The TR-SC10E is an awesome 4wd short course truck right out of the box but it does have a few areas that could stand some minor improvement.  One of those areas is the front steering link ball cups.  In a crash, it's possible for the ball cup to pop off of the ball.  This isn't a big deal as it can simply be popped back on again but, this has the potential to end a race.

Until today, I've simply been replacing the ball cups with new ones (part number E-65) whenever I had a ball cup pop off.  These are super cheap but I've been searching for a better / aftermarket alternative.

By complete fluke, it turns out that the TR-MT10E monster truck's captured ball cups and studs also fit the TR-SC10E.  I beat the tar out of my MT10E and have never had a ball cup pop off so this may be the solution I've been searching for - Woo Hoo!!! 

​Here's the parts needed for the swap:

Here's the stock TR-SC10E ball and ball cup:

And below is the TR-MT10E captured ball cup installed: 

It looks like I'll only be able to use these captured ball cups on the outside end of the steering links.  The clearance between the inner ball cup and the gear box housing is very tight and I don't think these slightly larger MT10E ball cups will fit on the inner part without some clearance issues.  When I have more time, I may give them a try but some dremel work may be required for the inner links to fit.  I'll keep you posted on that...

Hopefully this will solve the problem of ball cups popping off once and for all.

By the way, if you found this helpful, please do me a HUGE favor and support me by purchasing your TR-SC10E parts and hop-ups from me and also by using my Amazon links if you make any purchases at Amazon (they'll pay me a small commission)

Part 1 - New Body
Part 2 - ESC Mount
Part 3 - Front Bumper
Part 4 - Wheel Nuts
Part 5 - Aluminum Rear Hubs and Aluminum Steering Knuckles
​Part 6 - Rear End Upgrades
Part 7 - Front End Upgrades

'till next time

Rob

Great news if you've been waiting for a new spur gear for your Everest Gen7 Sport or Pro.  An order of 75 pieces has just arrived and they are shipping now.

I have them on sale for a great price as well so perhaps grab a couple of them while you can.

Thanks for your support, I really appreciate it.

Rob

A few days ago, I posted some of the upgrades that I added to the rear of my TR-SC10E.  I had some more time to work on my truck after that and started to work on the front end.  Here are the parts I added:
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• Lunsford 3.5mm x 24mm SUPER DUTY Upper Links
• Associated 47.5wt Shock Oil
• TMS-65 Anti-Roll Bar
• TMS-25 Aluminum Wheel Hexes
• TMS-05 Carbon Fibre Front Upper Top Plate

The Lunsford Upper Links are a MUST do upgrade for the TR-SC10E.  Between my son and I, we broke 5 stock upper links on our first race weekend.  I added the Lunsfords to my son's truck (he crashes even more than I do) and we haven't had a problem on his truck since.  They are a little pricey but the fact that they shouldn't ever break again was well worth the investment.

Like I did on the rear a few days ago, I also added the TMS-65 Anti-Roll Bar to the front.  I had to remove the front bumper in order to install the sway bar but other than that, the installation was pretty straight forward.  Because I didn't remove the front clip from the truck prior to doing the installation, I had a difficult time getting access for my calliper to carefully measure the length of exposed sway bar so I had to just "eye ball" it.  I think it's close but if I was to do this again, I'd pull the front clip off of the truck. 

Even though I was running short of time (you can tell by how dirty the truck is still) I couldn't resist the temptation to add the Carbon Fibre Front Top Plate.  The installation took less than two minutes and I think it adds a little bit of style to the truck.

I finished up the front end re-build with the installation of aluminum wheel hexes and a quick clean and rebuild of the stock plastic shocks.  I filled the shocks with Associated 47.5wt Shock Oil.  I have the aluminum shocks for the front and plan to install them some day as well.

What I would have done differently:  I'd have not started the project until I had the time to pull the complete front clip off of the truck and fully disassemble everything.  I tried to leave as many parts installed on the chassis as possible and this just made things more difficult and awkward to work on.  The next time I do a front end re-build, I'll completely remove everything.

Looking for a cool way to transport your Gen7 or other 1/10 crawler to your favorite trail?  Check out these premium quality crawler bags...I think you'll like them!

Thanks for your support, I really appreciate it

​Rob

I have started to tear my TR-SC10E down in preparation for an upcoming race and while I was cleaning it, I decided to add a few more upgrades.  I started at the rear of the truck with the following parts:
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• TM-65 Anti-Roll Bar Set
• TMS-08 Universal Drive Shaft
• TMS-25 Machined Aluminum Wheel Hex Set (12mm)
• Associated 45wt Shock Oil

The TM-65 Anti-Roll Bar was a relatively straight forward installation.  I had the rear clip removed from the truck and the rear bumper removed from the clip so access to the mounting points was simple.

The TR-SC10E factory set-up does not include an anti-roll bar (sway bar).  Having been a "basher" all of my life and not a racer, I'm not sure yet what the effects of adding an anti-roll bar will be.  The track I run on is a somewhat rough, outdoor track with decent traction.  I wouldn't call it loose nor would I call it a high bite track.  I've noticed my truck is leaning as it goes through the sweeper so I'm thinking that adding the anti-roll bars front and rear may give me more stability through this long turn.

The TMS-08 Universal Drive Shafts were also a simple drop-in installation.  The stock dogbone configuration was working fine but when I removed the stock dog bones, I noticed some wear.  Rather than install new dogbones, I opted to go with the Universals.  They operate very smoothly and quietly so I'm sure I'll keep them installed.  I did some quick research on dogbones vs universal joints and it seams some folks like to use dogbones on rough tracks and universals on smooth or high bite tracks.  I don't have the skills to tune my truck this closely so will try the universals simply because I like how smoothly they operate.

The TMS-25 Aluminum Wheel Hexes are another item I had set aside for website photography and just couldn't resist the temptation to install these on my truck.  I hadn't had any problems with the stock plastic wheel hexes but while my truck was torn down, I figured now would be a great time to add these as well.  They look great and I'm sure they will be durable.  The only potential week point I can see with these is the rubber o-ring that secures the drive pin.  I may try to source some replacement o-rings so that I can replace these from time-to-time.

Last but not least, I did a quick clean and rebuild of the stock plastic shocks.  I filed off a small amount of flashing left over on the outside of the shock bodies from the molding process to ensure a nice, smooth surface for the shock springs to travel across then filled them with Associated 45wt oil.  I intend to install the aluminum shocks at some point but for now, I decided to stick with the stock shocks as they are functioning well and not leaking.

What would I do differently next time:  Generally, I think it's a good idea to only make one change then test the results before making any additional changes.  I didn't take my own advise this time and made a few changes that will effect the handling of my truck and it may be difficult to pin point what improved (or not) and why.  The rear suspensions feels rather stiff but I'm not sure if this is due to the addition of the anti-roll bar or the 45wt shock oil.  If I was to do this over again, I'd rebuild the truck and only change the shock oil.  I'd leave the anti-roll bar for another day.  Oh well...I'll have to see how the track testing goes later this week.

By the way, if you liked this post, please check out my other TR-SC10E modifications below and of course, you can support me by purchasing your TR-SC10E parts and hop-ups from me and also by using my Amazon links if you make any purchases at Amazon (they'll pay me a small commission)

Part 1 - New Body
Part 2 - ESC Mount
Part 3 - Front Bumper
Part 4 - Wheel Nuts
Part 5 - Aluminum Rear Hubs and Aluminum Steering Knuckles

'till next time

Rob

I normally subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy but, I had a big pile of TR-SC10E aluminum hop-ups sitting in my office waiting to be photographed for the website and I couldn't resist the temptation any longer!  These Aluminum Rear Hubs and Aluminum Steering Knuckles were on the top of the pile so I added them first.

The rear hub install was super easy and took less than ten minutes.  Although the stock plastic hubs seamed to be perfectly fine, these aluminum pieces look great and should add strength to my truck.  The hubs come with bearings that fit very snuggly.  On my first attempt, one of my bearings didn't seat perfectly in the hub so I had to pop it out and try again.  The second attempt dropped nicely into place.

Also included with the rear hubs are captured hinge pins.  I didn't install these but likely will soon.  The only reason I didn't use these was because I was working at my desk and didn't have a hobby knife or drill with me at the time and to install these captured hinge pins requires removing a little plastic from the rear arms (to allow the hinge pin to pass all of the way through the arm).

Here's another quick modification I did to my TR-SC10E that you may want to try as well...

The truck comes stock with 4mm nylon lock nuts for wheel nuts.  These nuts do not have a flanged edge on them.  Although my stock wheel nuts seamed to be working fine, I decided to change mine out for some flanged, nylocs that also have the knurling on the back.  The flange should help protect the wheel a little bit and the knurling bites into the wheel to help ensure the nut doesn't come off during a race.

I had a dig through my parts bin and found the Everest Gen7 wheel nuts are flanged, have the knurling on the back AND the nylon locking inserts so the likelihood of these coming loose is pretty slim.

Check out my other TR-SC10E modifications:

Part 1 - New Body
Part 2 - ESC Mount
Part 3 - Front Bumper

'till next time

Rob

The TR-SC10e is proving to be a very durable race truck but there is one area that can use a little improvement...the front bumper.  The two screws that attached the bumper to the mounting bracket are fairly short (3x10mm I believe) and can pull out if you have a hard, nose first landing.  It's not the end of the world but the front bumper will then be flapping around and could potentially break if you don't secure it again.

Here's what I did to make mine stronger as well as links to the parts I used:

1. ​Drill the existing hole in the mounting bracket all the way through using a 5/64th drill bit
2. Re-install the bumper and bumper brace.  Replace the 3x10mm screws with the longer 3x18mm screws from the TR-SC10e screw kit

I also added a small amount of Gorilla Glue to the screws before installing them.  My theory is that the glue will repair any of the threads I damaged while drilling the hole and it also seeps through the crack between the bumper and bumper brace and may help secure the joint a little as well.  You could probably use CA Glue for this but I had some Gorilla Glue with me so used that.

Another option that may be even better than what I did would be to use an even longer screw (3x25mm should work) and add a washer and lock nut on top.  I didn't have these available at the time so didn't do this but I may in the future if my mod doesn't hold.

Check out the other parts of my TR-SC10e project here:
Part 1 - New Body
Part 2 - ESC Mount

'till next time

​Rob

Here's another quick TR-SC10e modification that I recommend....

Garrett and I both had similar situations on our TR-SC10e's in that the ESC mounting tape failed after the first few runs.  The solution was quick and easy and I don't think we'll ever have this happen again.  We simply added a tie wrap to help secure the ESC in place.

Here's how we did it along with links to the parts we used:
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1. Remove the ESC from the ESC Tray
2. Turn the ESC tray upside down
3. Drill a hole in ESC tray just inside the existing mounting stud using a 3/16" drill bit
4. Carefully clean the ESC, power switch and mounting tray
5. Re-install with new double sided tape - I used the 3m tape from the TR-MT10e as I know it holds well
6. Secure ESC with 7" tie wrap

​That's it...an easy mod that can make the difference between finishing a race (or bash session) or going home early

'till next time

Rob

PS, check my TR-SC10e project Part 1 here where I installed a new body on my TR-SC10e

I've started to modify my personal TR-SC10E recently.  One of the first things I did was grab myself a clear body and paint it white.  I tried adding the stock window decals that came with the body but decided that I preferred how it looked without the decals so I pealed them off again.  I kept the headlights, front grill and tail light stickers on it though.  In retrospect, I should have masked the windows and left them clear.  I'll do that next time.

Here's a quick list of the parts I used with links to where you can buy them if you'd like to do the same:
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• TR-SC10e Truck (you're gonna need one of these!)
• TR-SC10e Clear Body
• Tamiya PS-57 (use PS paint on the inside of the body)  You'll need an entire can...maybe buy two if it's in your budget
• Curved Lexan Scissors - to trim the body
• Body Reamer - for the body post holes

I found this set of Du-Bro scissors and reamer on Amazon that looks decent if you need all of them.

What I'll do differently next time:

• Mask the insides of the windows and leave them clear
• Buy two cans of paint rather than one - I ran out of paint so it's a little thin in a couple of spots
• I added some white duct tape to the underside of the body to protect the paint from getting scratched by the body posts.  If you look closely at the picture, you can see the big strip of duct tape on the hood.  Next time I'll carefully cut small circles of tape rather than use a big piece so that it is less visible.

By the way, if you use the links above to purchase your tools (or anything else) on Amazon, I'll earn a small commission.

'Till next time

​Rob