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[aibomick]

Hi all - so, one of my 4 Pleos (soon to be be 5) developed a clicky leg. I understand it's some kind of clutch mechanism in the leg (just like the I-Cybies) and it only clicks when the leg is kind of restricted or stuck on a carpet edge. However, none of the other 3 legs click, and this ones clicks (annoyingly) consistently.

I've de-robed him and looked at the leg but nothing obvious.

Has anyone dismantled a leg before to examine the 'clutch' or attempted to repair one?

Anyone?

Doh - sorry for the double post - won't let me delete it either - if Moderator could fix please - thanks in advance .... 

[pnhicks]

Hi aibomick,


I assume you have viewed Eliot's Issues... (bobthepleo.com)
If not take a look for some ideas.


If so, almost all versions have suffered from the dreaded knee/hip click,  some people have reported relief (if only temporary) by "manual repositioning" of the leg/knee in question.  If you have it deskinned, did you notice any foul play around the wires going to the position feedback pot for the knee at the bottom of the leg.  If you raise slightly the "wire clamp" over the top of the pot in question, you can see a tiny white flat shaft that should rotate as you "reposition" the knee.  The wiring going to the pot has a great glob of hot glue (usually) which can sometimes conceal a broken or partially failed connection.


If is the whole leg that is not moving, then the pots are on the servos on the leg motors (more disassembly required).  The clutches are dead simple (a spring holding two gears flush together until the torque overcomes the spring force).  They don't fail as far as I have ever seen.  I did take one apart, putting back together was another story.  It has a tiny circlip that holds the spring and I only have two hands!


Cheers!


Peter

[aibomick]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for that info .... the reality is that with the skin off ... no clicking whatsoever (Facepalm!!) All the bits seem in place and fine. My conclusion (and I can't believe that I didn't look for it first) is that the skin was binding in the leg/body gap.  This is in fact the RB skin put on an Ugobe. I don't think that that in itself is an issue ... but .....

Oddly, as I removed the skin I did have to extract it from being a bit stuck in the thigh gap... but never thought about it cauing the jam in itself (Double facepalm!!!) ....

So... very big lesson learned; knowing about the generic leg clicking issue I never really gave the obvious and simple problem a single thought ..... sticky skin in the wrong place.

When replacing it I wonder about lubricating the inner leg skin/gap..... but what with - that won't deteriorate the skin? 

Regards,  Mick

[Talon]

Hi, Mick and welcome to the forums! RB skin on a Ugobe? How did you do it? LOL! Well, I’m glad you were able to fix the problem. Here are my thoughts. RB skin is two or three hairs breadth thicker  than that of the Ugobes. My thought is it must have bound up in that knee joint and just not come out for some reason. I have had this happen even on my RB’s. Granted there is no clicking, but it Does cause a permanent wrinkle there when you have to repeatedly remove it from the inner joints.  Glad to see people are still interested in the little dinos even after this long. Thanks for posting and keeping our little scaly friends alive.


Tallon

[aibomick]

Hi Talon - thanks for the reply - been in surgery so a little behind in my browsing..... I'm good now.....

Well, I have an Ugobe with completely shredded skin. A guy in Germany had an RB skin he was willing to sell, so I though why not. Apart from the ports (I did a mod on YouTube) it fits fine, but you're spot on - it 'sticks' around the knees .... I hadn't noticed immediately but yes, I have to keep pulling it forward ....

I also have a BNIB Ugobe - absolutely like new - and a rare green-eyed Ugobe in 85% decent condition - and a couple of others. I just sold and shipped one to a girl in Spain who appealed on the Facebook group.... so I have four at the moment.

I don't think they're appreciated enough but the ongoing battery issue is a stumbling block to many - I bought a 3D printer and so all my boys have 100% battery and packs ....