right, those 4 are tiny! i hate them that they are not the regular size. will get to get them separately....

Thanks lee the shell just looks amazing thank you again

The spacers are just 3mm inside diameter, there are lots of other manufacturers (including Tamiya) that make 3mm shim/spacer kits which you could use instead of hunting down an A parts.

Is it shock shafts or hinge pins that bent? The hinge pins can be bent back and as long as they are more-or-less straight they should work OK because they pivot in balls.. I've done this on my 501X and Durga after crashes.
as for the washers, I used anything I could find on my 501X after losing the originals.

I would imagine hes looking for the bell-shaped plastic piece that goes on the end of the hinge-pin, and slides into the block screwed to the chassis.

Funny enough, It was one of those that split when I crashed mine, and is now missing. I too noticed no one had the A parts listed.

On the positive side I did manage to spend a few minutes looking for my missing dog-bone.


And then left it on the table at the track....

Which meant a 2 hour drive back to get it at 10pm.....:o....silly bugger.

That IS a mare of a part to lose!
For the balls, you can get the steel ones made for the 501X - if you can find them. when I lost one of the steel ones I made my own from an alloy ball stud - the kind with internal threading. I drilled it out to remove the threads and so it slipped over the hinge pin. in my case it didn't last long since it was alloy in the alloy hinge pin brace on the 501X - but on the Durga it would be fine.
Bit of a farce but if you have the bits required and are handy, then it's not a big deal.

Well, Lacking any great skill, I cut down a plastic shim, glued it in the hole, re-assembled the car.

Sure, Its rough, But it could be awhile before I can source a replacement, If there is a steel version available I'll just try and find that.

I was meaning to try a part from my B4 to see if they fit....

Does anyone know what does that blue metal spacer for, the one that comes with the bag with pinion gear and stuff?

I just looked up the online manuals. The 501X uses part number 50994 which is the same as what the touring cars use (414,415,TB-02R,TA-05R) and it's a popular upgrade part for TB-02 and TA-05 owners. There is also a newer version 53709 which are flourine coated.

Do you mean BM9? According to the manual it is for if you fit the optional belt tensioner/roller. You don't need it for the standard build.

[quote=Metla;82347]I would imagine hes looking for the bell-shaped plastic piece that goes on the end of the hinge-pin, and slides into the block screwed to the chassis.

Yes thats the part that i am looking for. Does anyone have a suggestion on any companies that manufacture something similar that i can use? Im gonna spend a bit of time looking around for the part, but if anyone can save me some time, i would greatly appreciate it.


A.J.

It is the hinge pin that i bent, so i have a pack of four that i have on order from Tamiya. I believe they are the same ones used on the TA-05 chassis.

Hey guys here is a good use of some tool shafts that have been striped from years of use or if it is starting to wear a reason to get a fresh tool. I used a shaft from a Hudy 1/16" pinion tool. It fit the a-arm perfect. I used a Dremel tool to cut it to length and it isn't too much more than the Tamiya shafts. A replacement shaft is $7.50 and the 3mm pins are $8.50 for 4. The shaft will only make 2 pins but it will get you by in a pinch.
Be sure to check the size of the shaft before cutting it to length.

It's the little parts that get you.
I have only broken 1 front arm but it bent the pin too much to be bent back straight, in fact it broke in the process. We have 3 other cars that run at my track and everytime a front arm has broken the pins were bent. Only 1 other was broken in the process of straighting.
Good Luck :) :) :)

why does this hinge pin bend so easily? is there a design fault somewhere in the car?:confused:

Jimmy the rear hinge pin and ball ends on the 501X are the same as the TA04R ones, so I discovered but different parts numbers.
I assume the TA04 balls would still be available in most LHS's in UK, so should not be a problem.
Also the hingepin balls are the same on most TRF models dont know if any others use the same length pins though, but could be worth a look in the manuals section of say Time Tunnel spare parts section for Tamiya.
Hope this helps you out.
Typical Tamiya same part but different number saves machine time and makes money for them.

man, funny how, after phoning royal mail yesterdy over my missing 501X driveshafts, they turn up the next morning.... wonder why... only been sitting in the UK since Dec 13th....

I have been waiting since then for trousers ordered from UK to UK and still not arrived, good job I got some left over from last year Ha Ha

I see the 501X hingepin is 48.5mm. I assume the Durga one is too. The TA-05 one is 49.7mm. They are the same width and same material. On the tourers (TA04, TA05), they are the weak point and we like it that way because you almost never need to replace the arms (not that the arms are not strong, the carbon reinforced versions are about unbreakable). The tourer hingepins are cheap to replace and we can get them easy here from the Tamiya shop.

Also, I'm sure they bend more easily on the buggy than on the tourer because the buggy arms are longer and a crash with the buggy puts more force on the hingepin than a crash with the tourer.

If it really is a big problem, you could try to make your own hingepin out of "dowel pins". Don't ask me what they are but I've seen them at my nuts and bolts supply store, they are dirt cheap, come in all shapes and sizes and they are hella strong, so I use them in my custom projects. Only, they usually are some form of steel that can rust a bit over time and they are usually a little bigger diameter than they claim to be. You might need to turn down their diameters just an itsy bitsy teeny weeny bit. I don't have a lathe, so my makeshift way is with a Dremel and cutting disk like so...
http://www.bigbigplanet.com/rccars/slt/SLT_16.jpg

Here are the suspension balls from Tamiya. Cost around $6 to $7 plus shipping on eBay:

http://www.vellrip.com/media/53709.jpg
http://www.vellrip.com/media/50994.jpg

As for the suspension shafts, TamiyaUSA shows 46mm length for the front, and 48.5mm for the rear. The rear shaft part number is 9805681, and they come in a 4 pack. For the front, Tamiya sells two different types to fit different budgets. I seriously doubt the titanium coating will prevent bending though, so you should probably stick with regular steel for 1/4 the price:


http://www.vellrip.com/media/51093.jpg
http://i1.ebayimg.com/02/i/04/bc/ce/c2_1_b.JPG

And as an added bonus of useless information, you can get rid of those cheapo plastic spacers on the suspension shaft by purchasing the following hop-up. It contains 4 spacers of each thickness (.5mm, 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm) with X.5mm spacers being silver, and X.0mm ones being blue. BTW: The 5.5mm named in the title refers to the spacers outer diameter. They are still proper 3mm inner diameter. I have no idea why Tamiya describes them this way:

http://images.marketworks.com/hi/62/62314/53539.jpg

Just noticed that 3 Racing makes Nylon pivot balls as well. Very inexpensive, but I have no idea if they are any good...

http://i1.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/d0/90/7a78_1.JPG