Anyone have any ideas for slipping pushrods.Ive tightened the set screw as tight as I can in the push rod connecter but the rod is still sliding

I think it's likely you are trying to secure a push-rod that has a diameter which is to small for the connector you are using. I asume you are using the EZ Connector type connection. Replace the connector with the proper sized connector for the push-rod your trying to secure, or go up in diameter with the push-rod.

What Mode One said. Or you can remove the EZ Connectors completely and put Z-bends in your control rod. This will eliminate all slippage. Use the attached diagram as a guide for making Z-bends in your control rods.

Ken

Are you using these:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...4&I=LXE114&P=K
or the version that uses a screwdriver or similar?
Sometimes the thread is not tapped properly and the screw does not run down fully into contact with the wire. Slide the wire out and run the screw in fully to make sure it is fully engaging then reinstall the wire and tighten. I always use the version that has the allen (hex) bolt because it is easier to tighten fully also. Many use a drop of loctite on the screw so it doesn't work loose but I've never had a problem with that either. Some also file a small flat spot on the wire, I've also not needed to do that. Trying to present options.
What control/surface are you using this on?
Mode one is right also, the wire should fill the hole in the fitting.

Heres one more, I fly 1/2a so I use all the small stuff and very often the set screw bottoms out before it even touches the pushrod, what I end up having to do is take the set screw out and dremel (file/sand) down the top of the brass connector a mm or so so that the screw can go far enough down to hit the pushrod...better than another trip to the LHS...Rog

Personally, I wouldn't use EZ type connectors on control surfaces. Use a Z bend at the servo arm and a threaded clevis at the control horn.

Dr.1

I'm with Dr1 on this. I know many of you do, I just don't. I'm a firm believer in the KISS principal. The less parts the better. However, I do use them on the servo connection for the throttle. Their use here is convenient and non-critical.

I've used EZ type connectors for years with no trouble. I have found some screws are defective and won't screw all the way down before they tighten up. I just replace these with other screws.

And one more observation is that they work ok on softer control rods, but if you're using the kind of rod that's extremely hard, the set screw can't get enough bite on the rod and will tend to slip. It's also important to use loctite on the set screw.

piper and AVG,

If you've found problems with this type of connector, it seems to me that's a good recommendation to not use them. A Z bend and clevis works 100% of the time, with no modifications, and no slip or slop.

Dr.1

Actually, I had the top of a Z bend break on me before. I was using it on an aileron. The "down" portion of it was still stuck in the servo horn, but the second bend had broken off. I cought it before I took it up again. Thank goodness. I got one of those pushrod connectors that you use on the 90 degree bends--ones that slip over the wire, and then clamp back to the wire. They work very well too, and it saved me from having to make a new pushrod (I had it at the field at the time).
Granted, this is an exception rather than a rule, but I have had a Z bend break. I have not, however, had an EZ connector break. However, I too refuse to use them on control surfaces--just throttle. I figure that if I had used them on control surfaces, I probably couldn't have made that last statement.

Some people have had problems, others have never had problems. I've used them in some very high stress situations, such as for the steering rods on my tunnel hull outboard, and have had no failures. I realize you disagree, but I've found that properly installed and maintained, they are reliable. I also use z bends and other options.

Me too, while I was installing them. The material used for some pushrod wire is very brittle and does not accept 90 degree bends very well. When I encounter this I end up replacing the wire so I can get a proper z bend without cracking the wire.

Some "Pacific Ring" kits and ARFs come with brittle pushrod wire that doesn't take bending very well. Also, it's usually 2mm, which is smaller than our standard 2-56 rods. These two differences can lead to problems securing it in an EZ connector. I'll bet the broken Z bend was the brittle rod.

Chuck makes a very valid point. EZ connectors work well, IF properly installed and maintained.

Dr.1

Was this the hardware in an ARF[:'(] replace it[:@]

If the top of a Z-Bend can break, then the bottom of a Z-bend can break! This would mean that a simple 90 degree bend can probably break as easily! This is not a good scenario!! We are talking about a "Work Hardening" of the material in the location of the bend. Some push rod wire, seems to be harder then it needs to be and the action of bending further hardens it. The less bending which is done, the better. This wire is also capable of being annealed (softened). You can tell the difference between harder and softer push rod material as the hard, is much more difficult to bend. The annealing process is a simple matter of heating the material and bringing the metal up to a "Straw" color (this is just previous to the metal turning blue) and dipping (quenching) the material in some type of oil. Given that there appears to be harder and softer pushrod material from different suppliers, find one that has softer material and stick with them. This makes me wonder if manufacturers are unaware of this potential problem! (This information comes form 25 years in the manufacturing trades and 22 years as a tool and die maker).

When quenching I suggest not breathing the fumes! Hi Piper!

When bending piano wire, you have to start the first bend, maybe 60 degrees, back off the pliers a bit then bend to 90 degrees. It's the sharp bend that fractures the wire. Make it a more gradual bend, and it won't break. Haven't broke a Z bend in 50 yrs.