Hi all,
My son and I have just started building this today and we've already hit a snag. I'm on step 9 where I'm installing the 380 motor into the gearbox. There's a black piece that fits over the motor and screws to it. Then there are two screws that go through the gearbox into the black piece (where two small nuts are behind it). My problem is that I can't for the life of me get the two screws through the gearbox into the black piece on the motor. This is so frustrating. The screws are not long enough. I'm sure that I have the correct screws. Even taking off the black piece from the motor and trying to just screw in the piece, it just isn't possible.

This is my first Tamiya in 25 years. I don't have a stock pile of screws and I highly doubt that any store around town is going to have something this size.

Is there something I'm missing? Is there a technique that I'm lacking or a tweak I can make? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Make sure the nuts are seated correctly, try push the nut in the opposite direction you are screwing the screw in.

Yes, I see how you could get frustrated. Those nuts could very easily move around, and the motor goes all the way into the assembly, so it's difficult to get to the nuts.

My suggestion is to C.A. glue or hot glue the nuts into position first. Just a little dab around the outside of the nut to get it held in position, and make sure it's lined up with the hole, should be golden then.

Check the screw against the manual I believe it's a 1:1 size ratio.

It's a 5mm screw to hold the motor to the black plastic alignment plate (H3 in the manual), 6mm screws to hold the black plastic alignment plate to the gear box.

I think mv75 has hit the nail on the head, it's the nuts moving around preventing the screws going in, I don't think the screws even bite into the plastic just into the nuts behind it.

Thanks for the suggestions. I managed to find a little longer screw to make it work.

So we basically finished building it tonight. My son was just beside himself with excitement. I was surprised with how fast it ran. Anyway, the shocks are terrible on this thing. We will probably go for some oil shocks soon. However in the meantime, when you compress the shocks it stays compressed. If you lift the vehicle up it will very very slowly release but on the ground it just stays down.

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how I can improve this some. I realize I can't get these to work as good as oil shocks but I should be able to get them to function better than this.

Thanks

A couple of things;

On the shock construction, don't be shy about adding grease to the rubber tube. Fill it up with grease before putting it over the screw head. Also lube the outside of it, the rubber tube that is.

Next you may have tightened the step screws too much. Top and bottom on the rears and top of the fronts. Make sure they are loose just a little bit to allow for play. And don't forget the grease on the tube of the front lower.

Great!! Is there an "alternative" grease I can use? I'm out of the little vial of grease that comes with it. Thanks again.

I think pretty much any general type of grease will work OK. I doubt the viscosity will make a major difference; Tamiya has been including those same little metal tubes of grease in their cars for over 30 years, for everything from bushings to gears to suspension joints, so it's not like it's specially formulated for use in shocks or anything.

You don't need much, maybe one of the small foil packets they keep near the register in auto parts stores, and keep the rest in a plastic bag. I would recommend cleaning any old grease out first, in case the two aren't compatible.

I ended up buying a tube of grease that is used for auto light bulbs. I think it's "dielectic" or something like that. It actually looks and feels just like the included Tamiya grease.

Anyway, I took your advice and took off each shock. Filled each inside rubber tube with grease. Wow, what a huge difference.

Thanks again for all the advice. Now I'm getting ready to build my Gravel Hound this afternoon. I cut out the body last night. What a pain!

Should have bought some molybdenum grease. Ah well, just remember that dielectric affects silicone rubbers after a while too and is primarily a barrier grease, not lubricating. But hey, if it works in that situation, that's good.

If you're interested, check out tamiya 87022 molybdenum grease. It may not look like much, but I bought two tubes a while ago and am still on my first tube. About two years of use so far too.