Here's my fix for Trypticon's hips. For this "operation," I used two different sized phillips screwdrivers (to disassemble the hips), wire cutters (to cut the springs in half), automotive grease (to be applied in the ratchet well and on the ratchets), and a cotton swab (used to apply the grease).

1) Disassemble the hips.
2) Remove the ratchets and springs.
3) Cut the springs in half. Each hip will only get half a spring.
4) Apply a generous amount of grease in the ratchet well, on the ratchet teeth, and wherever there are moving/sliding parts in the hip ratchet area.
5) Reassemble.

Tips: Take photos of the hips BEFORE you disassemble them and also during disassembly. This comes in handy for when you have to put everything back together. Use the correct size screwdrivers to prevent stripping the screw heads. After putting everything back together, be sure to clean off any excess grease -- this is especially important if you haven't applied the stickers yet.

Results: After performing this "operation," my hips turned A LOT easier while still retaining its ratchet clicking. I turned the hips around DOZENS of times in both directions. I then took the hips apart to inspect the inside of the ratchet well to see if anything was damaged -- NOTHING, everything seemed to be fine. My only complaint was that I couldn't get both hips to have the same ratcheting tension. One hip seemed a bit tighter than the other. I wasn't sure if this was because of the spring or because of something else. Either way, this was a huge improvement and I can now turn Trypticon's hips without worry of damage.

 

Looks like whenever I get mine I will be doing the same. Thanks for tutorial.

 

Holy Arceus! THAT'S how big those springs are?! No wonder!

There should be a petition made to Hasbro to get them to fix that issue!

 

I'd make sure that grease is safe for plastics. It would really suck to go through all of that trouble just to have to fix degrade the plastic anyways.

I highly recommend Super Lube with PTFE. It's totally safe for plastic and the smaller tube will last you forever, plus if you have a 3d printer you can use it on it's linear rails to.  

If you cant find superlube and are in a pinch some generic silicon faucet grease from home depot will work as well. It should be safe for plastic as it is designed not to degrade the gaskets and plastic meshes in the aerator.

 

Thanks for the tip! I'm going to look for that stuff the next time I'm out!

 

I would recommend going to your local hardware store and just getting different springs. I feel like trying to cut them to they would "spring" evenly would be difficult.

 

Those ratchets disappoint whatever mechanical sensibilities I have. Those flat paddles look like they're made to push over and break. It makes me wonder if the designs are taken from the engineer and given to a consultant who guts all the structure.

Also, don't use mineral based grease. You can get a tub of silicone based factory grease from bicycle shops or find something safer for plastic at a hobby shop.

 

The original plan was to actually go to the hardware store and hunt for new springs, like you suggested. But it was late, the store was going to close, and I figured I'd try risk cutting the spring -- I'm impatient and couldn't wait to do it. I found the culprit as to why I couldn't get the springs to bounce evenly. Even though I cut the spring halves so that they were the same lengths and had the same amount of "bounce" -- I found that the problem was the actual plastic ratchet and the post it slides up and down on. On one leg, the ratchet slides up and down easily on its post, providing a nice, tight, click-ity ratchet. However, on the other leg, the ratchet doesn't slide as easily on its post -- in that situation I'm not sure if the issue is with the post or the ratchet itself -- maybe a mold imperfection. I tried to alleviate that problem by slighting widening the t-shaped hole of the ratchet, allowing a little bit more play so that it could travel up and down the post easier. It worked, but it's still not as evenly tight as the other leg. But in the end, they both work like they should, so I'm happy with that.

After the previous suggestions, I went to Home Depot to find something to replace the automotive grease I used. I found this -- "Blaster: High Performance White Lithium Grease." It's sprays on and it's SAFE for plastics. So I went back, disassembled the hips, and cleaned off the grease I previously applied (I used WD-40 branded "SPECIALIST DEGREASER" (not to be confused with normal WD-40). Specialist Degreaser is SAFE on plastics (as indicated on its package, like the Blaster White Lithium Grease I used). It removed the automotive grease easily. I cleaned off the degreaser residue with rubbing alcohol. Once everything was cleaned off, I applied the Blaster White Lithium Grease to the ratchet well, its post, the springs, and the ratchet itself. I reassembled the hips. The end result? --> Everything twists and turns as it should. The ratchets still click. And I disassembled everything one last time to check if anything was damaged --> NOTHING. So in the end, this method worked for me.

If you're uneasy about doing this, I'd suggest just wait a week or two until other hip-fixing methods come out. Maybe someone will find the perfect spring at the store or maybe a third party or shapeways creator will release a hip upgrade/fix kit. Good luck to everyone and enjoy your Trypticons!  

 

I only cut 1/4 of the springs off on mine and didn't bother with lube. It works great.

I'd be hesitant to cut half off and pack it with grease, seems like overkill.

 

I think I will do it your way as well. After watching Optibotimus' review, he cut half of the springs off and the legs seemed too loose for comfort. This thread is extremely helpful.

If it weren't for this thread, many TR Trypticons might need this:



 

 

I have to ask does anyone think that WD-40 would work as well if you sprayed fairly well on the part.

 

Even though I cut half the spring, one hip joint was still excessively tight. I think this might vary from person to person. I'd suggest cut maybe 1/4 or less at first and go from there. Looking back, I took a big gamble cutting off 1/2 the spring.

I'd stay away from WD-40. I've used it on some Transformers before and it would mildly disintegrate the plastic.

 

Char_leigh
Oh man thanks my friend for letting me know that. I was just about to consider doing that on mine when I get him.

 

One last tip: Still obsessing over Trypticon's hip ratchets and springs, I disassembled them one last time tonight. On my Trypticon, I noticed that there is too much friction between the ratchet post and the ratchet wheel. On my Trypticon, the ratchet wheel is too snug on the ratchet post -- this prevents the ratchet wheel from springing up and down smoothly. To fix this problem, I took a nail file and filed the inside of the t-shaped hole of the ratchet wheel. I carefully shaved a teeny bit from each inner side of the t-shaped hole in the ratchet wheel. This gave some slack and play in the ratchet wheel, allowing it to slide up and down more freely on the ratchet post. Once I reassembled the the hips, the end result produced a much tighter, louder ratchet. This, coupled with the half-sized cut springs, gave my hip ratchets just the right amount of tension I was looking for --> not as super, crazy tight as the stock toy, and not loose at all. It's still tight enough that it needs a good amount of force to turn, but it's not too tight where it feels like I may break something whenever I turn the hips forwards or backwards (and I've had hip ratchets break on other toys in the past -- both first party toys and 3rd party toys, and due to overly tight ratchets).

As someone mentioned earlier, I may have gone a bit overkill on this, but I really wanted to find that "sweet spot" that I felt comfortable with on my toy. Either way, I hope some of you find this helpful. I know how frustrating it can be to pay for a toy (especially an expensive one) and not having it function properly --> and any time you need to mod or fix a toy, there's always the risk of making it worse. Good luck!

 

So Trypticon was a citybot like Metroplex, till he took an arrow to the knee?

 

Are there video instructions of this somewhere? Mine should come in this week and I find video instructions easier to follow.

 

How necessary is the grease step? I'm comfortable doing the rest of the steps but not so much with that one.

 

Is this a required thing for Typticon? Are his hips too tight or something?

 

Yeah. Unmodified, the hips can tear themselves apart with little use.

 

Yikes. I'll keep that in mind if I ever pick up a Trypticon.