RC Driveshaft.

Jul 12, 2013 11 Replies

Can anyone think of a way to repair this driveshaft off my sons Remote control Off road buggy.

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It is about 30mm in length.



It is used to connect the Driveshaft to the wheel, the wheel nut goes on the threaded bit at the end. It seems to be made from mild steel.



I can only find a set of 2 replacement Driveshafts for £24, can't seem to find just this part.


angle grinder tig welder lathe

If it's just for show then araldite

If there is sufficient clearance you want a sleeve that will fit over the shaft. Glue it on with areldite. Main problem is lining it up so it doesn't wobble.

I'd have said Araldite might not work well even in a model. It tends to kind of go pliable in time and fall to bits. Brian

You might get away with silver soldering / brazing it with a blowtorch.

It's not a very good design, it has failed at the obvious stress raiser. Is there a pin through this hole? Even if not it looks as though sleeving might be restricted by whatever is on the bit to the left of the hole (the wheel?) I would have said araldite even with sleeving is a non starter, the only real option would be, as John says, to machine a reasonably close fitting sleeve and then silver solder. If you can sort out a sleeve, you should be able to do this fairly easily with a small gas torches like this

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or possibly even this

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Silver solder and suitable flux are readily available in small quantities from eBay. Loads of "how to" stuff on the web.

yendor formulated on Friday :

I'm guessing the hole where it snapped, had a pin through it, which located in the rear of the wheel to ensure the wheel truned with the shaft. A rather poor, weak design.

I would suggest getting the two parts gas welded back together, so the hole is filled, then turned in a lathe to restore the diameter.

I would also guess at the wheels being plastic?

Could you maybe redrill the peg hole so it appear on the outside of the wheel, under the nut snd make a fresh slot in the plastic wheel to take the pin?

Harry Bloomfield presented the following explanation :

Another way might be to have a slot mahcined into the side of the shaft for what is called a Woodruff key, then cut a slot to match it in the hole through the wheel.

It is, of course, possible that the weakness caused by the hole is to protect a more expensive part elsewhere in the case of an overload.

In which case, the maker's replacment may make good financial sense in the long run.

Just my 2 penn'orth.

Can't use a sleeve, as the shaft fits inside 2 small bearings. There is a pin that goes through the hole and this slots into the back of the wheel, this locks the wheel to the shaft,and acts as a sort of clutch allowing the wheel to slip if required stopping damage to the motor gearing.

might try Super Glue, as having nothing to loose. If it breaks again, will just have to buy the whole driveshaft and keep the rest for spares.

no chance with glueing this. Buy the new set if you haven't a lathe.

Agreed, if there's enough torque to break the metal glue doesn't stand a chance. Brazing or welding might.

Or find a local model makers club and some one with a lathe. But when it comes to place on the shaft where the hole is leave pin diameter disc on the shaft and file that disc into a pin afterwards. Radiused corners where this pin meets the shaft will help strength as well.

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