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Engine Starting Problem

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gthang

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Now here's a doozy!

We just broke in my RS4 3 Type SS engine and we were having some trouble getting the clutch to shift. To make matters worse, the car is temporarily out of commision due to starting problems. We've already gone thru 4 glo plugs, 6-7 tanks of 20% nitro fuel. and the left front dogbone keeps coming out. The last time the dogbone came out, i had turned the engine off and tilted the car to try to get the dogbone back in place. When we tried to start it again, it took much of our patience, we removed the glo plug, found fuel in the plug, and about an ounce or two of fuel in the engine itself. I turned the car upside down to remove those ounces of fuel. We tried to get the engine as empty as possible, and still it won't start. We've checked the glo plugs, we've cleaned the air filter, we gave it some throttle while we were trying to start the damn thing. nothing works! if this sounds confusing, you're not alone. :angry:

If you can translate this passage into plain English, you might be able to help me! Any suggestions? And no, I'm not taking the engine apart!

Thanks so much!

Gthang
 
gthang - if there is one thing i have learned - it is that every engine will start. there are only four things that make a nitro engine run:
  • Fuel
  • Air
  • compression
  • combustion

All of these things must be in effect to start. So lets check them out.

Fuel: Can you see the fuel going from the line into the carb? yes you can, as u mentioned that there was fuel in the chamber when it was flooded.
Air: Is the carb opening, is the airfilter clean? yes. u already said it was.
Compression: Is there compression? Its a new engine, so this should be okay, but u can check it by manually turning the flywheel with your thumb, it should be almost impossible to do.
Combustion: Have you checked the glow plug on the igniter while it is out of the car, and made sure it glows bright? U dont mention this, so try it first if u havnt.
-----------------------------
If all these things check out than it can only be one thing: You need to adjust the mixture of the fuel and air. It sounds to me the way u described it that you have it too rich, of course if u are breaking it in that is how u want it. set the HSN about 3/4 of turn lean, see if it starts, if it does then richen it back up once it is running. also - a great way to clear out that fuel that got in there is to pull the plug, and yank on the starter cord about 20 times, or use a box if u have one. hope this huge post helps.
 
If the dog bone keeps falling out, something is wrong there. Either it was not put together properly or something is broken. The only time the bones fell out of my RS4 3 was when I hit a curb at wot.

NA touched on some good points, check the plug out of the car, in doing this you will visibly be able to see the plug glowing. Have you checked your glow igniter to make sure it is not the problem?

Once the engine is dry, not flooded, you will need to prime it first by putting your finger over the exhast stinger and pulling the pull start a few times to get fuel back to the carb, but watch the fuel line, as soon as the fuel reaches the carb, stop pulling.

Hope this helps.
 
Originally posted by gthang
We've checked the glo plugs, we've cleaned the air filter, we gave it some throttle while we were trying to start the damn thing. nothing works! if this sounds confusing, you're not alone. :angry:
Click to expand...

I mentioned the glo plugs, they were full of fuel, and they ignited out of the car.

That car has been going through $5 spark plugs as if they're candy, any suggestion on how to increase the life. Also is the fuel I'm using the right kind (its 20% nitro, i think my dad uses 25% nitro in his RS4 2)?

We've been able to get some runs under our belt, but not any decent ones, you know, runs with no problems. And PS. What can you tell me about the clutch mecanism? Things like can you hear the shift? Because my dad is going bonkers that the clutch is not, he thinks, shifting. After we start the engine, i give it WOT, and it takes about 2-4 seconds to actually get moving, it just drives us crazy!

Talk about problems!

Gthang
 
Check the fuel tank and make sure the tank has no leaks, also, get rid of the prime. I found that sometimes the prime gets in the way and does not let the fuel flow through to the engine. The pulling of the pullstart will generate enough backpressure to get some fuel to the engine, but the pressure generated by idle is too weak.

Try getting rid of the prime in the fuel tank and use the finger over the stinger method to prime.

If that does not work reset to stock settings and tune all over.
 
Re: Re: Engine Starting Problem

Originally posted by gthang
I mentioned the glo plugs, they were full of fuel....That car has been going through $5 spark plugs as if they're candy, any suggestion on how to increase the life.
Click to expand...


Sounds like u are runnin WAY too rich. try leaning it out like i mentioned before.

Originally posted by gthang
Things like can you hear the shift? Because my dad is going bonkers that the clutch is not, he thinks, shifting. After we start the engine, i give it WOT, and it takes about 2-4 seconds to actually get moving, it just drives us crazy!
Click to expand...

This sounds like it is starting in second gear. screw the shift screws in the clutch (the ones that are at an angle) clockwise 1 full turn and see if that helps. i would be more concerned in getting the car runnin period, though, before i started on the clutch.
 
Ya I agree,it sounds way to rich,and the dogbone thing is messed up,it takes a hell of a lick to jar one of mine out,but universals or cvd's should cure that problem!
 
do the dogbones fall out when your turning? if so try shiming up the diffrental drive cup with the orange washers given in the kit
 
he is right, you didn't put the little orange washers in.
Put them in and it will work.
Peter
 
Dongbones

Don't have the steering throw on the remote set-up 100%. Also you can stick small short peice of fuel tubing inside the drive cup from the Differentials. Then it won't pop out.
 
Gthang - did you figure out your problem with you engine? Is yours a pull or non-pullstart?
 
Sorry guys, its been a while

What's new:
We disassembled the dogbone area and guess what? there was an o-ring in there. so i put another one in.

Since everything was fine, you know, the glow plugs, no air tube bubbles, etc. we took the engine out and cleaned it just in case. then we put it back in, it starts, and we let it run out of fuel. Seeing how everything was now in good running order, we filled up, and tried to start it again, well this time it wouldn't start, then I noticed a screw missing from the carb, its the rotary carb guide screw. so we had to send in the carb to get replaced.

After we got another one, it started up easily by unplugging the fuel line and letting some gas out of it, and reconnecting, and then starting. It ran great....

That is until it got louder and louder, even though we had just filled it up. Turns out the exhaust gasket broke and one of the header screws was gone. and two of the allen head screws that mount the engine to the engine mounts were gone too. So we had yet another goddang problem, that would have cost us at least 10 dollars of hpi screws and gaskets and whatever else.

One day, i was riding my scooter, and i'm going real fast. Something on my driveway catches my eye. I turn around and it turns out it was the missing exhaust screw! Damn!

Another screw i was missing was used to hold the front end suspension blocks onto the chassis; i found that screw as well.

Dad found out about Bruckner hobbies, so he sent me there to buy the parts. They didn't have the Z076 screws I wanted to hold my engine to the chassis, but they did have exhaust gaskets, purple wheel nuts, and replacement allen head screws for the engine mounts. We have yet to start working on the car again. to see if everything was worth it.

By the way, who makes hop-ups for the RS4 3? I can't find anything anymore!

Gthang
 
Try Wolfpack radicals, GPM Racing and Hot bodies.
 
So i ran it and it runs good now, but not perfect yet, still have to glue the tires on...the tires come off and the car immediately does a 360 spin, i have three sets of wheels, three sets of tires, not one is glued, i have used all of them on the car and they were glued at that time, then the tires flew off, one went into a sewer, (Aw poop), my friends lifted the grate while i reached down and grabbed the tire. For gluing, what glue do you guys recommend? My dad just bought a bottle of Loctite QuikTite to glue them on.

Also, we got it to shift, but the shift point is way to high... We were holding the car off the ground, and i hit the trigger, one of the tires balloons (HPI's belted slick!) so big, the the car shifts, causing the tire to get even bigger. we plan to lower it.

Another thing, i flipped the car, causing the exit pipe for the exhaust (The portion that protrudes from the body) to snap off. Does anybody make replacement exhausts with headers built in so it also doesn't leak?

I also bought a fuel filter, a Dubro inline filter, and i would like to know what the benefits of having a fuel filter on.

Thanx for all the replies..
 
Originally posted by gthang

Another thing, i flipped the car, causing the exit pipe for the exhaust (The portion that protrudes from the body) to snap off. Does anybody make replacement exhausts with headers built in so it also doesn't leak?
Click to expand...

Are u referring the the tip that comes off the end of the tuned pipe? if so, this is called the stinger. What are u asking regarding a built in header, i dont understand.

Originally posted by gthang

I also bought a fuel filter, a Dubro inline filter, and i would like to know what the benefits of having a fuel filter on.
Click to expand...

A great benifit of not having dirt inside your engine, lol. The filter in the tank is not very good at picking up loose particles of sand/dirt. this aids in that, making sure the fuel is free of debries when it hits the engine.
 
yes i am refering to the "stinger". also NA, i've been looking for GPM's website, do you know it?

the fuel filter i bought was purple, so it tied in with the aluminum parts on my car very nicely.

The car is starting to work right, we just have to glue the tires, and tune the clutch shift point, how do i adjust the clutch?

Also, i want to put on a certain tire tread in the front and another in the rear. the ones in the front i plan to make the stock X-pattern tires, the rear will be slicks. i know what you're thinking, it's stupid, but i want maximum traction for putting the power to the ground, and also the x-patterns in the front for max traction when steering on wet surfaces. Will this help me achieve the max traction i'm looking for?

also, the engine leaks like hell. the exhaust bubbles out of the seam between the two chambers.

Where do you stand on using boost bottles?

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
okay, first - regarding tires. Never mis match them, u will be all over the place and the car will be impossible to dial in. Get away from rubber tires anyways, and get a set of hard shore foams.

Boost Bottles, i have tried them and noticed no performance gain. plus, the whole idea of drilling another hole in my engine for the fitting scares me too much regarding air leaks.

exhaust bubbles leak out between the two chambers???? i dont know what that means. exhaust is leaking between the header and the engine, the header and the tuned pipe?

How do u adjust which clutch? the clutch on the engine, or the clutch on the 2speed?

GPM - dont know if they have a website. what parts are u trying to find by them? if aluminium, then go with Hardcore components instead, much better.
 
damn, i didn't know that i could be so confusing! So sorry.

Do you have an RS4 3 SS?

The muffler has a seam that encompasses it. the gas bubbles out from this seam. the portion of the header that bolts to the engine also leaks, and the header screws came loose even after we put loctite on them. the oil from exhaust has gotten all over the rear of the car, including the throttle servo. it's a pain in the ass to clean, so i was wondering if there were any one piece exhausts/mufflers. To hold the header tight, i put m3 locking nuts on the screws.

regarding which clutch, it is the 2 speed clutch that we just found out shifts at an extremely high rpm. in order to see the shift, we have to hold the car off the ground and floor the trigger. the tires balloon bad, then the shift occurs, which causes the balooning to get even worse.

Lastly, regarding aluminum parts, what is hardcore's website?

thank you
 
Last edited:
okay, first, no - i have an NTC3.

Next - u wont have the ballooning if u get some foam tires, hint hint,lol.

now i know what u are saying. the header leaking could be caused by a bad exhaust gasket. get another one at your LHS, they are less than a buck. also, your lock nut idea is just fine, and should work well. that pipe that comes with the car sucks - go get a Team Associated RPM tuned pipe to replace it with, it will work just fine, and u will be much happier.

Nitro mess is a way of life with these cars, it will come right off with no scrubbing by using denatured alchohol in a spray bottle.

In the two speed housing u will see 2 sets of screws. when looking at the pair, one will screw straight down, the other at an angle. The screws that are angled are the 2 speed adjustment screws. loosen each of these screws 1/16th of a turn at a time until your shift point lowers to an appropriate rpm.

finally, harcore racing;s website is: www.racinghardcore.com
 

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