5T wont move....

[Strider1]

So, here is first post of dumb questions....lol
5T was running fine....at beach....ya I know....anyway...after a bit it got sluggish, not as much pickup.
Eventually gave out all together, so my motor revs, nothing turns, already cracked open the center diff, looks fine, oil is syrup thick, like molasses on a cold winter in Wisconsin.....lol was buttery before I opened it. Don't think it's my diff, clutch? maybe....anyone?....many thanks

 

[crankestein]

Lift the rear of the truck, make sure the wheels spin freely (brakes not engaged), one wheel must turn forward one backward. You will know when its a bad diff, will be super loud grinding noise.

Clutch maybe, or the cheap plastic clutch carrier.

Post some pics of your ride and the area which may be bad.

 

[Strider1]

Pic I think is attached.....motor starts throttle works, no binding....I removed diff....if motor is running and I manually control the throttle, shouldn't the pinion gear spin when rpms go up?

 

[Strider1]

and I thought I had troubles....lol I don't know what the trucker was thinking.....lol

 

[Strider1]

Wheels rotate like butter, just as you described one forward one reverse, no unusual noise or feeling.....
That was why I thought the clutch, but went after the center diff first....lol so my maintenance bug is satisfied lol...best fun imo when successful....lol

 

[crankestein]

The diffs seem to be fine by what you describe, don't overfill them, always no more than the cross hairs.

The engine pinion gear should spin when revving up, maybe not shim right, got clogged or who knows, (rare) premature failure, over heated and stuck shot.

I have posted somewhere in the threads that the clutch shoes are shimmed too tight and when they get all that clutch dust they start to fail. Sometimes the guide bolts and all surrounding moving parts are rusted, sand polish so they all move freely without the spring installed. There should be some minor play all bolted up w no springs, but not too much, and considerably less with it, but still a little.

Clutch bell could be warped.

** (with the ENGINE OFF, Can you spin freely the clutch pinion gear? )

 

[Strider1]

** (with the ENGINE OFF, Can you spin freely the clutch pinion gear? )

Yes, spins freely very smooth.....tonight or this weekend I will crack open the clutch.....better to remove the whole engine or can I get to the clutch and repair without removing the motor from the chassis?.....many thanks for advise crank...appreciate it a lot.

 

[crankestein]

I hope you got one of those piston stoppers, whatever they are called, makes life so much easier to loosen those clutch bolts.

It can be done from the chassis, but its more of a hassle, I prefer to remove the engine. Now that you are there, might as well check the ignition gap, flywheel, etc. When putting the engine bolts back, threadlock, and if possible a drop of rubber cement to the neck of the bolt, and bottom of each spacer. I do that as an extra precaution, even red locktite sometimes makes them get loose, but I also bash the poor chassis pretty bad, je je.

http://s948.photobucket.com/user/mazpr2025/slideshow/King Motor RC X2 4WD

Thats my X2 photo album, for reference if at some point you do a teardown. It used to look so pretty when new, now it has character and plenty of battle scars.

 

[Strider1]

Yes, I did get the piston stopper and a cy clutch shoe w/8k spring.....diff oil too....so I'll put in the time this weekend.
For what it's worth, I did give the 5 a thorough look over before removing the center diff....it's brand new....lol so all your above suggestions I've been able to check off the list to narrow it down.....I just wasn't quite certain.
It's nice to have folks willing to help and I am grateful for any knowledge base you have....I have other vehicles, but consider myself a novis....I'm semi smart but this is all new....fun, but new....I'll put up some other pics I have, slash, vekta, R8, someone gave me an old nitro revo.....I'm all over the place....drones too...lol

 

[Strider1]

 

[Paul G]

Make sure the notch that the pinion sits on isn't gone. Had a pinion bolt come lose on me and bell would turn but pinion would not.

 

[Strider1]

Make sure the notch that the pinion sits on isn't gone. Had a pinion bolt come lose on me and bell would turn but pinion would not.

will do, thx for the heads up....with the cntr diff removed....I can spin the pinion gear, and it spins rather nicely, no binding and everything is tight, no loose screws or anything....and that is why I thought my clutch is the issue....whether or not its totally failed, broke spring, or something else....but I will know more later tonight when I tear it down.....again many thanks for the heads up

 

[crankestein]

Nice collection, my weakness is 1/8th nitro buggies, have four of those, two bashing warriors, both w .21 non pull start engines, and two which have not seen a spec of dirt yet. Got also two 1/12 discontinued nitro minis w 2-speed, those are a challenge to drive even w the 4WD. When that second gear kicks they are all over looking for road w such a small wheelbase. I am glad brushless took over, it stopped the nonsense price spike, and now its super easy to get .21 engines and mint condition rollers for a very good price.
Lately decided what is all the fuzz of brushless and bought a Blackout Pro, upgrades to 1/8th buggy tires, and made a custom chassis brace. They are fast and can fly with such a light platform. I'll see if I can upload a few photos.

**I got a few others, but thats for a later time.

 

[Paul G]

I didn't pay attention to post. Did you put in another clutch or has it been replaced that you know of? I had another issue where the treads on an aftermarket clutch was made slightly longer than factory bolts. Then I had the washers mixed up and just a hair difference would lock the shoe too tight and it would not move freely. Then I put the correct washers in and good to go.

 

[Strider1]

lol crank....ya, I got the bug with the slash....and just gradually went up in scale.....I don't mind what expense its cost me to this point....not made of money, but the idea behind the hobby was for when I retire.....long term, the investment has already been made so expenses now and when retired should be minimal....I wanted something to enjoy, and I've tried coaching baseball and what not....but the parents are horrible....so, it seemed to me this was perfect....so my collection began, and will continue to grow.....I'd like to get 2 FG on-road cars later....but for now what I have is plenty....I like'm all....enjoy working on them. Thinking of putting the castle 2028 system in the Losi audi R8....originally bought it as a price savings for the Kraken.....I like brushless....couldn't hold the wallet for MGM....lol.....now with the 5T and seeing gas for the first time IDK...so we'll see.....hope your day is good, weekend better.....I'll put up pics tonight when I crack open the 5T clutch housing....chat with ya soon, many thanks

 

[Strider1]

I didn't pay attention to post. Did you put in another clutch or has it been replaced that you know of? I had another issue where the treads on an aftermarket clutch was made slightly longer than factory bolts. Then I had the washers mixed up and just a hair difference would lock the shoe too tight and it would not move freely. Then I put the correct washers in and good to go.

Hi Paul.....no, the truck is brand new....worked great for a bit then slowly gave out and finally quit.....as far as the driveline is concerned......so initially thought maybe one of the diffs....checked everything noticeable, all the wheels spin freely and as they're suppose to, the TXMTR and RXR are fine, battery good, was able to rev motor but no engagement and truck wont move....started looking at the center diff first....found nothing unusual there so thought maybe I fried the clutch......I've not found any loose screws or anything, all else looks to be kosher. I can spin the pinion gear fine, no grinding, no noises, spins freely, and so now here I am, gonna crack it open and see what's goin on inside.....lol .....I'm gonna post pics later tonight when I crack open the clutch housing.... I really appreciate you guys and your suggestions....many thanks

 

[Paul G]

I'm guessing clutch shoes wore out. Metal to metal will not get you moving really. Hope you get it figured out!

 

[Strider1]

Well I finally got into it today....lots of black suit....and the pads were glassy smooth. Cleaned all that up, installed new clutch....diff and general chassis cleaning tomorrow, hopefully....lol

 

[crankestein]

You need to do the mesh mod to save that flywheel and ignition coil from pebbles and all kinds of stuff.

It is the stock spring the problem, sand the surfaces in the clutch pads to make them rough and the same for the clutch bell, give it a cross hatch finish. Swap the red spring into the used pads, the shoes still have plenty of "meat" for them to engage.
IMO the clutch pads are reusable, resurface and you should be fine. Now that you are there check for any edges on the moving areas, shoes to bolt, shoe to mounting surface, and polish those, bolt area where the shoe moves on, polish. The parts will have some play but its normal. Mount the shoes, shims, bolts without the spring and parts should move freely, no resistance at all. If so then you may need a thinner washer, or smooth out on the side of the clutch mounting surfaces doing figure eights on sand paper to make them thinner. I have had to do so a few times.

*** the springs should be free in the shoe little hole, test w one shoe at a time. Have seen the hole too tight, use a bit of a smaller size and drill back and forth on the shoe side to make the hole bigger, NOT the hole side facing inwars into the center. We don't want to reduce the distance from hole to hole. Only if needed, outside area of hole.
Follow the line of the spring over the shoe and sides dremmel if need be if the spring is resting on the shoe sides. The red spring should only touch the shoes only the little holes and thats it, everything else should be dremmel and smooth out. don't dremmel on the spring itself, leave it slone.

The shoe mounting area is to chunky, sanding off by hand, taking my time until the gap is about right and clutch shoes no longer restricted from movement w them installed and held in place by its bolts. Once all set, install red spring and then again w a flat screwdriver attempt to open them (a little, not too much) and view if the red spring is catching to anything upon moving them. Its going to be very tough to open them up which is about right. The new spring will wake that engine up, by letting the engine engage at a higher rpm. Remember to sand and give a rough finish to the bells.

Not necessary, but if you can drill holes on the sides of the clutch carrier and towatd the back (careful w the engine block) now that everything and exercise caution w the shoe mount or remove to be safe the clutch carrier out of the engine.

Drill holes on the clutch bell carrier as well. Do as many and big as you can. Use your judgement on still maintaining the integrity of the parts. I did them on mine its soft aluminum. At least a few at the bottom so when using carb cleaner stuff gets out through the holes.
The 5ive is a heavy truck and the clutch system gets hot fast, proper ventilation is a must to keep them cool and prevent the glass buildup. If not want to do the hassle have it in the list to purchase a open clutch carrier. Nothing will happen, look at all those bajas w them and rarely pebbles get jammed in there. It is much tougher to drill holes to the clutch bell, the metal is very strong, I would rather buy the ventilated bell at a later time. Then you can easily spray carb cleaner into the clutch parts without having to tear apart for cleanup all the time.

// Carburetor cleaner, lots of ventilation, newspapers, rags, and if possible a mask as not to breath any of that dust.

The engine looks good. I would later swap the cheap plastic intake manifold for cnc upgrade part.

 

[Strider1]

Houston, we have take off.....lol....all is back together and functions well so far....up next....tuning 101....lol