Bought used rc and need help.. I'm a rooky!

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spauldj

RC Newbie
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Hey guys I jst got a used nitro, was told it is a tmaxx and has alot of aftermarket parts.. It does not run and he said it need a battery and a carb adjustment an should run fine. Just looking for advise on how to go about making sure everything is in working order.. I've never had one of these so any comments you have I'm sure will be helpful! Thanks
 
take pics of the set up then tear it down check for parts that are cracked or broken then put it back together.
 
Carb needles tuning is gonna be the tricky part for you. You can get a lot of info for factory tuning off the traxxas website. Or in the manual if you got one with it. If not you can find them on the site as well for every model along with picture diagrams of the complete assembly.
 
Go to this link: http://traxxas.com/products. Click on nitro & pick either T-maxx classic or T-maxx 3.3 whichever one looks like what you have. Then click on downloads & then manual. This is a .pdf of the manual. This is a great place to start.

If your not sure which truck you have, put some pictures up here of the truck (without the body) & I am sure someone will be able to tell you.

You should be able to find plenty of video's on youtube to help out with tuning & other things. Google is also a huge help. If I can't figure something out, the first thing I do is go to google & just type in what I need. Chances are someone else has had the same questions. This site (rcnitrotalk) is great for asking questions as well as the traxxas.com/forums site.

When I first got into nitro 9 years ago, there was not as many online resources as there are now. I had problems breaking in & tuning my first t-maxx. I called my local hobby shop & asked if I could bring it in for them to look at. I paid them $30 & they broke the truck in for me & showed me the basics of tuning which was very helpful. Its also a good idea to get in good with those guys because you can learn allot from them. Tuning can get a little frustrating but you gotta remember, you can always return the needles to the factory settings & start over, I have been there plenty of times.

Good luck!
 
Read the tuning tips and flow chart sticky in the nitro forum. Seal your engine before attempting to run it. Chasing a tune due to an air leak is the most frustrating introduction to nitro.
 
Thanks guys this is all good stuff to start with! Heres a couple pics of my rig maybe someone can help me figure out what i have here!:)


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That looks like it's pretty old. No problems there though. Get new fuel line, clean and seal the engine. Lube the engine when reassembling with a few drops of after run oil on the internal bearings and piston/ sleeve. Make sure the fuel system is clean and leak free. Tank seals go bad over time. Figure out the base settings of your carb, but dont change em yet. After its clean and sealed, make sure all of the electronics work correctly(carb open and closes all the way, brake works, range test). When all that checks out, add fresh fuel, put your fully charged ignitor on the new glow plug and fire it up. Prime the engine by placing a finger over the exhaust a few quick times while starting it.
 
Ok guys.. i replaced the fuel lines, lots of missing screws, new glow plug, exhaust gaskets and spings and cleaned up everything good. I put fresh gas in and set the carb to factory settings. I then tried to start it and believe it or not it fired right up after a couple trys! It died after a min but fired right back up. After it dieing the second time i couldnt get it started again and seemed like an abnormal amount of fuel was coming out if the exhaust! Any ideas??
 
Typically "factory settings" are for break in and will be extremely rich. If its been broken in you just need to tune and should be good. Excessive fuel for a rich factory setting is normal and even running after a good tune will still produce fuel out the exhaust
 
So i should turn both needles down then and try again..
 
It's sounds too rich. Turn the high speed screw in all the way and back out four full turns and look for blue smoke during wot runs. If it seems sluggish turn high speed needle clockwise 1/4 turn at a time until performance is good and still seeing blue smoke. Once you have that right then turn the idle screw clockwise 1/4 turn till it doesn't stall when you stop. I like mine to idle a little high but not high enough it crawls before I gas it.
 
As of now and having this problem my hsn is set at 3.5 turns and the lsn is at 2 turns.. I if i went out to 4 turns wouldnt that make it worse? I have to go in some i think correct me if I'm wrong..
 
Yes go in instead. It's kinda hard explaining it without knowing where you was at on settings. So turn in 1/4 turn at a time which is leaning. But if it will not idle turn your idle screw clockwise 1/4 to 1/2 turn as well till you get the idle where you want it. I'm still fairly new at this myself and just trying to relay to you what I have experienced and overcome so far.
 
Thanks alot I'm going to atempt it again tomorrow! I really just happy it started in the first place, i was kind of worried about that.. Ill give an update on how i make out thanks again
 
Also after running a short time and overheating and stalling and not starting back again till it cools is a sure sign of the sleeve and piston being worn out. When it gets hot it loses compression and won't run. Time for a rebuild or new engine.

---------- Post added at 9:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 9:59 PM ----------

Just hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
 
sure sign of needing a rebuild, remember when you do a rebuild you need to reset all needles and do a proper engine break in.
 
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