The 5 mm shafts held up but more testing needs to be done. The wrong sized O rings didn't leak but I suspect they might because they didn't fit as tight as they should around the shafts. The shock straps worked great, more testing needed on those two. The hinge screws worked awesome and let the suspension move very freely. The piston valves really seem to give more damping on hard landings. I noticed a lot less bottoming out. The over stuffed Proline Mashers are excellent for bashing, they give good grip on many surfaces and the over stuffing firms them up quite nicely giving a lot of support for this heavy truck. I'm very pleased.