small bolt stuck flex shaft

[collective itch]

hi, recently purchased a small bolt from hobbyking.
not overly impressed with it at the moment, not as fast as my joysway off shore warrior.
one problem ive got is water ingress, pretty sure its throught the staffing tube, as there appears to be no grease in there. tried to remove the flex shaft to grease it, but it seems stuck?
it was like this before i even ran it.
im used to taking out the flexis on my other two boats, so know the procedure, this one will not budge though. any tips?
thanks.

[martin]

Not sure how familular you are with different types of flex shafts ie the flex on the Offshore Warrior for example is a 1 piece shaft that simply pulls out the rear of the strut. The Bolt flex is normally a 2 piece type where the stub has a shoulder on to stop it coming out of the rear of the stub, you need to remove the strut & the stub pushes out of the front of the strut. once the strut is removed you then also pull out the flex from the stuffing tube. This is why most change out these 2 piece shafts to a 1 piece type that comes straight out with no faffing around with the strut removal.

[Basstronics]

On mine the square drive flex was forced into the prop shaft and was VERY hard to remove.

[Namba328]

basstronics I have one aswell but it wasn't forced in there so either ure cable is too long or its got a burr

[collective itch]

hi everyone, thanks for replies. martin, im familiar with the one piece flexis, like on my miss geico and off shore warrior. im still unsure exactly what i should be removing, and what i should be holding/pulling if that makes sense. i dont want to break the hull where the stuffing tube goes in. how do i remove the strut? sorry for all the q's coming from helis and cars, so still learning the hardware names.

[martin]

The 2 piece shafts will not pullout the rear after undoing the coupling like the 1 piece ones. you must remove the strut bolt & pull the strut off of the stuffing tube to access the flex. The strut is the bracket assembly that holds the stub shaft,prop, & dog.

[collective itch]

it feels like if i pull the strut, the hull is going to crack were the stuffing tube enters the hull?

[martin]

To remove the strut take out the single bolt in the centre of the strut bracket & the strut will pull of off the stuffing tube. Once the strut is off the flex can be pulled out of the stuffing tube, to grease the stub that is in the strut you must take off the prop nut, prop & dog. Once this is removed the stub pushes foward & out of the front of the strut.

[martin]

Its possible the stuffing tube is a tight fit in the strut or they have used Loctite or glue at that joint.

[collective itch]

i ssupect glue or locticte has been used, if i use the force that i think it needs, im likely to damage the hull. bit stuck as to what to do.

[collective itch]

sucess. i pulled the strut down, clear of the bracket and rotated it, which freed it up.

[martin]

If in future you encounter something like this that has been Loctited or glued a simple way to break the joint is to hold a soldering iron on the joint to warm the area then twist to undo.

[collective itch]

great, cheers for the advice martin, see how i now get on with the next runs, hopefully with more grease applied, water will not get up the flex.

[martin]

Dont overpack with grease or use thick grease as it just causes unnesessary resistance on the flex giving higher amp draws. If you have enough room at the motor end of the stuffing tube cut a small piece of silicon water tube around 1/2" long and slip it onto the motor end of the stuffing tube so that 1/4" is on the tube & 1/4" overhanging. This overhang forms a seal on the flex stopping any water entering the boat, just make sure the silicon tube isnt tight on the flex.

[martin]

Another area for water entering the stuffing tube & into the boat is at the joint where the stuffing tube enters the strut, this joint needs sealing or a piece of heat shrink tubing over the front of the strut & along the stuffing tube. This is a favourite place for water to enter ie a foward facing opening travelling through water at 30-40mph or whatever speed just forces water in.

[Namba328]

martin the small bolts really don't have very much room between the coupler and the stuffing tube so the best advice would be for him to do the shrink wrap tip. But if he's getting water in the hull he needs to check for cracks and bad seals because ive had mine now for about 3 mo and have ran it probably a good 20-25 runs and have had no water what so ever. Besides when I hit the turtle and ripped the rudder off the back but that's fixed now.

I've ran it on 4s for s h its a giggles and its scary fast. So I recommend sticking with 3s. Plus with 4s u have to upgrade the esc to a 60amp.

[collective itch]

yeh, i dont really have any room for silicon tube, how do i do the shrink wrap tip?

[collective itch]

ah, disaster. in trying to put the strut all the back on to the stuffing tube after greasing, the glue/resin around where the stuffing tube enters the hull, cracked, and the stuffing tube is now not securely attached to the hull. my first boat form hobbyking, and its been a total nightmare. what do i need to do to re glue the stuffing tube in the hull. can i just use two part epoxy?

[martin]

Yes you can use 2 part epoxy glue, roughen the surface of the tube & the area your bonding & have the tube & strut positioned so as things will be lined up properly. Re the shrink tube, if you cut a piece of shrink tube say 1.5" long & slide it onto the stuffing tube then fit the strut onto the stuffing tube & bolt up. Then pull the shrink tube back so its part on the strut & part on the stuffing tube then shrink down so the joint between the strut & stuffing tube is covered.

[collective itch]

ok, thanks martin

[martin]

Another area on rtr boats where they can leak is through the bolt holes on the transom as most manufacturers dont seal the bolts.

[collective itch]

yeh i thought that, i did it previoulsy to my supervee 27 brushless, as well as this one. i took the bolts out, put silicone sealant on the bolts, and put them back in, will that suffice?

[martin]

Yep thats all you need to do.