Whoah! Diego Whoah! Lil Jeep Mud Racer

[toycrusher]

Just an early post so I can remember what I plan on doing with it. As many of you know, free time, as brief and rare as it may be, can be a DANGEROUS thing! :shock:

[STANDARD ISSUE]

The little wrangler runs great with 12v and a 2nd 3A. My Kid's got a diego that I'm boosing to 18V.

[toycrusher]

That was my plan before I scored the super 6 gearboxes. From what I understand, they don't like 18v for very long

[taz11]

That was my plan before I scored the super 6 gearboxes. From what I understand, they don't like 18v for very long

The super 6 motors have 18volt speed on 12volts :D

[toycrusher]

You win some, you lose some...

Got a fair set of super 6 gearboxes from the lil f150, but the bigfoots were a disappointment. Even though they looked identical, one was super 6 and the other was regular 12v :x One super 6 gearbox was ok but it has at least one bad spot in the motor, you have to rotate it a little to get it started sometimes. The other super 6 gearbox is locked up, haven't opened it but I can hear the broken pieces inside. The 12v gearboxes are also fairly trashed, had two busted wheel drivers and a busted gearbox driver too!

Anyway, 4wd super six plans are on hold for now. "Lil Diego bigfoot 4x4" is going to be "Lil Diego TRACTOR PULL edition" :lol:

[toycrusher]

Seems to handle the bigger wheels ok. Had to use a mustang axle to make them fit. I'll have to see how the super-six motors handle it.

[toycrusher]

This thing is near unstoppable now! With regular 6v motors on 12v and these bigfoot tires it's become nearly unstoppable. Handles a small but tough hillclimb as good as his monster traction F-150. He can't make it over in his regular 12v wranglers or john deere tractor.

Of course, can't leave well enough alone so I swapped to 3b super sixes. Now this thing FLIES! It throws a mini-rooster tail in the mud too! :D

Downside, after just a few minutes I can hear one gearbox about to call it quits. It actually sounds fine running but when he lets off the gas (brake disconnected to try to prolong gearbox life) and it "freewheels" it makes a horrible racket. If you turn the wheel by hand it makes the same ratcheting grind. I'll have to open it up and see what's going on. Which, depending on the answer I receive on another post, may lead me to swap to super 6 motors on 3a gearboxes for even MORE speed! :o

Might have to change the name from "Go Diego Go!" to "Whoa! Diego, Whoa!"

[toycrusher]

Gearbox let go. Lost the first gear driven by the pinion. Looks like the pins wobbled out in the housing and let the gears spread. It only lost about a 1/4th of the gear teeth but with that slop the pinion wont stay engaged. I have a donor box that's about to report for duty.

[toycrusher]

This one is done for now, well until I come across a couple more super-6 gearboxes for a 4x4 conversion 8-)

Gruber battery finally came in and I can put the hood back on. My boy was getting mad, he kept wanting to force the hood on with the giant stock pw battery. :roll: I swapped out the bad 3b gearcase for a so-far-not-stripped-out one. I clocked him with a gps speed of 7-7.4 mph on the street. I didn't last long running beside him, might need to work on getting in shape...

[STANDARD ISSUE]

I did the opposite with my boy's Diego. I removed all but the "Jeep" sticker on the back along with the windshield and roll bar. Put a couple of 3As on there with 18V and turned it into a sort of Jeepster. I'd like to lower it a little for more stability and a sleeker look but keep it grass-able.

[toycrusher]

What kind of speeds are you getting with 3a's on 18v?

[STANDARD ISSUE]

What kind of speeds are you getting with 3a's on 18v?

I'll bet the scary kind. please keep in mind the larger rear wheels will make it more likely to tip backwards

[toycrusher]

"Whoah! Diego" is now ready for nighttime exploring. I know the lights look awful, completely tacky, but the price was right (free) and they are actually quite bright. I added a 5ah battery to run them. Taillights coming soon. I also added a seat cushion.

[toycrusher]

Tacky lights are gone! Used an ebay special led disc. Not as much range as the big boys I mounted in his F150 but still pretty good.

[toycrusher]

Finally got around to the rest of the lighting.

Definitely need to swap in the shorter Mustang wheel drivers!

[landon]

I like the underglow... nice work!