Scale 4x4 RC Builds Axial's EXO Terra Buggy

[Jugg2Driver]

So Axial was kind enough to send us one of there newest kits for us to tear into and build. That kit is the EXO Terra Buggy, a 1/10 scale 4wd off-road buggy.

The kit features
Hankook Dynapro Tires
3 oil-filed diffs
2.2/3.0 Raceline Renegade Wheels
32 pitch gears
Adjustable shocks
Resin molded roll cage design
13.5" Wheelbase
19" in length
11.6" in width
9" in height
3" of ground clearance
Weight of 4.9lbs dry

The manual is not available online at this time, but there is a parts list which you can find here at the bottom of the page.
http://www.axialracing.com/ftp/exo/index.html

Here is a look at the box and what you get inside!

[Jugg2Driver]

As I start this build I decided that I would take each page of the manual and do a build up post on what I'm doing and go through the steps for you. I'll give my opinions, tips, and observations as I go along. Hopefully you all will find it informative and useful. Also, please note that this will be a slow build as my time to build is limited so it may go a few days between updates.

The first step in the process is the building of the front and rear diffs. This starts off with bags A and B as you'll note in the first picture below.

Each picture will correspond to each step.

Step one is the beginning assembly of the diffs, you have two plastic halves which are included in bag A along with all the metal gears, bearings, o-rings, gaskets, drive cups, and hardware.

Each picture is fairly self explanatory, I will however draw your attention to the location of the orange o-rings, you'll want to make sure that you've installed them all. It's very easy to miss one of them and find yourself disassembling the diff to install the o-ring you forgot. I should know, I did that tonight.

Also, please take note that there are no spare o-rings or e-clips, so make sure that you take extra care not to loose anything.

[Jugg2Driver]

This next step in the diff assembly process is to fill the diffs with the supplied oil. The diff oil is very viscus, I've found it helpful to let the oil settle for a few minutes and adding small amounts till you get to the desired level. That desired level is just above the metal rod in the picture. It's also a good idea to give the diff a few turns to help release any air trapped in the oil.

The last pic is of the fully assembled diffs.

[Jugg2Driver]

The next step is the assembly of the diff housings and drive shaft cups. It's at this point that things started to get confusing.

There are multiple bags in the Axial kit, you have bags with letters and bags with numbers. One would assume that each bag will be opened in chronological or alphabetical order. Well, so far that seems to be the case with the letter bags. However the numbered bags (which contain the plastic parts) that does not hold true. While building the diff housings I had to open bags 4 and bags 6 to get the plastic pieces I needed. This seems counter-intuitive. I've come to the conclusion that it's probably easier just to open up all the bags with the plastic parts and just sort them based on what they are; i.e. chassis components, suspension components, etc. Otherwise you'll be fumbling with multiple bags trying to see if your part is in there and if you need to break it open.

Also, there is no reference in the manual as to which plastic parts bag your part maybe in, so it leads me to believe that each kit maybe slightly different as to what is in each plastic parts bag.

Now, that being said I didn't struggle to find what I needed, I simply relied on the parts list in the front of the manual and was able to find what I needed in approximately 5 minutes.

The assembly process is pretty much self explanatory, the only thing you really need to be aware of is the direction of the diff when you put it in the diff housing, but the manual does a good job of showing this.

This pics below show the process.

[Jugg2Driver]

This next image I've singled out is to simply make you aware of some flashing on a part that needs to be removed. The steering knuckles have some flashing on the them that actually looks like it is meant to be there, but according to everything I saw in the manual this is not the case and it will need to be removed. The knuckle on the left is untouched and the one on the right is cleaned up.

[Jugg2Driver]

The last step tonight is the assembly of the front steering knuckles. This also pretty straight forward and if you built anything in recent time this should be a no brainer.

I do want to bring to your attention the method in which the kingpins are held in place. In all the builds I've done the kingpins have been partially threaded and they hold themselves in place. However, in this kit the kingpins have no threads, instead they are held in place with grub screws (see image 3). A quick tip when putting this together is to go ahead and pre-seat the grub screws. It's easier to see the depth of the screws before everything is put together. The kingpins themselves have a recessed section that the grub screw goes up against. The idea is not to tighten it down like you would a grub on a drive cup but to rather use it like a retention pin. You want to get it just tight enough that the kingpin doesn't want to fall out but can still move/rotate freely.

[BADMUTHATrUCKER]

Ok, they look like AX/SCX/Wraith pinions, ring gears and hemispheres. I'd of thought they'd have gone for 1/8th size stuff. It'll be interesting to see if they hold together.

[OldSchoolRC1]

Will be watching, have one on back order! Silicone diffs are great, would be nice if they could be used on regular axial axles as well (looks like they can). Have more than one build that could use some LSD effect.

[bayareaaxial]

Looks good so far ... I also was expecting 1/8 sized diffs.

[sloppy]

Originally Posted by BADMUTHATrUCKER

Ok, they look like AX/SCX/Wraith pinions, ring gears and hemispheres. I'd of thought they'd have gone for 1/8th size stuff. It'll be interesting to see if they hold together.

same gears as a HPI MT2 they hold up in them..

[BADMUTHATrUCKER]

Originally Posted by sloppy

same gears as a HPI MT2 they hold up in them..

...with a tiny little nitro motor and clutch. A decent brushless will sort them out

[maintguy69]

I don't know abot that, my MT2 had a .18 and later a .21 with 2 speed... else you going with a 550 I think the will hold up just fine.

and if they are the same 13/38 get a set of HPI Heavy-Duty gears add to pins and away you go

[Jugg2Driver]

Today's build portion consisted on finishing up the front diff and suspension arm as well as the rear diff and suspension arms. There isn't a lot to talk about here as most of it is self explanatory with the pictures but I will try to highlight some things I noticed as building.

Things to note at the beginning, the hinge pins for the knuckles use a grub screw similar to that of the king pins; so as I mentioned on that build up, you should pre-seat the grubs before assembly as it will make it easier when it comes to that step. Also, the instructions call for greasing the diff in the housing when you put the housing together, I would suggest waiting until you've got everything assembled. The reason I say this is that the bottom of the housing is open during the entire build and if you've already greased everything you'll inevitably end up getting grease all over you and the parts. Since the bottom is exposed you can still apply grease to the gears once you've completed everything below.

Well start of with the front diff and suspension arms.

[Jugg2Driver]

The picture below I have singled out for a specific reason. On both front and rear diff housings you'll have two aluminum brackets that are designed to hold the suspension arm hinge pins in place. In order to do so they use small plastic cups, there are two different cups for the each bracket so you'll want to follow the directions very closely here to make sure you don't have a mix up. I also want to bring your attention to the small little dots in the center of the cups, be sure to look at this and follow the instructions as this shows you how the cups should be oriented in the brackets.

[Jugg2Driver]

Now to finish up the front.