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Old 07-11-2019, 06:49 AM
  #107  
RichJohnson
 
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: San Diego
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So I have an update.
I have still been having bad issues with the track coming off the sprocket going forward during turns, the track stays in the sprocket and curves downward before if leaves the sprocket then comes out and curves upward going forward. The result is a huge curving droop in the track that is tearing the side of the hull up and eventually jams up. The left side has been much worse than the right,
The issue is that when turning under power, the tank leans to the outside of the turn because the suspension is so soft. This slacks the track up alot causing this droop in track coming off the sprocket. Another evidence of this is when a turn is started in the dirt from a standing position, very slowly, you can first watch the rear trailing wheel lift up toward the sprocket completely coming off the ground. Fast Tanks John helped me trouble shoot this issue to determine the exact cause and he caught it at that moment when the wheel lifted up. More testing showed both sides did this and the real issue is the rear wheels were not under enough tension to keep them on the ground.

I bought more piano wire and made new rear tortion arms with more preload than the stock size. This just lifted the tank farther off the ground when sitting and driving but did not solve the track issue.
After much thought decided using the tortion bar the same diameter was not the solution so I got one size larger wire, .078 and made new tortion bars with the same preload setting as the stock ones. I had to drill everything out to make them fit and thought long and hard about it because I figured there was no going back.
AFter the process I drove the tank and it drives much better. The track does not slack nearly as much going forward off the sprocket as it did before and will not damage the hull side now.
After more driving I determined I should probably replace the front ones as well as the tank now feels a bit lurched forward and mushy up front.

Another problem developed that I wish I had done something about earlier. As I was driving I went up into my grass which is a couple inches higher than the side walk. When I drove out of my grass onto the side walk I went downward a little and I heard a snap.
Just like before as posted above, the left front wheel bottomed out and broke the shock tower off the hull, except I had drilled and pinned it to the hull right,,,,,, well it broke a huge curved chunk out of the top of the hull from the force of the shock tower pins pushing upward. I was so mad, many colorful metaphors were used.
I reglued everything and then drilled into the hull downward and inserted 4 metal pins and even let them exit the outward bow of the hull into the hull and them scored the plastic and covered the area with bondo. Its now screwed glued and tatooed, I dont think it will break again right.....
Well I pulled off the track and played with the front left wheel. It does indeed bottom out in the shock. I removed the shock bottom strut and did some testing, I decided to mark the strut at the point it enterd the tube at full extension, then I reviewed it. I had alot of stick left in the tube. I cut half of that off and re assembled and tested. The wheel now hits the hull bump stop and does not bottom out with pressure pushing up on the shock. I wish I had figured this out last time the tower broke off the hull. It would have saved alot of grief.