1:18 Ruckus Differential Problems and Upgrades Discussion

I need to figure out how the heck you guys are even getting these diffs apart. My son's are both stripped and I tried to take them out but was getting worried I was getting in too deep, so I retreated. :)
 
I think I have stared at axles way too long to remember exactly what worked and what didn't but I would say for those the balls are too big for the diffs so they would need ground down which isn't fun.
 
So here Is what I put together after a little playing around. I'm using the Losi mini 8 metal diff stock plastic pinion. If you cut the male drive shafts u joint connection off there is a hole that goes through it. I reamed out the hole, cut a Losi mini 8 dog bone down to the same size. Put a couple of notches in the shaft for glue to grab then jb welded it in the hole. Next I swapped the femal drive shaft part to the spindle side. I just finished this last night so when the glue dries I'll report back!
 

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I forgot I ordered these adjustable length axles before I went out of town and they were here when I got back. Since the only axle the right length seems discontinued this may be the only way. The plan was if they don't work as-is to chop a normal dogbone and make it adjustable. It can even have two different sized balls. My front stock diff is still holding up but probably because it pops an axle at the u-joint every time I drive it so I've wanted to figure something out for it. Been busy with a new micro crawler but when I get a chance to play with this I'll post if it works.

pRJYxUd.jpg

Got them here.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Adj...3mm-For-3Racing-Sakura-D3-CS/32624830635.html
what did you for the hub area
 
So during a discussion on URC about mini scale monster trucks, a guy recommended the op get a 1/18 Ruckus, and when I brought up the diff issue he said he found a diff made by Carisma that is a direct drop in and will bolt right up to the stock axles and the Hot Racing axles as well. I am still waiting for him to reply with what diff it actually is.
 
Could have sworn I copied this into this post. But this is what he had to say.
Here's two of them for ya:

http://www.apexmodels.com/gbu0-prods...A-CA14979.html

http://www.cmldistribution.co.uk/pro...-gear-diff-set

Remember the price shown is in British pounds not dollars. I dont know if they ship to the states, but Apex Models shipped them to me back when I ordered them and they accept Paypal. I used the Carisma diffs with with Hot Racing Steel CVDs # SECE288 and for the spur gears # SECE558, SECE560, or SECE562 (58,60,or 62 tooth). It all fit-up perfect and really beefed up that little truck!
 
Nice. Maybe I will do the front on mine someday. I have it running strong but I have the steering turned down a little bit so the axles will stay in. And I already have the HR axles sitting in a box.
 
Could have sworn I copied this into this post. But this is what he had to say.
Here's two of them for ya:

http://www.apexmodels.com/gbu0-prods...A-CA14979.html

http://www.cmldistribution.co.uk/pro...-gear-diff-set

Remember the price shown is in British pounds not dollars. I dont know if they ship to the states, but Apex Models shipped them to me back when I ordered them and they accept Paypal. I used the Carisma diffs with with Hot Racing Steel CVDs # SECE288 and for the spur gears # SECE558, SECE560, or SECE562 (58,60,or 62 tooth). It all fit-up perfect and really beefed up that little truck!


So does this replace the existing diffs directly or do you keep the existing housing and put these pieces inside. If it is a direct replacement do you need any additional parts?
 
Yes they replace the entire differential the part in the bulkheads that the axles bolt to. As far as I am aware no you don't need any other parts. I personally have not tried them, I was just forwarding this info into this thread.
 
vaterra diff works for both. a557 is fine for both axles. You will need some shims and new wheel hex / nuts. For rear dogbone, the sportswerks ones mentioned work fine. For front you can:
1. Find a discontinued a552 set, and modify one ball end to reduce the size
2. Build a franken-bone retaining the stock wheel nut / hex / axle and half of a dogbone
3. Find a dogbone that actually fits and tell me about it so I can order it too. :)

Have been reading up this thread and hunting for dogbones when I found this, https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2PC...lgo_pvid=e2b937ea-7b3a-4e06-b59c-416d0331cd12

I wonder if this would work, specs say that is 5.3 x 50.8, am guessing the pin to pin is around 47mm
 
I'm not sure, I want to say no, I swore I saw someone post that they tried those, but I cannot remember where they posted it, either RCTech or Ultimate RC.

I gave up on my Ruckus, it is just too much to have to dump $100+ dollars into a $100 rc. If I feel the need for another mini I will look towards the LC Racing EMB-MTH or Tacon Valor, aluminum chassis, aluminum shocks, aluminum shock towers, all metal drive train, and brushless out of the box for ~$200. They also offer a SCT, buggy, truggy, rally car, desert buggy, and touring car. Most people say to avoid the desert buggy because the cage is not that great, it breaks very easily and you have to order then entire cage at $36 a pop.

These are the LC Racing vehicles http://www.rccar.com.cn/index.php#content they can be found here http://www.rcmart.com/lc-racing-Store-m-388.html and here http://casterracingmi.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=171 for in the US.

These are the Tacon vehicles http://www.nitrorcx.com/tacon.html

The LC Racing and Tacon vehicles are the same other than the LC Racing vehicles come with unpainted lexan bodies while the Tacon vehicles come with prepainted pvc bodies and the Tacons are available as a brushed version without all the fancy aluminum bits.

Spare parts can be found at Rcmart, Warren RC, Amazon, Nitrorcx, and eBay to name a few.
 
Wow great thread. Just got my son the 1/18 torment to race on a indoor plywood track this Winter. We both raced outdoor this Summer, but snow has already shut us down. I'm hoping keeping it inside will make it last longer. The truck is wicked fun out of the box, but we did immediately give it a venom 2000 Mah lipo. Couple hrs in with no breakdowns yet, even though the rear diff was immediately throwing grease. Just reading and catching up to be prepared for the first overhaul. His first race is this Saturday. I haven't got my indoor rig yet . They do 1/16 scale offroad, M-chassis, and 1/10 drift. Haven't made up my mind yet, but so far the little torment is the most fun to drive, but I worry about it's stamina. I put a small fortune into racing Amps, and Circuits this Summer. Basically constantly rebuilding diffs and sorting out dependable driveshaft options. Thanks for all the info.
 
I just got some Carisma gears and replaced some of the plastic gears with these. For the front I am going to try this set up for the rear I am going to use losi mini 8ight gear with Carisma gears that attach to the out drives.
 

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Tried the losi gears with the Carisma gears and that doesn't work. The outdrive gears are different, I was able to use the pinion gear from the losi but the ring gear is still plastic. I think the full set of Carisma gears a would work as mentioned earlier but I couldn't find them for a reasonable price.
 

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I was just wondering if there are anymore updates regarding this topic

Honestly I think everyone gave up and moved on to a more reliable platform.

It is hard justifying having to spend $150+ on a $99 rc car just to get it to perform the way it should out of the box.
There are much better more reliable platforms for the mini scale.
Letrax - especially now that they come with metal diff gears stock
Tacon/LC Racing - the brushed models are only $10-$20 more than the Ecx are and there is a night and day difference in quality.
Team Associated 1/18 scale.
 
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I forgot I ordered these adjustable length axles before I went out of town and they were here when I got back. Since the only axle the right length seems discontinued this may be the only way. The plan was if they don't work as-is to chop a normal dogbone and make it adjustable. It can even have two different sized balls. My front stock diff is still holding up but probably because it pops an axle at the u-joint every time I drive it so I've wanted to figure something out for it. Been busy with a new micro crawler but when I get a chance to play with this I'll post if it works.

View attachment 2113

Got them here.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Adj...3mm-For-3Racing-Sakura-D3-CS/32624830635.html

Hey there,
and now that they work, what wheels and nuts size did you got to fit on those?
 

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