Duratrax Nitro Evader ST engine inquiry

[mrb4563]

Hello everyone,

I have a rather old stadium truck that was passed down to me in a non-running condition, but I have since revived it and it seems to run quite well.

I do have some concerns about the engine though. The engine that came with the truck is an OS .18 CVR (the stock engine was also provided but I have since taken it apart to learn more about these little powerhouses)

My concerns with the current engine are as follows:

Looking with a magnifying glass where the cooling head meets the crank case, I do see some slight bubbling action going on, so that tells me that it isn't a good seal anymore (probably because the cooling head looks kind of beat up and is probably warped to some degree) But one of the screws holding the head on has snapped, so I can't even replace the cooling head myself.

I've accepted the fact that I would probably have to replace the entire engine soon-ish and I was wondering if I should go with the same engine as a replacement or if my new (hopefully) friends here have any suggestions?

 

[mrb4563]

I'm not really interested in making any extreme modifications to make a particular engine work, and I hear mostly good things about this engine, I'm just wondering if there is something better I should be looking at.

I don't race and I'm rather new to the hobby, so I just romp around in empty parking lots or parks by myself mostly, but I don't want some cheapo engine, and want some power to play around with.

 

[Cornholio]

That O.S engine is a good one and just because the bolt is snapped off doesn't mean you need to replace the engine or have someone else do it. You can do it yourself, just drill out the snapped bolt and pull the head off and replace it if you need to. You can always buy a new piston and sleeve to rebuild the engine if the compression is low and if you feel like you need to get a new engine, I'd just get the same one. It has plenty of power and is fairly easy to tune and if you take care of it properly you'll get several gallons out of it.

 

[mrb4563]

Hmm...doing the math with Towerhobbies (where I normally go for parts), I'm seeing that a new cylinder head and the piston sleeve assembly actually costs slightly more than the engine as a whole, so I think I'm just going to buy the whole engine.

I do, however, like tinkering and trying new things, so I may just try drilling out the bolt anyways to learn how to do so. So, is there a special drill bit I need? Like something that specifically takes out stripped and broken screws/bolts? Or do I actually drill through the body of the bolt?

I've never done anything like this before, thats why I ask.

 

[Cornholio]

When I had that issue in the past I used a metal drill bit and just drilled out the bolt head until its gone, then just pull the cooling head off. You'll be left with the bottom part of the bolt still in, so take some pliers and unscrew the bolt.

 

[mrb4563]

Ah, that makes MUCH more sense than what I was imagining.

Well I have the new engine ordered and being shipped as we speak, so thank you for all of your help!