Thursday , 14 November 2024

Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build – Part 6 – Drive Shafts | CompetitionX

Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build - Part 6 - Drive Shafts | CompetitionX

The drive shafts included with the Enduro Builder’s Kit use a combination of plastic females and an aluminum insert. The splines are large, making for a very stout driveline. The aluminum insert virtually eliminates ‘flex crush’; when a typical plastic hollow insert starts to twist under load and then collapses. No worries of that happening here.

Build Notes:
You’ll want some blue threadlocker handy early on for the screws going into the male CVA parts.

You’ll also want to pay close attention to the lengths of the parts; 3 of the plastic shafts are 33mm, 1 is 42mm. The aluminum insert are also different lengths; the front one is 48mm, the rear is 60mm.

There is also something called drive shaft phasing; basically the way the drive shafts spin in relation to their connection points. The manual has a diagram at the bottom; just make sure you adhere to the mounting instructions and you’ll be good to go.

Step 1:
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build - Part 6 - Drive Shafts | CompetitionX
Step 1 is to build all 4 of the female drive shaft parts. Blue threadlocker is highly suggested here. It doesn’t really matter how you build them; we’ll separate and assemble correctly in later steps.
Step 2:
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build - Part 6 - Drive Shafts | CompetitionX
Assemble the metal barrel, pin and CVA ends. If the pins keep falling out, you can apply a light dab of black grease to keep things in place.
Step 3:
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build - Part 6 - Drive Shafts | CompetitionX
Slip the pin retainers onto each CVA. Pay attention to the holes in the retainers; one side is larger than the other and should be aligned to the threaded hole in the CVA end.
Step 4:
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build - Part 6 - Drive Shafts | CompetitionX
Slide the plastic halves over the aluminum insert; shown is the final drive shaft assembly with the correct ‘phasing’. Red arrows denote the mounting points.
Step 5:
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build - Part 6 - Drive Shafts | CompetitionX
I would love to tell you that this final step went off without a hitch, however I’d be lying. While trying to install, the pin retainers don’t stay in place and the opposite side I was installing would continually slide off, causing the pin to drop out and my drive shaft to fall apart. This happened about 4 times before I needed a new install technique. I removed the drive shafts from the aluminum insert and installed the gearbox side first. I then slipped the aluminum insert into place, reconnected the 2nd drive shaft half and connected that to the axle. This made the install WAY easier as I only had to deal with 1/2 of the drive shaft at a time.

Oh ya, make sure to add some blue threadlocker to the screw pins prior to installation.

Drive shafts done! Time to assemble some shocks – Part 7!

Use the links below to follow each step.
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build – Opening Page
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build – Part 1 – Pre-Build
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build – Part 2 – Chassis
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build – Part 3 – Transmission
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build – Part 4 – Axles
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build – Part 5 – Links
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build – Part 6 – Drive Shafts
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build – Part 7 – Shocks
Element RC Enduro Trail Truck Build – Part 8 – Body Mounts

About Tony Phalen

Tony Phalen - As an avid RC enthusiast, Tony has been building, bashing and racing RC Cars for over 30 years. He has participated in every kind of surface racing events - 1/18 scale trucks, 1/10 scale TC, Rock Racers, Rally - if it had wheels, he's raced it! He's also worked on both sides of the industry fence; collaborating with many major manufacturers (as well as being a sponsored driver) to working for a high-profile industry magazine. During this time he has learned many tricks, tips and techniques and is sharing that knowledge on CompetitionX - the most informative RC website on the internet!

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