hi guys..i'm a newbie here so please be gentle..!! names stuart and i'm in middx, uk...been reading forum for a few weeks now since buying a heng long s&s M41A3 walker bulldog..got the metal upgrade kit but haven't fitted it yet..loving my new toy but have a couple of questions that i hope someone can help me with..
1/ does anyone do metal suspension upgrade kit for bulldog??seen plenty for tigers but not the bulldog..tried mato but no luck..?
2/running tank today (on dry dirt, large pea shingle and pavement mainly) and a clicking noise has started..is it the motor or the plastic gears..? don't wanna break it..!!
have seen some beautiful models and some very clever mods on here, obviously some very talented people on here..!! i'll probably (certainly) mod mine in time although it's fine as is but that's not the point is it..?!!

bump...!

hi sfstu and welcome to the forum the clicking is more than likely going to be the clutch in the large gear just after the pinion. the best bet is to go with the metal gearbox as these dont have them, although another option is to superglue the clutch to the gear not difficult but will involve stripping the "dog" down
good luck
ROB

sfstu wish I could help you, but my Bulldog does not arrive till tommorrow.

How have you enjoyed the tank to this point? Anything to watch out for?

Hi sfstu,

Just a thought - it could be that the track is not on properly, as I got that noise from my HL tanks when the track has moved off its correct position.

hi jquest..thanks for reply...loving the bulldog..!! i'm new to r/c stuff and had not realised how cool these things are!![sm=shades_smile.gif]i picked the bulldog on the look of it, just preferred it to the others although have since found out that theres a lot more parts available for other models such as the tiger..? i've bought a 4000mh batt for it just for the longer running time as its a bit of a pain to keep taking out batt to charge? new batt i've got is unfortunately about 1mm too big so wires are a bit bent squashed in compartment[&:]will have to think of something..!! there's no on/off switch for the smoke machine either, tho that could be just my tank..? hasn't smoked anyway since i tried adding oil...!yep, got a few things to do when i get the chance! all in all tho, well happy with the bulldog..

hi fv432..thanks..! gonna open her up and check a couple of things and will look for the clutch , although i haven't a clue what it looks like..!![sm=confused.gif] getting quite a list of mods and things to check now,,!! all part of the attraction tho i think..? cheers..

cheers larry...will check track tomorrow..got the metal gears and tracks to go on at some point [sm=punching.gif]but wanted to learn a bit about how the tank runs before going mad with it..!

with the metal gears remember to run them in as per the excellent FAQ at the top of the front page well worth a look

Hi there sfstu, i have a bulldog too, and although i got the smoking one, it also doesnt have a switch where the manual says it should, and so has never smoked, i opened it up as it wont go reverse on one track, and i saw that the smoke pot is in it and wired up, but no idea how to get it to smoke, if anyone has any ideas please let me know the chinese manual is rubbish! i also never found out why it wont reverse on one track so any ideas there too would be greatly appreciated, Cheers, CC

hi colonelchimp..! have since found out that there IS a smoking on/off switch...its the one just in front of the batt compartment screw and is labeled as channel a,b,c...its actually only 2 posistions-on/off for smoke machine...switch her on and when you power up the tank you should here unit working and hopefully see smoke!although not a lot..reading various threads on here, a lot of people remove the wadding thats inside the smoke unit and this then allows a lot more smoke out although it uses more oil. haven't tried it yet but probably will..! dunno about the sticking reverse track i'm afraid..? post a new thread would be my advice-lots of clever people on here cheers mate, stuart

Remove the upper hull and place the tank on the table with the tracks off the ground. Turn it on and run it, turn off the smoker once you eliminate that as the source of clicking. It's probably the tracks, the guide teeth in the middle as they rub against the sprocket and or road wheels. They'll wear in and it'll go away.

What bugs me with the Walker is that nobody has come out with a spring upgrade like the PZIII. With metal tracks and gearbox the things sags like crazy in the back. Several innovative folks have posted how tos but nothing specific as to exactly which spring would work, like a part number from Century Spring Company. I've done it for the airsoft guns, still have some tests to complete when I get the time.

know what you mean swathdiver about the suspension upgrade unavailability..[] i'm holding off at the mo fitting the metal gears and tracks cos of the sagging business...have looked at the suspension but don't wanna pull it apart and break/disable the tank..? i've read various threads on how people have sorted this problem but they all seem risky to a 1st time owner of a r/c tank..!!

Thanks for that Stu, i will give it a go ..................................... well i'm buggered! it works!! like you said not much smoke but its working for the first time since i had it, so there must be oil pre filled into it, i have hit that switch before but thought it was the channel change switch, so swithched it back before the pump ran, duh! oh well, we all live n learn, thanks for the info, i will post a help thread about the track, but i think it may be the main board as everything works as it should, but on none of the functions will the track go back, cheers, Dave CC

Can't say for your tanks, but for my Tiger, the smoker works better if you just put a few drops of oil in. If you saturate the thing, nothing happens until it dries out (and really stinks).

the walker bulldog is my fisrt tank,must say very happy with it

Hi there, yep the bulldog is one of my favourites too, in fact i have just finished (well till i think of something else to do to it) another bulldog, with metal gearboxes, metal tracks etc, delivered undamaged from mato, if i can remember how to post pics i will add some to show you how it came out, cheers, CC

Hey, Swath - the Panzer upgrade springs fit the Bulldog. So far I've replaced the rearmost springs and it's a lot better, but still droops a bit on acceleration. The Bulldog has weaker springs on the centre road wheels, so the next step is to replace the (very weak) second spring back with the original Bulldog rear spring. If that isn't enough I'll use a second Panzer spring in that position.

... after I've got the StuG going.....

Jo