Fawah

Greetings, new to the hobby and the forums. I've been searching the web and can't find much on this issue. My problem; got a new Traxxas Slash and have made some adjustments/tinkering around with it and when I REMOVE a screw (never been removed by me before) from pretty much any spot the thread comes alone with it (picture the screw with a piece of thread wrapped around it but the thread is plastic from the piece it was screwed into).

Of course when that happens I cannot tighten it back down, is this a common issue, is it because its a low end truck and what’s the fix (other than replacing the piece which I'd be doing a lot of).

I love the truck and the hobby but a little disappointed in the quality.

rearviewmirror

iTrader: (17)

First I've heard of this happening honestly. You can use some CA glue and larger screw, it will tap itself into the existing hole.

FJC 88

iTrader: (8)

Something tells me your screwing it the wrong way..

lefty loosey, righty tighty.

SMcpot

iTrader: (22)

I also experienced this with my truck, but luckily they were with parts that I was already replacing. As was suggested, try "rethreading" the parts by filling the stripped holes with a little CA glue.

Gotta love prebuilt cars!

Cedartrack

iTrader: (14)

I have only had that problem on the rear a-arm hing pins but the CA glue fixed the problem.

Lowrance

iTrader: (30)

Yep, I lost threads removing a screw that holds the rear body mount to the shock tower. I'am 43 years old, worked fighter jets in the USAF, printing press operator for the last 20 years and I've been in RC since 1987....pretty sure I didn't turn the screw the wrong way

Mudman

iTrader: (2)

Another fix depending on how bad it is, and you can only use so much CA glue. Try to break apart a toothpick tip and stick it in the stripped hole with a little bit of elmers glue. Let it dry and it'll be good as new without having to retap. But luckily parts for it are not that expensive if you have to replace it.

nutz4rcyktw

iTrader: (67)

I would say that the reason so many striped out was that they were over tightened in the first place. May have been assembled that way.

F N CUDA

iTrader: (34)

Open web press opertor/maint since 80' and RC since 86.
Just sayin.
I still strip em out but not cuz of wrong direction.

t0adman

iTrader: (8)

I've purchased two Slashes and both had the exact same issue in various spots. I found it was usually in spots where the screw went into a nut on the other side and it was just stripping out the hole. In other spots that wasn't the case making me think it was simply over tightened at the factory. Thankfully they weren't that stripped and when I put the screw back in and tightened down gently it held pretty well. CA is a good temporary fix if you find it won't hold at all. You can also contact Traxxas and explain what you've found. They're either offer a good solution (I'm sure they've heard about this before) and/or send you replacement parts. Their customer service is excellent.

Fawah

Well sorry for everyone's trouble but glad I'm not alone. LOL I KNEW I'd get the "you turned it the wrong way" post and was going to stress I was not (I'm no engineer and hate to admit I do have to do the righty tight/left loosey thing every now and then).

I did read about CA glue; asked the hobby shop guy and he had no idea what I was talking about; is it just Crazy glue?

t0adman

iTrader: (8)

Nope, it's a special model glue for use with RC cars. I use the Losi thin kind. It comes with a little hose you cut into small sections and insert into the tip of the bottle. It allows you to be far more precise when building wheels/tires. It's also much thinner so will run and drip easier if you're not careful.

This will give you an idea of some of your choices.
http://www.amainhobbies.com/index.php/cPath/1_167_295

Duster_360

iTrader: (21)

If these are the wood screw things rtrs seem to be so fond of using? I've had good results replacing them with threaded hex heads. Makes a stronger joint than the wood screw things.

ssg

I have a sneaking suspicion that they use a power driver at the factory when they assemble these. In the past I have overheated plastic parts using my own driver. What happens is the driver spins the screw into the plastic so fast that it heats up and literally melts to the threads. You know this is happening when the screw begins to squeak as you turn it. After you finish turning the screw the plastic cools off and re-hardens. Later you will find that the screw is abnormally hard to turn and frequently will pull plastic out in the threads when you remove it. Personally I have trained myself to take it verrrrry slow when using my electric driver with plastic. I have two Slashes one stock and one that I have modded out and both of them have had at least one stripped suspension piece. I would be surprised if Traxxas is NOT aware that this happens.

One other problem I have had with the Traxxas trucks is that frequently the upper shock mount simply will not stay tight for long without over torqing it. I have looked for a shouldered screw that is long enough to go through the whole shock mount so that I can back it with a nut but no luck so far. Anyone? Right now I have used just a tiny amount of Tamiya thread lock which my LHS tells me does not soften plastic? So far so good. I know some folks use a dab of CA. The hinge pins on the A arms are prone to backing themselves out also. These things should be checked before every race.

These nits aren’t meant to dump on this truck these trucks have become really popular at MOHR here in Denver and we are having a ton of fun with them. They could use a couple of small improvements though. As much commercial success as Traxxas has had with these trucks I don’t think they have a large incentive to fix relatively minor issues.

Steve