Day 2986

 I woke up at 7:30 and turned over to got to sleep for a little bit.  I woke up again after 9.  By then Ellen was up and had fed the pets.  I got up and had breakfast.

After breakfast I did  a little surfing and then decided to really get to work on the Traaxas.  I started by completely removing the rear axle.  Then I completely disassembled it.  Once that was done I replaced all of the bushings with bearings (6) and reassembled it using a brass diff cover.  The whole thing was a good warmup for working on the front axle.

I started the front axle the same way by removing it.  That was a bit more complicated than the back because I didn't want to unplug the servo which is attached to the axle.  Then I totally disassembled the front axle.  It's a lot more complex with the steering mechanism, CV joints, etc.  I replaced 10 bushings with bearings.  I also replaced 7 parts with brass ones: the servo mount, steering link, steering knuckles, caster arms, and diff cover.

There were a few sticking points.  I didn't assemble the first caster arm correctly and bent it slightly.  I had quite a bit of trouble with the servo mount, chiefly because I didn't spend enough time analyzing it before I took it apart.  Finally, putting the axle back on the frame took a long time until I realized I needed to take the upper suspension links completely off before reassembling everything.

All total it took 3 to 4 hours to do everything.  The result is a MUCH heavier vehicle.  My only regret is that all of the new brass parts are black except for the servo mount which you can barely see.  I don't want to test the vehicle though until I put the bearings in the gear box and finish the lights.

By then it was three in the afternoon.  I had a late lunch (leftovers) and did a little surfing.  Ellen left for the club.  The wire holders came so I took Abby out to the garage to finish the Traaxas lights.  I kept her in the garage with the door closed.  She got VERY bored.  I finished the lights with no problems.  The wire holders made for a really nice install.  I'm going to use them on the other vehicles.

When I was finished with the lights I went back to the house and fed the animals.  Then I surfed until dinner (more leftovers).  After dinner I switched to videos.

Abby spent most of the evening laying on my lap.  This really pissed off Cooper.  At one point he actually sat on my chest with Abby sleeping on my lap.  That lasted until Abby stirred.