# New AW Blue TJet Chassis Tuning Question



## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

The chassis sounds great when I hold the car in the slot while lifting the rear tires off the track. Visually, all components of the chassis look clean and straight. The chassis has been very lightly oiled in both of the vertical shaft holes. The front wheels spin freely. The rear wheels roll freely with the gear train and I don't notice any excessive tightness or play there. The pick-up shoes seem to be installed properly and move freely.

When I run the car, it goes about half speed and sounds like it's sputtering. It's not squealing like it needs oil. Sputtering is the best word. I've swapped a different gear plate/motor assembly on it, and it made no difference. I swapped brushes and it made no difference.

Where to look next?

I hope I'm overlooking something obvious that would be causing a great sounding chassis with no load to sputter miserably on the track.

By the way, I'm not knocking the new AW chassis from the last release. I have 5 others that run great. I have a couple hundred older AW chassis as well. This is just the first one that's baffling me.


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

Did you try adjusting the pick-up shoes> Contact Patch ? And there isn't any oil in the PU shoe hook and/or the plate it hooks into- is there ?


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Sounds like a weak connectivity issue at the shoe hanger plate. Check to be sure the rivets are tight, and see if there's dirt, etc. in between the shoe and hanger..


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

The shoe hanger plate is pretty loose. I'm going to try something with that now and we'll see what happens. I'll make sure there's no dirt or oil around there while I'm at it.

I gave up and stripped it and put all the parts on another bare chassis I had. It runs really great. I'll try again with the bare blue shell some other time. This seems to confirm that it was all about the shoe hanger plate connections.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.


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## Hittman101 (Oct 21, 2009)

Glad you found the problem..If you want to get rid of that troublesome blue chassis and top plate let me know..


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## TK Solver (Mar 18, 2004)

I used the blue top plate and all the other parts with the other AW chassis. It's just the bare blue shell that's going to have to wait for some snowy winter day to get my attention again. But I'll get after it!


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## Hittman101 (Oct 21, 2009)

Let us know how it turns out.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Maybe next time*



TK Solver said:


> I used the blue top plate and all the other parts with the other AW chassis. It's just the bare blue shell that's going to have to wait for some snowy winter day to get my attention again. But I'll get after it!


TK, If there is a next time, I'd be curious to know if a swim in "Tarnex" and a squeeze of the rivets would alieviate the condition...???? It's part of my ritual for old chassis.

I use a center punch or a nail set in the drill press so I have better feel of the "squoosh".


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## smalltime (Jun 3, 2006)

Bill Hall said:


> TK, If there is a next time, I'd be curious to know if a swim in "Tarnex" and a squeeze of the rivets would alieviate the condition...???? It's part of my ritual for old chassis.
> 
> I use a center punch or a nail set in the drill press so I have better feel of the "squoosh".


Just because I can, I made my own "squoosher" out of an old mini machinists clamp. You do need to go slow and only do a little at a time, but it does wonders.

This is precisely why solid rivet chassis are better.

Just sayin'


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

I made a squoosher tool using a small pair of welding vise grips, ball bearing welded on one jaw and a pin to fit the rivet on the other, you can set the squooosh, with the screw on the vise grips and just squeeze. 

I am with you Bill, I squoosh every hanger now. 

Boosted


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