Team Durango DEST210R Build – Part 4 – Front Suspension

The Build – Part 4
On to the front suspension. This part of the build includes the front suspension arms, steering knuckles and caster blocks. Pretty simple, straightforward steps.

Build Notes:
The suspension arms are made of a pretty strong plastic; you’ll notice this when you try and screw in the droop screws. I would suggest putting a drop of grease on the droop screws prior to inserting. You don’t want the tight plastic to stress out your hex-driver and snap the tip off.

Arrange the front Suspension Arms as shown and tap the droop screw in. Since it doesn’t give a starting point, I would suggest tapping it all the way until it is flush with the arm boss (see right side arm). This will give you a good starting point.

Take the 2 longer Hinge Pins and feed them into the Suspension Arms and Bulkhead as shown.

Fit the aluminum Hinge Pin Brace into place and follow that up with the front Hinge Pin Cap. Note the direction of the Cap.

Take your left and right Steering Knuckle and press Bearings into both sides.

This step is a bit tricky. First, press the two top-hat bushings into the holes of the Caster Block. You’ll want to feed them into place from the ‘inside’ of the Caster Block. Now insert one of the 3x12mm screws through the top of the Caster Block (and top-hat bushing), slide a plastic washer over the screw and then fit the Steering Knuckle into place. Screw the 3x12mm screw in until it is lightly snug. Repeat for the lower screw. Once both screws are in place, tighten each one 1/4 turn (rotating from the top screw to the bottom screw) until both are tight. Make sure there is no binding in the Steering Knuckle.

Feed the ball end through the plastic washer and into the Steering Knuckle’s arm. Attach the locknut and tighten down. The locknut will fit into a locknut-shaped recess in the bottom of the arm.

Feed the ball end through the Caster Block and secure with the locknut. Yes it’s hard to see what hole; use the outside one.

Take the 3x10mm screws, slide the washer over it and feed into the Axle. A dab of thread-locking compound here is a good idea.

Now slide the Axle assembly through the plastic washer and into the Bearings in the Steering Knuckle.

Slide the Wheel Hex Adapter over the axle and secure with the Axle Pin. Make sure you put the Wheel Hex Adapter on the Axle BACKWARDS as shown. Yes, this might seem odd to some of us but this is how it works.

Choose which Caster Block setting you want and slide it into the Caster Block. Make sure you orientate the left and right sides the same when building.

Another tricky step. Start by sliding the Hinge Pin through the Suspension Arm and into the Caster Block. All 4 of the shims go BEHIND the Caster Block…this is where it gets tricky. The easiest way I found to do it was to lay all 4 shims together, slide them into the gap and, while pushing the Caster Block towards them, pinch all 4 between the Caster Block and the Suspension Arm boss. Once you get them in place, slide the Hinge Pin all the way through and secure with the 2.5x4mm screw.

Part 5 – Assembling the rear suspension.
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