I have an electric evader st, and as a newbee, I'm sure I killed it today smahing into a pipe. I have seen the servo saver kit on the duratrax site, yet I'm reluctant to purchase much more duratrax products unless I really have to. Are there any aftermarket ones available that would work? Is this a fairly universal part that can go on many models. Any advice if not? Heck, I'm not even sure if it is the servo that is messed up. I have read many posts all over the web that mentions that this is one of the first parts to fail. However, they fail to mention what they have done to remedy the situation.
What happens, is when I turn the wheels to the right, there is a hard click sound, you must then apply some pressure by hand and once again a hard click sound is heard, you hear the servo sound, get a small area of a non mesh like feeling, then feels normal when the wheels are turned to the left by hand.
Thanks,
The Streakman

Yea, your servo has stripped gears in it. The servo-saver is unique to the evst, but servos themselves are universal and readily available in any speed/strength (even with metal gears).

There's no aftermarket servo-saver that I'm aware , yet the EXT may use a better one or a weaker spring. You can also take apart the servo and if it's the right gear that stripped you can flip it around to get to the good teeth.

I purchased a new meatal geared JR racing servo at the hobby shop, it seems to work well but it seems that it doesn't turn the wheels to the full extent. Nothing is catching, the servo has enough right/left rotation yet when I assemble it, it doesn't seem to turn the wheels fully to the right and left. Again, I'm a newbee at this and I would love to have some great advice from those that have it. Any suggestions?

The Streakman

I saw this while researching on the internet. Maybe it will help.

Servo Saver Modifications

My son and I went through 3 or 4 servo gear sets because the servo saver did not do its job very well with the factory settings. The problem appears to be that the spring is too long and by the time you have threaded the tightening nut it is already almost too tight to adequately "break" before the gears strip.

The first step is to clip about 1/2 of a coil from the spring with a Dremel cutting wheel. Then use the flat side of the wheel to grind the newly cut top of the spring flat to match the original. Before reinstalling, take the servo saver cams (two cylinders of plastic with "V" shaped notches that match together) and sand the matching surfaces with medium to fine grit sandpaper. The idea is to round the edges and peak of the "v" so that it is more likely to slide and break free. Replace these parts and tighten the thumb screw slightly. While holding the servo arm coming off the servo steer the front wheels left and right to see if the servo saver breaks.

I clean the steering mechanism/servo saver regularly with spray cleaner (squirt bottle with denatured alcohol - I use this to clean most everything on the vehicles) to keep the dirt and gunk from building up. We have not stripped a servo since (even though my son and I have both clipped solid objects like curbs with the front wheel).

A better solution, but more expensive, is to replace the servo with metal geared ones. I have not had to do this since doing the above modification to the servo saver spring. However, I have replaced the servos with a higher torque metal geared servo because it also helps improve steering. I find the stock servo doesn't have quite enough power, especially with more aggressive front tires (see below). I believe if you use metal geared servos you may not have to modify the servo saver, or at least you can keep it tighter so as to improve steering response. I used the Futaba S3305 as it is a direct fit. Other brands of servos may require you to buy a package of servo horns to get the right fit.

Joe

That is all that is needed. If you radio has end point settings,
Adjust them to get full servo throw. Also make sure you have the proper servo horn on for that servo. The length of the horn makes a difference.