Hey, Mr. Saylor. I don't even know if you still read/post on these forums. It's been about eight months since I last posted here. My Stampede has been idle for several months (My 'retreat' was a combination of being discouraged about not finding any newer/better places to drive it and life just getting in the way: dealing with things like health problems, etc. I suppose we can all relate to the challenges we encounter in our lives, though). I hope you are doing well. Did you ever get to start/finish that latest 'build' that you talked about earlier?
Anyway, without digressing too much, let me explain that I recently got the 'urge' to take my Stampede out and run it again. LOL, I had to get rid of some dust and cobwebs, but everything was still in good shape. I still haven't found any good places to drive it, but I just felt the pull to get out there and 'bash around' as best I cab. I've been back to the school yard/baseball diamond/etc. and the street in front of my mother's house (not too noisy so no complaints from neighbors).
Just this past weekend, I was driving my truck at the school yard/parking lot when I figured out that by braking at even moderate speed, it causes my Stampede to fishtail and do a '180 degree turn'. And then by accelerating before the vehicle comes to a stop, I can make the truck do a 'mean wheelie'. That's the coolest thing, seeing it pop a wheelie
Anyway, I did this several times while racing around. Later when I let the vehicle come to a stop. I realized that I had broken it: the motor sounds/looks like it is still spinning fine when I accelerate, but the rear wheels don't engage. I can spin each rear wheel independently (they feel pretty loose). Again, they just won't turn in sync with the motor anymore.
This might sound incongruous, but I'm actually pleased in a way to have broken my truck for the first time
I feel like it's some kind of initiation into the world of rc, haha. You play for a while and then it breaks. Then you have to figure out how to fix it so you can drive it some more
I suspect that if I unbolt some of the screws on the chassis, I am going to find some broken parts. I'm kind of nervous about doing so, because I'm not technically-savvy and pretty ham-fisted (I usually wind up with 'extra parts' after trying to follow written assembly directions for products-screws that don't fit, etc.), but with the help of folks like you on this forum, I'm sure I will eventually get my Stampede running again.
I can also take my Stampede to the local hobby shop where I bought it last year. If I ask, maybe they will diagnose the problem, and recommend the parts and tools I will need to fix it. (I think this will be a great opportunity for me to learn about the inner workings of my vehicle.
Do you have any suggestions on how I should proceed on repairing? From what I've described to you, does it sound like a blown-out transmission? Popping wheelies in the way I described is fun, but maybe doing this is a big no-no (will break your vehicle every time)? I would like to know if there is a safe way for me to get my 2WD Stampede to pop wheelies?
Sorry for the ramble and all of the questions. But thanks for any help/ideas you can give me. Cheers!
P.S.-I have been researching and trying to find out a good rc car or truck kit . I want to build a vehicle that I can then drive. I think that would be the coolest thing to do. Do you have any suggestions for a first project? Unfortunately it doesn't seem like there are many kits out there on the market-about everything is RTR
Any suggestion for me?