Minimono Upgrade Drive Shaft DIY

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  • yoffer
    Junior Member
    • May 2012
    • 24

    #1

    Minimono Upgrade Drive Shaft DIY

    Ok guys, i know everyone has been having the wire drive failure just like i have. I love the boat, but after only 4 runs in a month because ive snapped one and lost the spare to the depths because of the crappy set screw coupler that comes stock with the minimono i got tired of it. So i decided to do a little research online and pieced together my own custom flex drive wire system. So lets jump on in.

    Listed are the parts you will have to order, yours may vary but this is what i used for my system.

    Octura .098 Flex Drive Wire, assembled.
    http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...oct-oc098L-24c

    Octura Coupler
    http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...oct-ocfhe18098

    K & S Stuffing Tube part# 129
    http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...rass-tb&cat=70

    *OPTIONAL*
    Octura Purple Plastic y531 Prop
    http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...?prod=oct-y531

    First we are going to start off by removing all the old drive components, you will have to remove the battery/servo tray first, which i used a small flathead screwdriver and pried up on the corners until i was able to use my fingers to pop it out. It is held in by glue. This is what you should see after that is done. (i already installed the octura coupler in this picture)



    Next you will have to remove the stock stuffing tube to be able to fit the larger one on. I did this by using a set of pliers and twisting it back and forth until the glue released it and i pulled it out the back. You will then have to drill out the tube holder and the rear of the boat larger to accomodate the larger stuffing tube. Cut your new stuffing tube to length, i used a dremel for this process, do the same for your flex cable, make sure you leave extra room, its easy to cut too much. Hunker the tube down with some glue, later test it in the tub to make sure its water tight. This is what it will look like.



    Next on the list is to align it properly to the motor coupler so that it reduces as much friction and premature ware on the drive line. I did this by using the end of a drill bit and pulling lightly over and over again in small incriments to make sure i didnt kink it or bend it too much, i really like the way this boat it setup, i only had one bend that i had to make. When your done, it should like this.



    Now go ahead and assemble the rest of system and do a test run on the stand to make sure everything is proper aligned and nothing is catching before you glue back down the battery/servo tray into place. I should mention that the drive shaft prop that came with the system was too small and had a good amount of play in the stuffing tube, i remedied this by cutting a small piece of teflon off what i had left over and slid it over the drive shaft prop with made it fit snuggly into the tube with very minimal resistance, if any at all.
    Here it is assembled.



    And a shot of the new prop with the bullet nut provided in the ose flex cable system.



    Heres a shot of my workstation and my new MC!



    First impressions.
    I love it. I ran one pack and it was trouble free. The boat sounded quieter, the stock wire drive system seemed to cause a lot of vibration and noise, this new system seems to tone that vibration down a lot. I love the way it sounds, very very little resistance when turning the prop/flex cable by hand. Everything was water tight, had maybe a drop or two in the hull after a 7 minute run. Coupled together with the new prop, this setup seems very good and i plan on running it trouble free for a while. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please by all means share.
    Last edited by yoffer; 05-30-2012, 10:38 PM.
    AQ Motley Crew: Prather s220, Kintec Upgrade Flex Cable
    AQ SV27R: Octura x442, Kintec Flex Cable, Kintec Strut Bushing, 4s, Liposhield
    AQ Minimono: Octura y531, Custom .098 Flex Cable Drive
  • ryin
    Junior Member
    • Jul 2007
    • 20

    #2
    I am going to have to give this a try. The only problem I have right now is the stupid set screw coupling always loosens up. I had a nice coupling for my mini rio that helped the shaft from tearing apart, but coupling fits a 2.5mm motor shaft dia. not the 3mm shaft dia. on the mini mono. did you notice slower speeds at all due to the thicker shaft causing more load on the motor?

    Comment

    • yoffer
      Junior Member
      • May 2012
      • 24

      #3
      No i didnt notice any slower speeds, but quite the opposite lol
      I did upgrade the prop and its visually a lot larger than the stock prop, and i did notice higher motor and esc temps. I plan on throwing a watercooler 35a seaking esc in and looking to larger cooling lines to take the temps back down. I think the prop is heating up the motor and esc more than anything.
      AQ Motley Crew: Prather s220, Kintec Upgrade Flex Cable
      AQ SV27R: Octura x442, Kintec Flex Cable, Kintec Strut Bushing, 4s, Liposhield
      AQ Minimono: Octura y531, Custom .098 Flex Cable Drive

      Comment

      • Duke
        Junior Member
        • Jun 2012
        • 6

        #4
        Thanks for posting this yoffer , i ran my minimono today for the first time and guess what happened ? yep , down to the bottom went my prop and shaft on the second pack . that was enough to hook me on this little gem though .

        Comment

        • yoffer
          Junior Member
          • May 2012
          • 24

          #5
          Yeah ive had problems with the stock drive system from day one. But i ran over 10 packs with this upgraded system now and not one issue. I do notice more torque lean on full throttle, might be because of the heavier collet on the motor, or maybe the bigger prop, not too sure. But it beats having to worry about the prop shaft falling out.
          AQ Motley Crew: Prather s220, Kintec Upgrade Flex Cable
          AQ SV27R: Octura x442, Kintec Flex Cable, Kintec Strut Bushing, 4s, Liposhield
          AQ Minimono: Octura y531, Custom .098 Flex Cable Drive

          Comment

          • RAMROD5
            Junior Member
            • May 2012
            • 24

            #6
            Originally posted by Duke
            Thanks for posting this yoffer , i ran my minimono today for the first time and guess what happened ? yep , down to the bottom went my prop and shaft on the second pack . that was enough to hook me on this little gem though .
            you did better than me! my first run with my minimono ended up with the esc exploding, the whole interior smoke damaged, motor mount burnt, and plastic above esc warped....not happy

            Comment

            • Duke
              Junior Member
              • Jun 2012
              • 6

              #7
              Yoffer , i got all my stuff today to fix my mini , i think they put a little extra glue on my battery tray lol.

              Comment

              • yoffer
                Junior Member
                • May 2012
                • 24

                #8
                Originally posted by Duke
                Yoffer , i got all my stuff today to fix my mini , i think they put a little extra glue on my battery tray lol.
                All i did was pry it up starting at the corner with a flathead and i was able to pull it out. Let me know how it turns out.
                AQ Motley Crew: Prather s220, Kintec Upgrade Flex Cable
                AQ SV27R: Octura x442, Kintec Flex Cable, Kintec Strut Bushing, 4s, Liposhield
                AQ Minimono: Octura y531, Custom .098 Flex Cable Drive

                Comment

                • alvinm
                  Member
                  • Feb 2012
                  • 77

                  #9
                  I think I might go this route even though this second stock wire is holding up after a few runs. Did you take a measurement of how far you went outside the back of the hull with the brass tubing?

                  Comment

                  • yoffer
                    Junior Member
                    • May 2012
                    • 24

                    #10
                    I took a rough estimate. It's about the same length as the stock tube, maybe just one or two mm's longer.

                    Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
                    AQ Motley Crew: Prather s220, Kintec Upgrade Flex Cable
                    AQ SV27R: Octura x442, Kintec Flex Cable, Kintec Strut Bushing, 4s, Liposhield
                    AQ Minimono: Octura y531, Custom .098 Flex Cable Drive

                    Comment

                    • boogityman
                      Member
                      • Sep 2011
                      • 40

                      #11
                      Hey Yoffer,

                      Great idea for this drive upgrade. I have all the parts in hand and even before installing them I can tell its going to be a lot more reliable than the stock drive setup. Question for you--what did you use to glue the stuffing tube back down? Just some epoxy? Also when you cut the cable drive to length do you have to solder the cut end to keep it from unwinding? I read something like that once I think...

                      I also managed to pop out the motor mount by accident while prying up the servo/battery tray Was using a putty knife to get under the tray without cracking it and when it finally gave I hammered the motor mount with my hand...whoops. I can either glue that back down or I also have a 3500kV Turnigy outrunner I got from HK months ago and never used that I may just pop in there with a 50A ESC just because its out already...Of course would also love to be able to cram the Turnigy 2200mAh battery I have in there for some longer runtimes too...but that may be dreaming this hull is tiny!

                      Comment

                      • gyrotron
                        Senior Member
                        • Jul 2012
                        • 481

                        #12
                        Originally posted by yoffer
                        No i didnt notice any slower speeds, but quite the opposite lol
                        I did upgrade the prop and its visually a lot larger than the stock prop, and i did notice higher motor and esc temps. I plan on throwing a watercooler 35a seaking esc in and looking to larger cooling lines to take the temps back down. I think the prop is heating up the motor and esc more than anything.
                        Hi Yoffer,

                        Can you post a picture of the final mod so we can see the interior of the hull with everything in minus the battery? Thx.

                        Comment

                        • yoffer
                          Junior Member
                          • May 2012
                          • 24

                          #13
                          This is the best I have.


                          Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
                          Attached Files
                          AQ Motley Crew: Prather s220, Kintec Upgrade Flex Cable
                          AQ SV27R: Octura x442, Kintec Flex Cable, Kintec Strut Bushing, 4s, Liposhield
                          AQ Minimono: Octura y531, Custom .098 Flex Cable Drive

                          Comment

                          • gyrotron
                            Senior Member
                            • Jul 2012
                            • 481

                            #14
                            Originally posted by yoffer
                            This is the best I have.


                            Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
                            Yes I just wanted to see how everything end up inside the hull once you had finished the mod. Thx.

                            Comment

                            • yoffer
                              Junior Member
                              • May 2012
                              • 24

                              #15
                              No problem, let me know if you have anymore questions. As far as cutting the flex shaft goes, I used a dremel with a cutting circle on it. I didn't solder the end that I cut as I didn't feel the need to but you could if you wanted to.

                              Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
                              AQ Motley Crew: Prather s220, Kintec Upgrade Flex Cable
                              AQ SV27R: Octura x442, Kintec Flex Cable, Kintec Strut Bushing, 4s, Liposhield
                              AQ Minimono: Octura y531, Custom .098 Flex Cable Drive

                              Comment

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