# Replacing the magnets in a LifeLike T



## Gareth (Mar 8, 2011)

Hi All,

I bought an old LifeLike T in an auction and I've noticed that although the motor is fine and very quick, the traction mags at the rear are pretty hopeless and not delivering the kind of downforce I've seen or experienced from other LL-T cars. 

I've bought a set of replacement traction mags but have run into a brick wall in terms of how to get the old ones out. They seem to be covered in some form of sticky gel substance which I presume was to hold them in originally. 

I've been given two pieces of advice so far. One is to remove the motor and put the car on a piece of 1/32nd track which should suck the mags straight out. I've tried levering up the motor (it is still soldered in) but so far no joy.

The other method is apparently to drill them out. I'm hesitating to do that as I don't want to damage the chassis or fall foul of the rules for the race club I go to in terms of drilling or altering the chassis itself.

I have heard someone mention a tool for extracting the magnets but nothing beyond this.

So, if anyone has done this I'd love to hear from you and learn what you did. I imagine there are other people out there who would find this a benefit too.

Many thanks

Gareth


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## smallscalebill (Sep 19, 2010)

hi, just curious, did you look at the tire size? perhaps a smaller dia. might be in order. the motor will pop out with the spring plates still attached. remove the guide pin. pop the plates off the front of the chassis. carefully remove the motor, spring plates and all. with the motor out of the way, you should see a couple of tiny slits where the magnets are. i use a sharp small hardened screwdriver, slip it in at the top of the slit and gently pry it out. this works well. the motor goes back in, slipping the spring plates in first. be gentle with them! not much material there! good luck! smalls


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## Gareth (Mar 8, 2011)

Hi Smalls,
I have thought about rear tyre size. I'm going to try switching the rear tyres to a lower diameter but the main problem still seems to be the strength of the traction mags. I had a run with the car at Sunday's EAHORC meet and it just wouldn't stick the way the other LL-T cars that were running did. 

Thanks for the tip on how to strip the chassis. I'll definitely have a go at this. I really don't want to give up on the car just yet!

Cheers

Gareth


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## Gareth (Mar 8, 2011)

Well I had my first go at smalls' suggestion last night. Popped the spring plates off no problem and extracted the electricals. The slits are there as described. 

I had a go using a small screwdriver to try and lever the mags out. Not managed anything yet except to stab myself in the thumb! I'll have another full tilt attack this evening and I'm really hopeful that this will work!


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## smallscalebill (Sep 19, 2010)

i use about a microscopic size blade, to slip in at the top of the slit. this may help move the magnet down enough to get a better bite on it. another option, i have not personally tried this, push the magnets out from the top. this would be done with a very sharp awl type tool. perhaps best tried with a broken chassis first. the idea as i understand it, is to penetrate the plastic with the awl, and just push the magnet out. one more note, when reinstalling the spring plates, be careful with the little tab that the shoe fits in. i like to slide them in from the side, ( my main reason for removing the guide pin) opposed to pushing them in from the front. they are very delicate, and easily broken! good luck! smalls


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## Gareth (Mar 8, 2011)

Thanks again Smalls. As I've still been struggling with this, I have taken the cop-out method of buying another bare bones T chassis but I will keep trying and hopefully I'll get those pesky mags out one day!


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## Gareth (Mar 8, 2011)

Well yesterday my new chassis arrived so I popped the parts over from the old chassis and then picked up a sharp modelling knife for another crack at removing the mags and lo and behold they came out! Sod's law to the maximum!

On the plus side, the replacement magnets seem very loose in the holes so I am still glad I replaced the chassis. 

Thanks again Smalls for explaining how to do it. I'll get someone to check the pickup shoe placement at EAHORC as it seems a little weird. But then I am good to race with my T!


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