3 Link

[Locked Up]

I got the hand brothers 3-link & chassis servo mount installed on my SCX10. It's a very well made unit and I was please as I installed it. However, because I am running the suspension "jacked up" there was a lot of bind in the steering at full droop. I could not even connect the drag link to the pitman, uh ...servo arm.

I also noticed that because I was running so high there was a lot of arc in the trackbar moving the axle to the driverside with droop and to the pass side under compression.

To solve the drag link bind, I decided to run some Vanquish high steer knuckles. That decision, led to the next problem ... the trackbar and drag link were at very different angles and would cause bump steer.

Solution to that .... raise the trackbar on the axle...
The knuckles are easy, so I'll cover how I modified my trackbar/3 link setup to work with the high steer knuckles.

Note that I installed longer shocks so this probaby is not a problem if your SCX10 is stock height. If your SCX10 is stock height and you want to lift it ... check out my upcoming SCX10 lift kit walkthrough.

1. The first step is to disassemble the front axle completely.

2. From there, you'll want to clearance the inside of your housing so you can fit a nut inside. this will help hold the trackbar mount on better than just the threads in the housing itself:

3. Next you will need to cut your axle link mount/trackbar bracket in two. You are going to separate the track bar mount from the 3 link mount so you end up with a little "L" bracket for the trackbar. The part of the bracket that attaches to the diff will hold just the top 3 link mount. The trackbar bracket will be mounted with spacers underneath it. Here are some shots that will give you the idea:

4. Lastly, reassemble the axle with the new knuckles. I used about 9mm of spacer under my trackbar bracket. That combined with my vanquish high steer knuckles worked out perfectly.

As far as strength, I've been beating on my rig for over a month now and it shows no sign of coming loose. If you wanted to add more structure, you could cut /drill/tap a small metal tab so both screws that hold the trackbar bracket to the axle would thread into something inside the housing. I'll do that in the upcoming months just as a precaution.

[Locked Up]

Since I didn't follow my own advice and reinforce anything in the housing I got a nasty surprise at a comp!

I knew it was a weak point but the truck had held up so well for so long I forgot to go back and brace it. So on "course 1" of 9/26/10 (almost a year later) the trackbar bracket ripped itself out of the housing. I will admit I was holding nothing back (I later found a few trashed rod ends as well)... but I wasn't prepared to mend the housing in the field so it ended my day.

To solve this I decided to go for "overkill" and had a few "bad ideas" along the way...

1. After disassembling the front axle completely I installed the gunnar axle tubes into a new housing. On the passenger side I used a small drill bit and went in from the top to mark where the two original mount holes would line up with the gunnar tube. Don't drill all the way through, just get a mark going. I also drilled a 3rd hole in the center/top of the housing closer to the diff to give some triangulation.

2. With the approximate locations of the holes it's time to whip out the welder and start building up the material. Essentially you want to to make 2 big piles of metal that you will later grind, drill & tap for 3mm hardware. This will be considerably stronger than just drilling and tapping as you will have double (or more) the threads. This photo will give you an idea of what you are after:

3. You will need to clearance the housing for your tube to fit in and these mount points to poke out. Remove as little material from the housing as you can until things line up as so:

4. When you are satisfied there, you'll need to make a bracket to mount to the housing from the outside. This is where the trackbar will attach. I cut mine out of aluminum angle I had lying around using my rotary tool.

5. I went through a lot of trial and error and the best method I can recommend is to fully assemble everything and bolt a test bracket to the axle. From there let the vehicle rest on it's own weight and make sure it is sitting centered. Then mark a hole in the bracket to drill for the trackbar. Once you get the whole right you'll be sitting pretty.

Bonus:
While I was at it, I decided to add some set screws for my super 300 axles. It's not rocket science, just drill and tap the knuckles/housing for the set screws and make sure they will contact the bearings. Since I did this I've had zero "bearing walk".