Fitting universals on a Falcon.

[8rad]

Is no secret the stock drives are junk. They wear out quickly and either fall out or break completely.

There are 2 universally accepted upgrades:

CRP uprated driveshafts
Thorp dogbones

But..........I want universals and I am sure it's possible. So here goes.



First up are the Thorp drive cups and Egress Uni's. The Thorp drive cups are a slide in replacement for the stock outdrives but are meant to use the Thorp dogbones so my hopes for a good fit are not high.





The axles fit nicely with a spacer.



However, my suspicions are correct. The egress universals are way too long and the fit in the Thorp cups is sloppy.

So next up we try these: DF-02 outdrives.

[8rad]

The DF-02 outdrives arrived. Despite being a little shorter than the thorps they engage in the diff halves nicely.

[8rad]

First up are the longest touring CVD's available for Tamiya touring cars. 46mm for the TA05.



Axles are perfect!



But too short by about 6mm.



I think I need something about 52mm.

[8rad]

Based on the test fit of the 46mm Tamiya units I figured 52mm length would be perfect. So I started hunting for a 52mm unit.

Well I found a 52mm universal made for the XRay touring car line. However the ball is bigger so I would need to use the Thorp cups. No problem. Or so I thought...........



As it turns out 52mm doesnt actually mean 52mm because they use different systems of measurement. Tamiya measure pin to pin while Xray measures pin to axle. They, in fact, are exactly the same length. GRRRRRR!

[8rad]

Time to alter my strategy. Obviously a one piece uni is not going to work so I am going to try mating some shiny bones for RS4(the wide version) with a tamiya axle. These are the proper length for sure. Just need axles.

[Coelacanth]

Time to alter my strategy. Obviously a one piece uni is not going to work so I am going to try mating some shiny bones for RS4(the wide version) with a tamiya axle. These are the proper length for sure. Just need axles.

Making a hybrid CVD from 2 different sets might be the trick. That's what I had to do for the front end of CYANide.

[rccars4sal]

I have some kyosho UJ axles for a 200mm nitro car that measure 53.5mm pin to pin. Not offering them,, but that may be a possible fit,, and I bet alot of 200mm touring cars are similar.

[8rad]

Do you have a part number for those? They may work because those shiny bones are for the Nitro RS4 which I think is also 200mm and being Kyosho should be 5mm axle right?

[rccars4sal]

Lemmee see,, I might in fact have a #..

[RichieRich]

I wonder if creating a simple google doc to share with axle measurements would be a good idea? I mean, between all of us, we probably have tons of axles we can measure. All we would need is a measuring standard...pin to pin, etc.

[rccars4sal]

I second that motion. Sorry, no part number. Its pin drive, so possibly newer than I thought, but def kyosho.

[EvolutionRevolution]

I wonder if creating a simple google doc to share with axle measurements would be a good idea? I mean, between all of us, we probably have tons of axles we can measure. All we would need is a measuring standard...pin to pin, etc.

Time for a RC10Talk Wiki?

We then would have a place to write down all those reoccurring questions and information in a manner easily accessible to all.

[8rad]

So up next we have MIP shiny bones AND axles from the HPI Nitro RS4. They are the wide version. 200mm width.



Axles are a perfect fit. They should be they are 5mm.



But are too small for the Thorp cup and a smidge big for the Tamiya cup. But only by .14 of a millimeter. MIP ball is 6.07 and cup is 5.93.

[rccars4sal]

Careful work with a dremmel spinning a grinding stone might open up the diff cup enough. Or, if the pins press out, then carefuly grinding he bone end would be easy.

[8rad]

Success! Put the Tamiya outdrives in a drill press and reamed them out with a 6mm drill bit.



And installed the HPI Nitro RS4 CVD's.



At level.



And full extension.



So. To fit CVD's on a Falcon you need the following:

Tamiya OP-790 Drive cups for DF-02
MIP 1182 CVD's for Nitro RS4 (wide version)
6mm drill bit

Cheers