I run the crap out of my Savage.. I've been using this spur since, gallon number 2? I think it's about 3 gallons old, and it's all plastic. It's all in how you mesh the spur and clutch bell. I've still gotta post the video I've made of meshing new gears together for everyone. I've became a pro at it, even without the paper trick. Follow my lesson here, and you'll get it every time.
Here's the steps bud.
1 - Put on new spur, and loosen the engine mount.
2 - Mesh the spur together, with the engine loose, extremely tight, and notice how it drags really badly.
3 - Hold that mess (extremely tight) Put an allen wrench in the bolt closest to the spur gear on the motor mount.
4 - Tighten down this nut, just so it is barely snug, then flip the truck onto it's wheels.
5 - Spin the spur a little, see if it frees itself up a little. You want it to spin with your finger very easily, but as soon as you pull your finger off, it stops. So it won't actually spin by itself. Once you get this spot, it's just about done.
6 - Snug down the diagonally opposite motor bolt to the same as the one stated previously.
7 - Now, spin the spur again, and make sure both gears are perpendicular. They should mesh perfectly straight together.
8 - Once you get the gears perfectly straight, and the spur doesn't spin freely, but is easily turned you're ready to snug the bolts down.
9 - Snug all four bolts down, and get them tight enough to hold the motor mount still.
10 - Test your mesh with your finger. Try to spin the spur as fast as possible. If it's easy to spin, but still doesn't continue spinning after you lift your finger off of it, it's good. If it's too tight, you'll need to loosen the mesh a little. If it spins freely for more than an 1/8th turn of the spur, it's too loose and you'll have to tighten the mesh a little.
11 - If everything went correctly, loosen one bolt at a time, then drop a drop or two of loctite (I recommend the Blue from great planes, it comes in a red bottle though lol) and then snug them down nice and tightly. One at a time, then you'll be set for running again. It takes some time to perfect the process, so just don't give up; and soon enough you'll be able to mesh your gears perfectly every time.
Notes :
A tight mesh is a stripped spur for sure. What happens is, the spur will actually bind up and the metal clutch bell will tear a single tooth off, and with that extra binding, your spur is sure to be toasted. You will hear the spur when it's too tight also. It will whine while you're driving it around, this is a bad sound to have. It will actually sound like it has some type of turbo, or maybe it could be explained better by the sound of a rubbing sound? I don't know how to explain it perfectly, but the sound is a surefire way to tell that your spur is too tight. It'll almost sound like a big electric motor whining. I guess that would work for an explanation of the sound you'll hear.
A loose mesh is gonna really hurt the spur also. What will happen is the spurs teeth won't be able to hold the torque of the motor, and it will literally tear the ends of the teeth off of the spur gear. Hence, another destroyed spur.
I've learned this method over the many spurs I've put into different RC's. My good friend has a T-Maxx that is more than 5 years old. He's STILL running the stock spur gear, and if you know the 2.5 T-Maxx.. It's spur is THIN, and you wouldn't believe that it still runs the stock original. But, it does, and we've meshed it a few times. It shows wear, but hasn't stripped for over 10 gallons.
Remember, it's all in the mesh. You can bash the crap out of your savage with a good mesh and not worry about the spur too much. There are a few things you can do to help save yourself the trouble of a stripped spur, beyond meshing correctly.
Landings.. If you're going at wide open when hitting the ground, it can easily end up with a stripped spur, not to mention the possibility of stripped the differentials, and even the possibility of ripping out the tranny gears as well.
Wide open into still objects.. If you're flying at wide open throttle, and you KNOW you're gonna bash that pole, or fence, or some other object that is gonna stop your truck for sure, let off totally. It'll just ride it out. The damage most likely won't include stripped drivetrain parts.
I hope this helps you out with spurs bud.
And ryugaiden05, Welcome to HPISF, and to the world of the Savage. They are nice trucks, and this is the best forum out there for knowledge about the Savage. Everyone here is great, and the staff do an excellent job making it a great place to hang out. 🙂 You're sure to have a LOT of fun with your truck.
