DONE: Team Associated SC8.2e Braces Upgrade!

I completed my SC8.2e 4wd 1:8 SCT upgrades last night. It now has lighter, stronger front and rear Chassis Bracers made of machined aluminum and I replaced the front Server and Steering Brace. Those are the blue colored parts in the pic.

Step 1 was seen in the post prior, where I removed the components being replaced. Here I am figuring out how to hold the white, threaded insert for the bottom of the braces in place...then it hits me, a small piece of tape on each side.  And it worked great.  Here is the rear Chassis Brace going into place.  I bought off of eBay an entire SC8.2e Stainless Steel replacement screw, bolt and nut set.

I need to buy a plastic container now for all the replacement kit's screws, bolts and nuts.  In the picture on the right I'm lining up the stock screws with the new ones to find matches.

Here is the work of replacing the front Servo and Steering Braces.  First, since there are no directions supplied or on the Team Associated website, I had to figure out the order of attaching the new aluminum parts.  With some trial and error, I figured it out finally.  I had to remove the drive axle plastic cover to make room for the new front Chassis Brace.

I used Loctite blue threadlocker on the new Servo and Steering Brace screws.  Caution is needed here to make sure all of the bearings for the steering mechanism are correctly installed and the hex nut and spring on the servo's steering control arm are good to go.

Here are pics of the front braces completed.  I like it!

Finding the correct alignment for the bottom part of the Chassis Braces is tricky, but I recommend on the rear brace you attach it first through the bottom, but for the front brace - connect it to the Servo & Steering Brace first then up through the bottom last.

A tricky spot during the install was the two wheel hex pins that connect the wheel assembly to the frame.  I connected the pin through the left and right side first, ensuring correct placement in the frame's rubber bushings and then rotated the new brace down and again ensured the rubber bushing in the Servo & Steering Brace aligned correctly.  Also the two front wheel drive 136mm dogbone connectors must be correct inserted (spin the tire if need be).  The left pic shows the new stainless hardware re-attaching the drive axle plastic cover back on.

All done!

My customized Makita/Rockstar #82 LOORRS body!

Testing the truck after the rain stopped, making sure I re-assembled everything correctly.  The truck ran great, especially with the new Protek RC 14.8v 4S 100C battery!