Originally posted by rinkrat99
Hi all,
Does anyone have any hints on assembling the 12L3 front suspension?
From the picture, it looks like use (top to bottom) e-clip, 3 kingpin shims, upper suspension arm, 1 shim, steering block, lower arm, spring then e-clip.
Should the kingpin move as free as a 1/10 TC car or should I leave it snug? I normally open the kingpin hole with a 1/8" drillbit just enough to allow smooth free play, but is that too much.
Is it important to use the elctrical tape around the battery cells on the chassis?
Any other kit hints?
Thanks
Assemble the front suspension just as the instructions say. DO NOT DRILL OUT THE KING PIN HOLE ON THE SPINDLE!! That should be a tight fit allowing the king pin and the spindle to turn and move up and down inside of the upper and lower pivot balls. Polish the king pins with any fine grit metal polish to a chrome like finish. You can also replace the upper and lower plastic pivot balls with some bronze bushings from Niftech. Use a good lubricant like Glidex II on the bronze bushings. IRS also makes a replacement king pin that has a slotted screw head on the top and a small aluminum 4-40 lock nut on the bottom. This modification eliminates the need for e-clips. Lundsford makes a titanium spindle with a 4-40 nut to hold on the front wheels instead of using e-clips. I also use the cross brace from the Yokomo YRX12 between the caster block uprights to make the front springs work to their optimum.
As far as using electrical tape on the batteries, if you bevel the edges of the chassis slots that should prevent the chassis from cutting the heat shrink on the batteries. I put an extra heat shrink on the batteries every time I assemble a new pack which also helps.
Good Luck!!