New guy with some steering troubles....

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Ketch

Ketch

Member
Messages
25
Location
Layton, UT
Hey guys, I got my new savage and now I'm having some steering problems. It worked fine when I went and picked it up so I'm thinking it is an adjustment or something but here's the symptoms:

With truck lifted off the ground, I turn the steering knob the tires will very slowly turn in the correct direction but they make a clicking sound as they turn.

When I have the truck on the ground they won't budge left or right....

The only thing I have changed on the truck since getting it home is the batteries in the radio. The guy didn't include them in the sale. I have fully charged rechargables in there.

I also got a new charger for the hump pack battery and that is fully charged also....

What should I look at? I hate to sound dumb if this is an easy fix but I hope that's what it is! haha

Any help or suggestions are much appreciated!

A couple helpful things I learned from this problem
Hopefully this will help out some other new guys in the future.

- If your steering turns left to right with NO resistance and all you linkage is connected your server is probably toast. You should feel resistance from the servo and hear the gears turn when you turn your tires.

- The older Sav25's don't have a servo saver.... GET ONE! Here is a link to what one looks like and an idea of the cost: http://cgi.ebay.com/HPI-87197-CAM-TYPE-SERVO-SAVER-THROTTLE-RET-SAVAGE-X-25_W0QQitemZ280257760047QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116
I got mine off EBAY for like $4 though and so far has been worth every penny!

- Also replace the bushings in the steering posts with bearings, SMF sells them for like a buck a piece and they make a big difference.

- I highly suggest tearing down your entire truck and rebuilding it at least once soon after you get it. Doing this helped me get to know the Savage and made life easier when something did go wrong.

Thanks again to the guys on the forum for helping out a new guy with some problems.... hopefully this will help someone out in the future...
 
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Or your servo arm could be stripped where it mounts to the servo. Can you move the assembly by hand without any issues?
 
yeah, I can move it all by hand and it moves smooth... how do I check on the servo saver? I'm not sure what part that is.... I just pulled out the servo and I'm gonna take a look at the inside and see if anything in there looks out of place. I'm just not sure what all to look for.
 
If you can turm the wheels by hand and feel no resistance, time for an upgraded servo. Even with the power turned off to the receiver and you try to turn the wheels, you should still feel at least a little bit of resistance. They'll still turn "smooth" but not loosely, if you understand what I'm saying. Also, did you upgrade the plastic bushings to bearings? That could also be a possibility if the servo gears aren't striped. Like said before, also check the servo arm to see if it may have striped out. Check those first and report back. By the way, welcome to the forum.
 
look on the right side of the truck and you should see a spring, above that spring is a plastic post looking thing, that would be your servo saver. There is an adjust nut under the spring. That nut should be screwed up the post about a 1/2" or so from the bottom. Check to see if that nut has backed off. If the nut is good, a good test is to put the truck on the ground and turn the wheels with your tx and look at the servo saver to see if it is breaking loose.
 
thanks guys, I actually pulled out the servo and took it apart... it looked like a "will it blend" video... so time to upgrade the servo I suppose. I have just been looking to see the pos/neg of going digital or another analog but I'm definitely not going with another stock HPI one...
 
check out this i found it from http://www.societyofrobots.com/actuators_servos.shtml

Digital Servos vs Analog Servos
What is the difference between an analog and digital servo?

Digital servos, at the user end, are controlled no differently than analog servos. The difference is in how the servo motor is controlled via the circuit board (amplifier). The motor of an analog servo receives a signal from the amplifier 30 times a second or at 30Hz. This signal allows the amplifier to update the motor position. Digital servos use a high frequency amplifier that updates the servo motor position 300 times a second or at 300Hz. By updating the motor position more often, the digital servo can deliver full torque from the beginning of movement and increases the holding power of the servo. The quick refresh also allows the digital servo to have a tighter deadband.

With the exception of a higher cost, there are only advantages for digital servos over analog servos.

The digital micro processor is 10 times faster than an analog servo. This results in a much quicker response from the beginning with the servo developing all the rated torque 1 degree off of the center point. Be aware that this faster response also results in higher starting currents, so make sure your batteries can handle it.
 
Hey thanks a bunch man, that's really helpful info!

I am running Big Joes tires and I am thinking I'll need a more powerful servo. Anybody recommend a certain servo for this setup?

I haven't even got to drive this truck yet!!!

What would you get if you were me????
 
do you know what servo your running now? once we know that then you can easily compare the torque and speed of other servos
 
It just had the stock servo and it is shredded! I took the cap off and it is just plastic chunks in there.... I assume with bigger tires comes the bigger need for more torque from the servo... ya know, with great power comes great responsibility?! haha
 
Yeah I had that stock SF-2 and it was totally shredded when I got the truck. I was looking at that hitec 645 that you put up there as I've heard some good things about it from guys who also run the Big Joes....

Thanks a bunch for the help man, I really appreciate it!
 
Works awesome! No more servo problems! I've been running it too hard though, busted the arm on the servo so had to rig up another... but hey, how can you not drive the Savage hard!
 
Well it WAS working awesome..... Not really even driving it too hard and stripped one of the gears in the new servo. I'm wondering if I should just get rid of these Big Joe's tires. Do you guys think that is what is causing these servo problems? The guy at the LHS talked me out of the Hitec 645 and into a BlueBird 630mg. It had plenty of power and all metal gearing so I thought I'd be good to go.... any other suggestions? Anybody wanna trade out some Big Joe's for some smaller tires?
 
I am not familiar with the blue bird servo's, but look at your servo saver again and make sure it is not tightened down too much. If it is tightened down more than it needs to be, that prevents the cam from breaking loose when there is too much stree on the steering and you will end up destroying servos.
I have run a HiTec 5645 with 40 series beadlocks and MOAB tires. Stock savage steering stinks, but with those big tires, even though the steering was worse, I never broke a servo with those tires.
 
I'm not sure I even have a servo saver... do those come stock on the older Savage25's? I have torn the whole truck down and didn't find anything with a spring on it. I looked up the servo saver on the HPI site and my steering is just the plastic steering arms.

I am wondering if they all came with these, if not I'm probably gonna need one... Thanks AllanQ
 
I thought you had an X...my bad. I am not sure if the older 25's came with a servo saver. It would be a good thing to get one though, you can get them off flea bay pretty cheap.
 
That's where I'm headed.... I'm wondering if the LHS will cover the servo for me since I had it like 5 hours before it busted up on me... I've spent like $200in his store in the last couple days between chargers, servo, rotostart parts and fuel so here's to hoping.... Thanks again guys!
 
So, I found this parts tree but I'm not sure what the servo saver part is. It looks like there is a spring that goes inside the arm circled in red, is that the saver? I thought it was a spring that went on the part in blue??? Please help me find what I need to buy so I don't blast anymore servos...

hpi85051.jpg
 
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Thanks man, for sure the HPISF guys have helped me out a ton in the past couple weeks! Someday I'll have an idea what's going on to pass it forward to other new guys!
 
The link that Bank posted for the servo saver is the right one. But, I'm not sure if you've read about this or not or have done it yet but, replace the plastic bushings with bearings. It will free up the steering and make it move a whole lot smoother. Plus, the bearings won't wear out as fast as the plastic bushings. If you haven't switched them out yet, do it now while your putting in the new servo saver, that way you don't have to go back and tear everything apart twice.
 
Ketch said:
What bearings are they? For the arm that attaches to the servo?

Anybody got a link?
Click to expand...

No, they go inside the plastic body that the metal post goes through. The metal post sits on the inside of the bearing and the outer side of the bearing is on the inside of the plastic body. Hope this helps some.
 
Oh I gotcha on that! I think I've seen those ones.... I'm not positive what size I need but they look like this right:
10x16_RS_Blue.jpg
 
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