RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

Hey guys.....
I havent seen any talk about Shimming the Diffs of the Monsoon, (unless my Search missed it).
I know that MY front diff needs shimming real bad.
I am not talking about the Normal "clicking" diffs that is par for the course with the Monsoon either.
My front diff is Very tight (middle and rear are OK) and I know exactly how to fix it with some shims.

Redcat lists a p/n for Diff. Washers 81216. The manual shows a drawing of 8 of them. Does anyone Know if thats a KIT with various thicknesses of shims.
All of the shims in my monsoon are the same thickness @ 0.020 in.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

thanks for the info i would also like to know if any of you can help me with a problem i have my throttle will not work is this the servo my steering still works. but when i turn on the power to the servos and transmitter the throttle servo will not brake or throtle up. these are the stock hsp 3003 servos i switched the channels and again good steering but no throttle do you think it is the servo or something else. and also which glowplug is best.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

mrcraig....

If I understand correctly, your throttle servo would not work when plugged into the the Throttle/brake channel and then it would STILL not work when you plugged it into the Steering channel of your receiver.

In that case, your throttle servo is bad.

You might open it and check the wires. It is common for one of the wires to break at the Solder Joint., which is an easy repair.

Any Medium Plug will work. I use O.S. 8

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

thanks i appreciate this help as we are new to this nitro gig and are racing.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

i purchased two mg995 servos they say high speed high torque would these servos be ok to use as a throtle/braking servo?

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

yes it will just make your brakes work better

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

This will make your brakes work better!

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

Lol....I completeing that Brakre mod as we speak....

any advice on alt MFG shims that will fit the Monsoon Diffs...?

I guess Redcat doesnt think they will ever NEED shimming, LOL....

I am starting to see that the difference between Bargain cars and high $$$ cars is the level of parts support for things like Shims and O-rings and other small parts that wear over time.....

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

Imo, redharris, i would do the cen mod that vnmsgt recommended. i did it to my monsoon and have not blown a diff yet.... and way quicker....... if you know what size shims you need, hpi has a pretty good selection..... tower has them.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

i noticed my clutchbell gear and my main gear do not lineup. meaning the main gear is not in the center of the clutchbell gear is this acceptable? there is no overlap it just rides towards the front. any information will be greatly appreciated and THANKS AGAIN !

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

Someone else did the CEN mod! Cool! Did you end up going back down to a 10 tooth afterwards or stay with a larger clutch bell?

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

It will be fine. Sometimes it depends on what clutch bell, flywheel or motor you are using, because it changes the length slightly. As long as you have full contact on the teeth I would not worry about it.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

It think most manufactures diff outdrives are the same diameter or really close. I would try CEN or Kyosho ones. If you have a friend that has shims, try them and if they fit use whatever mfg. they came from.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

i went with the 12t...what a total different machine....thank you!!!!!

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

LOL! You should have seen the faces of people at the track I went to for the first time after doing that mod!!! The top speed with the 12t is SICK!!! I swear I would have run with a JATO in a drag race!

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

What bearing sizes are in the Monsoon diffs? XTM uses a 16x8 bearing so you could get those shims if necessary, but they only come in "thin". You're supposed to stack them as needed.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

I think most all buggies and truggies except for like X-ray and Losi will use 16x8. That is the only size I have ever used on stuff I had. Never changed them on the monsoon though.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

Yes, The Monsoon Diff Bearings are 16x8mm....

However MY diff case was Really Squeezing (when everything was tightened down)on the Bearings and Capsule, and the Spider Gear was over shimmed as well, causing the entire assembly to Bind excessively. You could feel it CLICK through every gear tooth, and the Truggy wouldnt roll for s**t when I was Off Throttle.

Redcat installed some odd size small shims INBOARD of the bearings, resulting in the Overly Tight diff case. Long story short, I reduced the shims on the Spider gear and found some thinner (not sized perfectly but they work) shims for the diff. Now it rolls Smooth like Butter.

Once the Diff cases begin to wear, THEN i'll be able to use the standard 16x8mm shims outboard of the bearings.

I'm looking forward to testing my Dual Brake installation and I also installed a KYOSHO STR-R steering Plate. It is not an EXACT fit. It is going to limit overall Steering Throw at least a bit, but it is STRONG. THIS plate will not bend.
It would be Great for Bashing, where losing a little bit of steering at full lock wouldn't matter, and I'll let you guys know if it works on the track, at which point I will post some Pics.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

Pics of the steering plate, if you have them, and why you say it'll limit throw?

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

Here are pics of the Stock(blue) Plate next to the Kyosho Plate. As you can see, the Kyosho part is Physically Smaller and this changes the Steering Geometry and is part of what limits the Steering throw. Once assembled, the tires were Toed out so much that I had to adjust the Steering link Turnbuckles 3 full turns out on each side (thats a lot!) to get the tires back into a correct stance.

In the third pic, you see that the steering rod (red arrow) will bump the Steering Arm Assy (green arrow) at Full lock. That is actually what now limits the Steering Throw on the truck.

In Pics 4 and 5 you see the Stock and then the Modded assemblys. Notice on the Modded assy that I reversed the screws/nuts that secure the Steering Links to the Plate. I Had to do this so that they would not Rub.

The Steering action is VERY smooth now and free of Stiction. In fact, it is SO smooth/free that a cheap Tower Pro MG995 servo will whip(and I mean WHIP!) the tires back and forth, full left to full right with the truck sitting on the ground.... Lol, I may not need to install my 200 oz servo!

It remains to be seen if the Steering radius has been affected enough to make it less than satisfactory for the track, but we'll See when I test it out!

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

LOL, I hope you didn't tear the truggy apart for these pix! Good pictorial.

I'm trying to wrap my head around why the Ackermann plate is shaped the way it is, i.e. why those flat sides extend forward by the steering saver and idler arm bearings. Do those act as steering stops against the front differential case? And this is why people think the plate bends? That's silly, but having said that I don't have a Redcat 1/8 so I can't see it for myself. Why does the plate need to be cut with such a weak shape between the bearing mounts? If the Kyosho plate fits, why didn't Redcat make theirs straight across too? The Kyosho one is much stronger...

Notice that the bearing mount holes are a bit closer together on the Kyosho one - this will make the steering saver and idler sit a little toed in, which doesn't keep the Ackermann plate parallel to the axle centerlines as it's being steered. It will modify the amount of Ackermann (toe out upon steering), but a little won't hurt things much and you can adjust that with the position of the inner tie rod.

Edit: "Once assembled, the tires were Toed in so much that I had to adjust the Steering link Turnbuckles 3 full turns out on each side(thats a lot!) to get the tires into a toed out stance." Was that a typo? They should have been massively toed out when you first assembled it, looking at the width of the plates.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

Lol...I put it all together Quick n Dirty, just to see if it would all fit together. Once I decided it might work, I stripped the whole Truggy down to do the Diffs and the Dual brake Mod. Plus a bunch of Other Maintenance.

Yeah the Stock Akerman plate is a crappy design. It Bends right at the Curved section and Depending on how you set up your steering it May hit the Diff case or the Tie Rod end hardware May bang into other components. If you have a Good Radio (with end point adjustments) you can set it up so the steering doesn't Bind anywhere, which Should solve the problem. However the Akerman plate material is so Soft that it will still Bend on a Bad Landing/ Hard impact. And who among us Lands the Doubles and Triples perfectly every time? Not Me, for sure?:D

And yeah...It IS a Typo, Thanks for pointing that out. I'll fix it in the Original post.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

AAHHHH!! A pic of the dreaded BENT steering plate. Might as well be a piece of spaghetti LOL! If there is ONE thing that needs to be replaced on the monsoon it is that!! I cannot see as long as it has been a problem with that truck even back when I owned it and brought it up that redcat has not changed that!!!! Somebodies not listening.

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

I agree with that 100%.
I can live with, or work around, all the other idiosyncracies this truck has, but that steering plate almost RUINS the truck....

RE: Redcats Monsoon Thread
 

received my mammoth bumper but can not seem to find any logical way of bolting it up unless i weakin the bottom plate. would appreciate any information thanks again!