Changing the ECX AMP Servo

Ecx_frills

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My servo fried near the end of September (surprisingly) after running on a 2S lipo (I have an upgraded ESC that can take 2S/3S) and money was really tight so I decided instead of going to local route, I would order directly from online. Firstly, I realize now that I should have just paid a bit more to go local, I missed an entire Fall of driving and now there's snow out there :( That stinks!

The servo I got is a digital metal gear waterproof 25Kg 180 degree servo. I found it very hard to find specific details on what to look for but through my reading it seemed that was what I wanted.
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I was surprised at just how much I had to take apart to get the old servo out. I had to take the shock towers off and completely unscrew the servo saver from the steering.

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I had to use pliers to get the ball joint into the new metal arm. I checked a few times to ensure that things weren't getting stripped (which they weren't) it was just very tight. I could have kept the plastic stock arm, but I figured that since I had a metal arm at my disposal I might as well use it.

I then test fitted it to find out two things: The metal arm is a bit too tall, so it was hitting the side of the chassis. The top part of this servo is a few mms taller than the stock servo. As such, I decided I would have to grind away a bit. I ground away a part of the servo saver arm to make it fit and ground away part of the servo lid. Of course, I also ground away part of the metal arm to ensure full motion. (while I was at it, I did also grind a small part of the bottom of the servo saver as people have pointed out it hits the base of the chassis and restricts the full motion of the steering).

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With that all ground away, I was able to rebuild the steering and get everything connected and zip tied and I'm back in action (I am going to wait for things to dry up out there though because I don't want to burn something else out!).

Just wanted to share my experience, I would say that I recommend just going local. A) It support 'em which is good, B) You won't wait so long to get driving again and C) The part will fit better and you won't need to grind things away.

I am a little disappointed in that my upgrade to metal gears now means that I probably won't be able to upgrade to a metal servo saver (I guess I could keep grinding away) and also a little worried that I have reduced the strength of my servo saver (though it doesn't really feel like that). Some good lessons learned here, I would be interested to hear from any of you on what you would have done differently because obviously there are things I could have done differently!
 
I don't mean to burst your bubble, and it may not matter in the grand scheme of things, but you have pretty much voided any warranty on that new servo.
Also I don't remember, did you happen to ask the group what metal gear servo would fit without cutting or grinding, before purchasing one?
I do fully support, supporting Local hobby shops whenever you can, but you also have the freedom to do anything at anytime, and go your own route.
I don't own a 1/10th scale Amp but I do have 3 Torments, and I have to agree, changing out steering servo's is quite the process, nothing like the old flat pan dune buggies. But it also isn't difficult.

Here is a snippet of Woodies stickied thread about Amp upgrades.
"Servo - The stock steering servo seems a bit under powered, to remedy simply upgrade the servo to something like the Power HD 1501MG, MG996R, or Hitec HS5645MG."
Here's the link to that post.
Recommended ECX AMP Upgrades
 
Yep. Given that it's straight from China though I am not really worried about warranty. I think some of the issues I had with those links was finding it easily accessible in Canada. It would have been a good idea to ask. Lessons learned man!!
 
I have a similar servo, same case just a 20kg, actually 2 in both my circuits (same as amp as far as front chassis). All I did was cut off the over hanging threads of the servo arm where the ball screws into to reposition it better, then slid the servo back till it touched the front of the battery case.
 
I have a similar servo, same case just a 20kg, actually 2 in both my circuits (same as amp as far as front chassis). All I did was cut off the over hanging threads of the servo arm where the ball screws into to reposition it better, then slid the servo back till it touched the front of the battery case.

I was considering what options I could have but there really wasn't much space to move it further back.
I debated taking the whole top of the arm off but opted to just remove the amount I needed to because dremels scare the crap out of me!
 
I have been using that servo with the rpm bell cranks and the traxxas turnbuckles, works great. Really cleaned up the steering slop. I went back to the plastic servo horn, when my kid hits something hard enough the horn breaks and not the servo or other staring parts. Small trade off for better stearing.
 
I have been using that servo with the rpm bell cranks and the traxxas turnbuckles, works great. Really cleaned up the steering slop. I went back to the plastic servo horn, when my kid hits something hard enough the horn breaks and not the servo or other staring parts. Small trade off for better stearing.
So that all fit without issue? Good to hear because if something breaks I figure might as well upgrade it!!
 
I had to trim a little off the front of the servo edge with an exact knife to keep the bell crank from rubbing. I also had to put a washer between the rim and the wheel hex, the turnbuckle rubbed a bit with out. Runs great if he hits something solid the servo horn is sacrificed. They're a lot cheaper than enything else.
 
I also changed the servo in my AMP, except I used the 20 kg servo. I had to trim the servo arm shorter to clear the top of the servo bay but I didn't need to shave the servo. Maybe the 20kg one is slightly smaller. I've left the servo saver in place for the time being, so the stronger servo isn't really making much difference except that it's a bit faster than the standard one.
 
Looks great! TBH Dremels make me nervous (something about insanely fast little disks spinning right next to my hands) so when I had it shaved down enough not to touch, I was happy to be done!
 

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