Broken 2 Throttle Brake servos in one week.

hey, sorry bout your bad luck, dont let it discourage you. the revo is one of the best rigs out there in my opionon. as far as the servo, hey. it happens and traxxas is a great company that stands by there products.. as far as the futaba s3003. it is not recomended for nitro use. it is slightly under powered. if you look at the throttle linkage by the carb. there is a rather heavy spring.if your thinking that traxxas servos might not be up to par, dont. i think that they work just fine. they some times fail. but its just part of the hobby.. i installed a single high torque stearing servo. (hitec645g) its only bout $30, and then use the 2 extra servo's as spares.
at the bottom of the link page is a gragh. it shows you were thes3003 stands..
http://www.futaba-rc.com/servos/servos.html

I have the same problem to. So i called up traxxas and asked them and they sent me 2 free digital throttle servos free of cost with a lighter weight return spring. Now that i call customer services lol

The TRS (throttle return spring) on the revo is overly stiff. It puts a lot of force against the servo all the time. A weaker, light torque, plastic geared servo doesn't stand up to it very well depending on the spring you get. When I got my revo, it wouldn't even open full throttle. About 2/3's.

I replaced the stock wire and linkage with a new longer wire with springs on the wire instead of that heavy TRS. I also use higher torque servos the T/B duties on MT's due to the constant heavy braking. I wouldn't run anything less that a futaba S3305 or hitec 645MG on T/B. Going with the futaba is an easier route as you can use the stock servo horn (same spline as traxxas).

Also, replace the bushing in the throttle arm with bearings and it helps make it more smooth and bind free.

Here's a pic of what mine used to look like:

http://home.comcast.net/~98gmarquee/pics/misc/2005-1201-RevoThrottleLinkageHiRes.jpg

I also used a threaded wire with a small dubro ball end vs a z-bend to fasten it to the rocker.

wat did you dip your servos in to waterproof them?

Plasti-Dip Yellow

You can find it in typical hardware stores.

harbor frieght, Home Depot, and Lowes usually has plasti-dip also.

k thanks. i figured out my problem with the servos finally after doing some measuring with a micrometer. I turned my carb i while back to get it 100% open and not just 75% open and by doing this it puts to much pressure on the throttle servo with the stock return spring. so toast the old spring and get a lighter weight one. or turn the carb back to stock settings.

Or get a much stronger servo.

lol true haha

Thanks for all of your wonderful advice on the issue so far.
Hopefully, just hopefully the warranty Traxxas servo will be in tomorrow. Maybe my first one was just a dud, and I might get a little more use out of the next one!

There are a lot of RC forums on the net, but I think I will call this one home. You guys have been great!

-Brad

i bought the metal gear traxxas 2055 servos.. they work great for it

so, when i go to get my REVO should i go ahead and order the lighter spring or a stronger servo? i mean do they all not open to 100% or was his a fluke? because i hear that REVO's are supposed to be one of the better trucks to get, but then i read all this stuff on here about them having shoddy parts and things that dont work right or break easily...and ya i know its plastic but still.....i really want a REVO but i dont want to drop $500 on a truck that isnt all that up to par.....

Don:t Buy A Revo Yet Until The Platinum Edition Comes Out.the Servos Are Much Stronger And It Comes With A Lighter Gauge Spring.

how much will the platinum REVO's cost? i havnt been able to find a price on them

nvm...$650, thats a little out of my price range! i thought i was gettin in deep with just paying 479 for the REVO 3.3....a high torque servo and lighter spring aren't that much are they? i mean what.....$30 or less for both things right?

a digital servo costs $40 and an lighter gauge spring costs about 3-4 dollars.

But you get all the other hop ups also..It's a screaming deal..price all the hop ups..
150cc Fuel Tank
Aluminum 17mm Splined
Wheel Hub and Hex Nut
Large 6x13mm Outer Axle Bearings
Steel Pivot Ball Retainers
Compact Receiver and Battery
Box with Integrated Personal Transponder Mount
Rigid Throttle Servo Mount
and Air Filter Support Bracket
Large High-Volume Dual-Stage Air Filter
Response Pro Tire and
3.8" White Dish Wheel
Durable Spring-Mounted Header
Mirror-Polish Resonator
Dual-Chamber Aluminum Pipe
Shortened Body Posts
Hard-anodized, Teflon®-Coated GTR Shocks
Smooth and Durable TiN Shock shafts
Variable Damping Shock Pistons
50WT Shock Oil, Orange Front
& Gold Rear Shock Springs
Tight-Handling Progressive-2 Rockers
Dual #2075 Digital Waterproof Steering Servos
Sway Bar Kit Featuring
Red-Anodized Front Turnbuckles
Center Differential with
500k Weight Silicone Oil
Close-Ratio Two-Speed Gear Set
High-Performance Vented Front Disc Brake
Dual-Disc Rear Brake Kit
with Adjustable Linkage
#2075 Digital Waterproof Throttle
Servo with 125 oz-in of Torque
and 0.16-Second Transit Time
Ball Bearing Throttle Bellcrank
with Lightweight Return Spring
Black Silicone Exhaust Coupler and Deflector
Machined Aluminum 40mm
Flywheel for use with Starter Boxes
IPS Crankshaft and Backplate
Titanium-Anodized Chassis
and Chassis Brace
TUBES Red-Anodized 7075-T6
Front and Rear Toe-Links
Red-Anodized Push Rods
with Steel Threaded Inserts
Extended Wheelbase, Adjustable
Rear Suspension Arms
Formula-1 Style High-Downforce
Black Revo Wing
Adjustable Wing Height and Deflection Angle
Black-Chrome Race Bumpers
New Molded Steering Components
Leave your Dremel tool in the toolbox. New molded steering components offer maximum steering throw for improved steering performance and a tighter turning radius.
Hex Hardware
Pro-quality, high-grade.
Metric hex-drive.
Extra strength.
Black oxide rust resistant finish.
High-tech look and feel.
If I was buying now..I would wait till April..Save up the "extra" money and get twice the Revo for in all reality less money..

For anyone interested,

the replacement warranty servo finally came in from Traxxas - although the Australian distributor ended up charging full price to the hobby shop for it because they could not tell if it broke due to fault of my own, or dodgy manufacturing.

The Local Hobby Shop gave it to me for half what they paid for it. What a load of crap huh?

I also emailed Traxxas USA about the issue and they were wonderful. I think I will just deal with them directly next time that I have a problem. They sent me their apologies and are sending to me an additional replacement servo, as well as a lighter throttle return spring at no cost to myself. Thanks Traxxas!

traxxas is a wonderful company to deal with. i have gotten several replacement parts free of charge from them. deal with them directly and you won't be dissatisfied.