Having to max out pre-spacing on shocks

[bladefan]

I was trying to adjust for neutral ride height, but I am having to max the pre-load all the way to the bottom of the threads just to get it to stay neutral. This is likely not normal. I took the shocks off and there seems to be only a tiny bit of binding, likely from dirt. What am I missing? Thanks!

 

[Billl DeLong]

What ride height are you trying to set?

Normally folks complain they can't get the front low enough and have to wait for the springs to break in with the collars all the way to the top of the threads.

 

[bladefan]

What ride height are you trying to set?

Normally folks complain they can't get the front low enough and have to wait for the springs to break in with the collars all the way to the top of the threads.

I am trying to get the Rear a arms parallel to the ground. I built it a year ago and I don’t think I set the ride height unless it was in the manual. I think I saw a picture somewhere and just adjusted the threaded rings to match what I saw.

I was so impressed with the car out of the box. It just doesn’t seem like it drives as nice. It could be because I’m a better driver and notice more and am more picky. Or because I’ve done no maintenance other than replace broken parts. Which has been almost nothing other than the stuff that gets recommended to be replaced with anyway. Changed the shock oil a few runs before to see if I could get it handling better.

 

[Billl DeLong]

I don't think it's a good idea to base ride height on visual, that's going to make it VERY difficult to get a consistent tune.

I suspect you may have a bunch of other issues causing problems aside from your ride height.

Worn out drives and dig in and catch the pins on the shafts causing the diff to lock and truck will spin out. If you haven't rebuild your diffs and the fluid is empty, then you could be diffing out.

Generally it's best practice to do a complete rebuild of the car every 15-20 battery packs in order to ensure you get consistent handling so it drives exactly like it was when it was brand new.

A rebuild consists of pulling every bearing, cleaning and inspecting for any sign of crunch when you spin in your hand. Slight gritty is okay to carefully pry the rubber seals with a hobby knife and flush the bearing with WD40 Dry Lube and repack with fresh grease and snap the rubber seals back in place. Then you want to clean and apply fresh grease on all rubber seals in the diffs and shocks as well as fresh fluids.

Fluids should be a milky grey... if they are brown then you have too much dirt mixed in, black is worse and no fluids at all can be catastrophic to plastic parts and create a chain reaction of over heated/melted plastic.

Make sure there are no flat spots on your pins as well:

• Pin Replacement Tools

Good Luck!

 

[bladefan]

Thanks Bill. i will try out your advice. i think my drives and pins are ok. But i will order a bearing set from avid, and just start fresh. then maybe clean the old bearings and figure out if I have the patience and time for that.