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Monday, February 22, 2010

Droid Tune up


Since R2 was due for his 100,000 mile checkup and I still don't have a oil bath to dip him in, I instead decided to clear a space in the garage and hang him from his droid lift. Not something R2 is fond of but it's for his own good. I was especially wary of the drive system and wheels because at the science museum he just felt a little different while driving. And the last thing you want is for R2's feet to fall off in front of a bunch of admirers.

Fortunately I am happy to say that the rear drive motors and wheels seemed pretty solid. Not bad considering R2's probably driven a good 10 miles since his last checkup. And there were some pretty bumpy areas in those miles. Vibrations from rough road surfaces can sometimes rattle a poor droid to pieces.

The front ankle / wheel assembly was another story. A major shim was missing and all the connectors in this area were loose. This is the part of the droid that takes the most abuse. My droid is unlike most of the others in that I have a massive monster hard wheel here. Plus it's heavy so when it hits a bump, the bump feels it. If I hadn't taken the time to give R2 a checkup then there could have been an embarassing disaster. Fortunately it was caught in time.

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