Tuning, Adjusting & Maintaining
the 1/10 Night Crawler
Tuning the 1/10 Night Crawler
Shock Location:
The 1/10 Night Crawler has two mounting locations. The
position can be easily adjusted by simply moving the top
of the shock to another hole. The standard location (lower
hole) works best on jagged rocks or rougher terrain by
raising the chassis providing more “belly” clearance.
Moving the top of the shock to the upper hole will reduce
the amount of droop and lower your chassis. This works
better on smooth, steep rocks and “sidehilling” and
increases stability.
Upper Track Rods:
Raising or lower the upper track rods will change how the
1/10 Night Crawler reacts under power when climbing and
descending. The links have been placed in the middle
position for a more neutral setting. Generally on high
traction rock we suggest mounting the links in the upper
holes while on loose or slippery rock use the bottom
holes. Both front and rear link adjustments will change the
handling of your 1/10 Night Crawler, experiment with the
settings and see what suits your driving style.
Adjusting Gear Mesh:
Incorrect gear mesh is the most common cause of stripped spur
gears. To set the gear mesh, one method is to cut a narrow strip
of notebook paper and thread it in between the gears. Loosen
the motor screws and slide the motor and pinion gear into the
spur gear. Retighten the motor screws and then remove the strip
of paper. Or you can loosen the motor and carefully slide the
motor leaving a small amount of backlash (play) between the
spur and pinion gears. It should not be tight and if you look
up-close there should be slight movement of the spur before
contacting the teeth on the pinion gear.
Gear Ratio:
When using higher gear ratios (bigger pinion), it is extremely
important to monitor the temperatures of the battery and motor. If
the battery is extremely hot, and/or the motor is so hot that you
cannot touch it, most likely you are over geared and drawing a
lot of current. The pinion gear installed on the 1/10 NIght Crawler
is a 20-tooth pinion provides the power for most crawling
situations.
Periodically examine your 1/10 Night Crawler for the following:
•
Keep your vehicle clean using a brush to remove dirt and
dust.
•
Look for cracks in the suspension arms and other molded
parts.
•
Check that the tires are still secure to the wheels.
•
Check that all the wheel bearings are clean and lubricated.
•
Using your tools, attempt to tighten all the screws and nuts.
•
Transmission gears
o Check the compound gear for wear.
o Check the spur gear for wear.
o Check the pinion gear.
•
Take the shocks off the vehicle and check, especially if they
appear to be leaking, as it is time to rebuild them.
•
Look over all the wiring and connections for bare wire or any
place which could lead to a short circuit.
•
Verify that the ESC is securely mounted to the chassis.
•
Verify the receiver is still securely mounted to the chassis.
•
Turn on the radio. If the Green LED is off or dim, replace the
4 AA batteries in the transmitter.
After you become familiar with driving your 1/10 Night Crawler,
you may need to reset or make adjustments for better driving
performance.
Gear Ratio Chart
1 2 1 0 4 . 1 9
1 3 9 6 . 1 8
1 4 8 9 . 3 1
1 5 8 3 . 5 5
1 6 7 8 . 1 4
1 7 7 3 . 5 5
1 8 6 9 . 4 6
1 9 6 5 . 8 0
2 0 6 2 . 5 1
2 1 5 9 . 5 4
2 2 5 6 . 8 3
2 3 5 4 . 3 6
2 4 5 2 . 0 9
2 5 5 0 . 0 1
P i n i o n R a t i o
P i n i o n R a t i o
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