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Holy small balls those screws in the idler gears are tiny!!! I have a lot of tools but an allen key that small isn't one of them.

My original manual says it includes all allen wrenches necessary for the build but I've obviously misplaced this little tool over the past ~30yrs.

Anyone know the exact size so I can go shopping for one? Something tells me Home Depot isn't going to carry it.

Nope! It's a .035

McMaster Carr sells them, part number 7122A12.
$.24

Or just buy a set of the new idlers, they come with one

gomachv wrote:Nope! It's a .035

McMaster Carr sells them, part number 7122A12.
$.24

Or just buy a set of the new idlers, they come with one

Thanks!

I did buy new idlers and it wasn't in the bag, just two gears and 8 tiny screws inside another bag. These gears are significantly more 'yellowed' than my originals which are quite white.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDSYG&P=Z

Oh wow, they must have changed over the years. They used to always come with one

eBay has some for around $3 shipped

That yellow plastic is the new gear material AE uses on most gears!

Thanks to member RC104ever I was able to use his tiny little allen key and get the bearings installed in the idlers.

I found the .035" allen key online for prices ranging from $0.12 - $0.64, but shipping to Canada was either "nope, we don't do that" (McMaster Carr) or $8 - $12 (Fastenal). Crazy.

So here's a question for you -- Which way to I put the idlers on? Button head in towards plate or facing out?

Neither the original nor ReRe manual specify, but just looking at the pictures it looks like in the original manual they have the button heads in and in the ReRe manual they have them out.

Any difference? I have Avid RC Revolution flanged bearings installed so if the button head was facing the plate, the flange and rubber bearing seal would be there as well or if facing out, vice versa.

Thanks.

I have mine facing out. The reason for this is you have a larger area to work the e-clip when snapping it in. I wasnt so lucky with my metal idlers used a snap ring to hold the bearing so both sides were smaller and had very little room to get the e-clip locked in.

Since I'm running a build similar to yours, I'll be interested to see how yours comes out.

DMAT wrote:Since I'm running a build similar to yours, I'll be interested to see how yours comes out.

I've been a little bit deterred from running too powerful of a brushless motor/LiPo power with the 6-gear so for this one I'll probably just go 17.5T instead of 13.5T

More opinions on the idler button-heads is welcome. In or out?

Thanks.

There's a .035 allen wrench on ebay for $3.30 with international shipping.
17.5 is more then fast enough to be fun.
Good luck.

85Edinger wrote:17.5 is more then fast enough to be fun. Good luck.

K thanks.

While you're here (LOL) I was just at the hobby shop picking up some stuff and was enlightened to some information I was completely missing....or perhaps it had been mentioned but I wasn't comprehending.

ESC must be listed as capable of powering a sensored motor (if that's what I want -- like Reedy Sonic 540 Mach 2 or LRP X20 Stock Spec)??? I was about to buy a Castle Sidewinder3 and was informed definitely not recommended/capatible with sensored motor.

That is not even mentioned in the specs of the ESC.

The Hobbywing Xerun 90A V2.1 is good for either of those two motors though, right?

I'm also having a hard time figuring out which servo would be best. There's so many that "look" the same but their prices can almost double. I can easily get Savox and HiTech locally. Would someone mind listing a recommendation of a specific P/N?

An esc must specifically state that it can run censored motors, and that Xerun will work.
There are many good servos out there, but my Hitec 7965MG has been great. Unfortunately, it's discontinued. It was $65.

To think it was this stage, missing the spring and nut, that got me started down this rabbit hole, it's nice to finally be at this point in the rebuild....

If I were to add grease to the gears as some people have mentioned to increase the longevity of the sometimes fragile 6-gear, which grease would I use: #6627 black grease used on the trust bearing or #6636 silicone grease used on the spur gear balls?

Oh, I chose to install the idlers with the button heads towards the plate because 1. it looks that way in the original instruction manual and 2. this puts the rubber seal of the revolution bearing on the inside, away from the E clip which could have potentially nicked it during install or wear it down with friction over time

If your really wanting to put some power in your car. I could part with a set of steel idlers. I'm going to try putting an 11x3 motor in mine. They do require a little work to work right though. I need to get a thread going for my car.

Yes, black grease on the thrust bearing and silicone on diff.

More questions as I assemble this bloody thing --

1. Is the bearing adapter supposed to be able to move back and forth a bit on the shaft?? The one near the spur gear I mean.

2. I'm installing bearings, not bushings, but either way the manual doesn't specify different sizes to be used but I believe I need to use a big one on the inside and a small one on the outside (in the bearing adapter that they recommend you cut a little notch to ease the installation of an E clip). Am I right?

Thanks DMAT but I think I'll stick with these idlers as I just bought them.

I was referring to grease on the gears themselves. Which type? But I've moved forward....used black. Seemed to make more sense.