j1273

Right this savage I bought is not goin good.
Im a newbie with a savage 20 something bouight second hand. It came with no manual so I have downloaded a savage 3.5 manual as it looks close.
The list of problems is quite large
Front and rear wheels wobble
The nut that the brake disk sits on has started to round off, the disk can move in and out on this nut. Is that normal? Ive never built one of these.
I momentarily lost drive earlier something was slipping in the gearbox, then it started working again!!!!

Tomorrow Im stripping it probably totally so will probably need quite alot of help in the coming weeks!!
Not happy with this I have a feeling its gona be expensive!!
Jay

Argess

Wheels do wobble.....there's normal, and there's not normal. Just check the bearings and steering knuckes, etc. There may be no issue.

Brake disc(s) are a loose fit on the hex collar on the transmission output. First time I saw that I couldn't believe it, but it works fine. Are you sure the hex is rounding off and it's not just the metal surface treament worn off?

Shenanigans

My Feedback: (12)

What did you expect buying something you know nothing about?  Do a little research before you cut a check to someone.  Even if you are a newb to nitro rc's, you shouldnt be a newb to buying used goods.  It probably will be expensive...ask a lot of questions with pictures so the people here can help you.  You dont want to spend hundreds of dollars on parts when they're not the ones you need.

Argess

uh huh.....welcome to RCU j1273

j1273

Man I feel like Ive been told off Shenanigans!!!
I didnt just walk into the shop and wave cash around!! Obviously I looked at the thing and fired it up and to my newb eyes everything looked ok more than ok. But the word newb is as it says on the tin mate how am I supposed to know what questions to ask? Im a newb!!!
I did research before buying and was told savage is a damn good truck was I missinformed then?
Thanks for the constructive reply though!!
Jay

sharkattack99

no were not miss informed the savage is one tough cookie but things do break and parts wear down, thats just the nature of the hobby i found that out even with an rtr brand new so used new it doesn't matter parts break iv only been with the hobby for a couple of years and already have enough money in parts i could have bought 3 or 4 rtrs, LOL. but the point is welcome and have some fun with it if you have questions just ask not everybody will give you guff.

shark

CR500rider

The manual you downloaded will work just fine, im assuming you got a Savage 21 or 25, does it have a bara aluminum chassis? or is it dark grey?
you said the list of problems is large. Are the 3 things you listed the only issues you have? If so that is not bad, and honestly there might not even be anything wrong at all. What Argess said is true about the brake disk, its a floating disk and it needs to slide back and forth. The wobbly wheels are normal to a degree. there might be bad tie-rod ends that are making it worse, and the bearings could be shot. As for the tranny slipping: does it have reverse? sometimes the reverse module will not engage all the way and the truck wont move. Or maybe the slipper clutch was slipping? Or maybe the engine clutch is bad?

Mr snuggles

don't be a noob to being polite.

j1273

Hi Guys thanks again for your help those who did!!!
Not a very good start on here!!!
The chassis is a bare alum one. When I had transmission slip the slipper and the metal plate behind were both spinning at the same rate. The clutch bell was spinning all good. The slip was occuring inside the gear box maybe it got stuck between 1st and 2nd gear when it ran out of fuel???
It has no reverse so rules that one out. I ran the truck yesterday with no slip so fingers crossed it wont happen again soon.
My main problem is I dont know how these aree meant to prform so spotting a problem is harder. Also normal things may falsely ring an alarm bell.
Waiting for my brake upgrade now.
Cheers Jay

Shenanigans

My Feedback: (12)

Yeah, maybe my post came off as a lecture...and for that I apologize. Hard to decipher tone in words on the screen, so although my post did read like a slam it was not intended that way. I guess the line that got me was "Im not happy about this"....and again I probably misread that line as meaning this truck is garbage and I was scammed.

Iwas a newb/noob a couple years ago when I got my first nitro as well (used savage X) so I know exactly what your going through. You will find that a lot of the answers you are looking for can be found with the search function...that doesnt mean dont post them, but a lot of good information has already been documented in detail and you may find better, more detailed posts on what your asking.

Along with researching the savage, you should also do some reading on nitro engines in general. It will help you tremendously when troubleshooting when you have problems starting/ running the beast.

Cheers

j1273

Thankyou Shenanigans
I am very glad Ive bought a savage as I was going to get an MTA 4X4. I know that HPI are a much better quality build/product.
My experience with the cheaper alternatives in the past has put me off that option. ( I have a Honey bee king 2) . Although it served me well while I was learning to fly the quality of every small part was so poor I am not willing to spend anothr penny on it!!
Its a diffrent story with the savage for which I am happy.
I kinda like being a newb so much to learn!! Problem is at this stage Im not even sure what questions to ask!! They will come as issues arrive!!
Dont get me wrong I love my savage just got disheartened by the one problem after another scenario!!
Cheers Jay

cswtornado

Hee hee you sound like me a year ago!

My advice is for you to run it until something obviously breaks, then take apart what breaks and figure exacly what is going wrong, and fix the single part. Don't anticipate problems.

For example, if you suddenly stop and your revving doesn't do anything, stop the engine, check the spur gear, clutch (does it spin well?), then take off the TVPS, and disassemble the gearbox. You should see something obvious sticking out at you, like a stripped gear or something. Replace that SINGLE gear, not the whole gearbox.
and...
If it works, don't fix it!

Argess

Not bad advice. Probably what I'd do. I do try to promote preventative maintenance, but doesn't apply 100% in this case, as you don't have the full history. Worn out, seized, cracked parts, etc., will show themselves with time.

You should at least look for obvious problems, but only tear it down completely if you like doing that sort of thing. No matter how much you check it over, some problems just don't reveal themselves until you drive it. Well.....er...I suppose if you took every single piece off.....

j1273

Thanks for that very sound advice.
My first fix then is the brake hub with the twin disk upgrade. I hope the back end drops out easily and I dont have to dismantle the whole frame to slide the rear unit out!!!
Cheers Jay

Argess

oh-oh.....if yours is like my Savage 25, it's a lot of work dismantling things. I think the newer Savages are easier.

I have the twin disc upgrade done and it was a big improvement, but there's a few other ways to do it. One way is to re-configure the throttle/brake mechansim at the throttle/brake servo to use OFNA style components. Or Mr. Snuggles has a mod that doesn't cost anything, although I found it a bit touchy to get the return spring to work right, but my patience wasn't good that day.

Basically, the cause of weak brakes is that the throttle/brake servo uses an heavy spring internal to the servo horn system that works against the servo when you apply the brakes. Either of the above mods works around this. Alternatively, a stronger throttle/brake servo can be used, but it drains more battery power.

If you do decide to work on the brakes themselves, you might want to consider a single disc, but the red fibreglass one. I've heard it's good, but maybe someone else can chime in here and confirm that.

LOL...trying to get to those brakes will be a major education on how the Savage is constructed. So for that, maybe it's good to install the upgrade anyway.

j1273

Hi Thanks again.
I have already bought the twin disk upgrade as it comes with a new STEEL hub whuch will replace my seriously worn plastic hub. It is slowly becoming apparent I have bought an OLD savage. I have found out that the plastic hub was replaced with the steel one as the plastic one kept wearing out. The fact that is an old savage is making me worry that other parts ie transmission will all be on their way out soon. I have noticed the diff cups at both ends of the dogbones are worn aswell.
The bright side of all of this is that during the repairing and replacing I will be gaining education ( a big part of my enjoyment is the tinkering and fixing) but the down side is the hole in my shallow pocket!!!!
Still no regrets though!!
Cheers Jay

SyCo_VeNoM

you have my sympathy.
Did the same thing with a HPI MT1. Bought it used not knowing jack about it. Ended up probably pumping more cash into it in the 1st 3 months than a new one would have cost me, due to parts breaking from being worn out, and brittle from age. I probably put at least $280 into getting that RC to work right + its $100 I paid for it, where a new MT2 would have cost me $340...
But on the other hand I gained a heaping butt load of knowledge which you really can't put a price on.

I actually bought a 2nd used MT1 as a parts donor for $50(guy said it was a lot of MT1 parts, turns out a whole truck was in the box electronics and all) which was in way better shape and still has most of its stock parts even till today(I kinda screwed up the chassis modding it, but that was not from use).

j1273

Cheers.
I suspect this truck will cost me more in the long run than a new one. Totlay agree with you about the knowlege gained from the repairs though.
Definately cant put a price on that.
I recently learnt to fly a king2 in the first month I probably doubled the cost in repair bills but gained knowlege you cannot buy!!!
I have had advice from 2 ends of the scale some say almost completely strip it and inspect and some say only fix what breaks.
I will start with the brake change today and see how I feel.
Cheers Jay