Ever too late to seal an engine?

[Devinlowe18]

so My TRX 3.3 has been broken in and has just under a gallon of fuel through it. I am new to the hobby and didnt know i should have sealed the engine before even breaking it in. My question is, is it ever too late to seal an engine? The thing runs perfectly no issues with it at all......YET...lol..... should i still unmount it and seal er' up or should i just leave it alone?

 

[SchrodeMode]

I'd leave it alone. Why fix something that's not broken? If you start having issues with a tune, then look into it.

 

[Extreme RC Mods]

Agreed ^^^

 

[Devinlowe18]

ok i also have a new 3.3 engine otw in the mail for my 4-tec (the said engine above is for my Maxx). Should i seal that one up before break in or should i just wait until i have more experience before attempting things like this? i have watched the video posted on youtube by "squirrel" on how to seal an engine but that is the only knowledge i have on it. Not to make myself sound ignorant or incapable, i just dont want to cause myself issues in the future due to mistakes if you catch my drift....lol

 

[SchrodeMode]

I'd just leave it and run it as is. If it gives you issues, then look into sealing it.

 

[Devinlowe18]

awsome thanks for the info.

 

[rcaddic]

you can seal with lucky 7 with out opening up the engine

 

[wacmartin]

I agree if it ain't broke why fix it, but it's never to late to seal it either. At the top of the page there's a sticky on how to seal an engine, it's pretty in depth and an excellent write up to follow.

 

[Extreme RC Mods]

I say run it as is unless it's acting up. Each time you take it apart you run the risk of damaging O-rings and seals that were otherwise undamaged and working properly if there was no issues to start with. Some engines don't really need to be sealed at all due to machining and design.

 

[andydrew39219]

I just ripped mine apart for the first time the other day. I did my .15 pro and it has to have 2 gals of fuel through it now. It never seemed to hold a tune, at the time I thought it was more or less normal, but it is not. When I would get done running it for the day it would be fine, the next day I would go back and the tune would be so off it wouldn't start. Way too rich. I sealed my 2.5r too (hasn't seen fuel yet) but that's because I don't want to deal with it in the future.

 

[2revo1maxx]

As mentioned above, if it tunes good leave it alone.

 

[srusinek]

I've sealed engines that were known for air leaks after break in(mgt 8.0, xl 5.9) and it really helped a lot. I've also sealed an engine that had no problems( gs storm B01) and it did not help nor hurt anything. If my daughters savage engine checks out well we will be sealing that one. If it were me I would seal both traxxas engines because they have a bad rap when it comes to air leaks. If it were an OS engine I probably would not seal it until it started to act up. Just my 2 cents.

 

[hamz9561]

It's never too late to seal an engine, IMO. Then again, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

 

[Childresshunt]

If your there isnt a problem i wouldn worry about it but if you just wanna check for leaks u could always pull the motor and check for leaks with soapy water

really simple way of checking and will show you exactly where the problem is

 

[lesclaypool]

I used to think sealing an engine was mandatory. In certain instances it still is, ie: the HPI K5.9 MSN likes to fall out. So a good dab of RTV on the end of that guy will seal it and keep it in place.

On an engine that has tuning issues, then sure - after you've eliminated air leaks in the fuel line, tank/lid/tank o-rings, and exhaust gaskets, and it still has issues, then look into sealing it. On a brand new engine though, part of inspection before install would include checking the carb and needle o-rings, and putting green slime on them.

But on an engine that runs well, and has no tuning issues, why rip it out and start throwing RTV at it?? It's sort of like taking a good tire that's holding air off of the wifes minivan and patching it 'just in case it might leak' lol.

If its working, run it!