First start woes & blisters, fixed some damage

[rossb]

I finally got a chance to start my new SS for the first time. I first ensured that the two needles were at factory specs. Next I pulled the pressure line off the exhaust and blew into the line to prime the carb. I turned the throttle servo a bit to open the carb about ¼ of the way and then I put my glow igniter on the glow plug. I put the car up on blocks and after 2 quick pulls the motor started up. I then removed the glow igniter. I though to myself that this was way too easy. I spoke too soon.

The RPMs climbed up pretty quickly with the tires spinning. I reached for the throttle servo and tried to turn it down a bit to lower the RPMs and the motor immediately died. After that I put the throttle back to ¼ and tried starting it again and it was very difficult to start. I pulled and pulled a bunch of times and finally it started again. I left the throttle alone and it died very quickly.

I tried starting it again and I felt some resistance on the pull cord. I removed the glow plug, tilted the truck to the side, and gave it about 6 pulls. Some Nitro shot out of the glow plug hole. I put the plug back in and it started on two pulls but quickly died again. I tried starting it again and after about 10 pulls a blister started to form on one of my fingers.

I removed the plug again and tried to clear fuel out of the motor. I put the plug back in and when I pulled the cord the handle came off the cord and parts went flying. The string went back into the pull starter assembly but I found all of the pull starter’s external parts including the little metal plug the cord ties to inside the handle.

I went into my garage and with my blister hurting I pulled the engine and then the pull starter assembly. From the looks of the handle and it’s little plug inside it seems as though the cord just slipped out of the handle without really breaking. I took the cover off the back of the pull starter assembly and retrieved the cord. I threaded the cord through the little black cap, the rubber hose, and then reattached it back to the handle. The pull starter looked good as new with no loss in length. I put the motor back in the truck and the pull starter works fine again. I put some after run oil in the motor and called it a night.

So what happened here? Any ideas why this motor did not want to run?

 

[hb1111]

i had a bit of a time getting mine started in the break in period also,but all i did was raise the idle up a bit so when it starts it stays running and let it sit at high idle for a while not real high just enough to keep it running they are real tight and its alot of stress on the pull start you may wanna loosen up the glow plug a bit till you get it started then tighten it up once it starts this should help a bit you may waan order an extra pull starter just in case...just stick with it and you should be fine...aloha

 

[SilentHunterKellen]

Okay, I had the same problem. First what you want to do is listen to HB and loosen the glowplug about a 90ºturn of the wrench. With that done try and start it at 1/4 open. If the engine runs for a bit then dies, try starting it again and when the engine is about to die, give it a quick rev and bring it back down to 1/4. Now when I say quick rev, I dont mean to WOT, but just maybe to 1/3 or 1/2 throttle. Keep doing that and the engine will be warmed up and shouldnt die down. Once the new engine is warmed up you should be okay, and it wont die down on ya. Keep us posted.

 

[FastEddy]

The above info is good.
The pull start:
Put on a glove. It will help. When using a pull start you only want to pull about 1/2 of the cord out on any given pull. Its not a lawn mower.

People may disagree with me on this one but If the engine is flooding and is slobbering wet during the first tank, I have no issues with turning the HSN in 1/4 - 1/2 turn then restarting. All the engines I have broken in from factory settings have been a minimum of 1 - 1 1/2 turns to rich. Once it starts and stays running for an amount of time you can back the HSN off a bit if you feel the need. Factory settings are only a baseline to get you going. As long as you don't over do it you can play with the HSN on ether side of the factory settings until you find the proper adjustment to get you going.

Don't get discouraged, Once you get through the first 5-6 tanks it should start on the first pull if its tuned correctly.

-Ed

 

[olds97_lss]

Don't get discouraged, Once you get through the first 5-6 tanks it should start on the first pull if its tuned correctly.
-Ed

I'd like to agree with Ed, but you do need to prime the engine.

I'd suggest getting the little primer bulb that's on the MGT. IMHO, it's a real good idea on any of these things that have a pull start. The less wear and tear hat you have to put on the pull starter and cold piston, the better. A couple pumps of the bulb, and fuel is at the carb. Then you can get the 1st pull starting.

 

[nitromidget]

Hey Olds, do you have a link for this primer bulb and do you just install it in the fuel line to carb just press it to move the fuel???

 

[hb1111]

give this one a try it is a good one plus its a filter i have one also but didnt put in on yet http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=19168&item=5908822131&rd=1

 

[rossb]

I'd like to agree with Ed, but you do need to prime the engine.

I blew into the pressure line that goes on the exhaust. Is there anything wrong with just doing that?

How about the initial throttle opening? Should I stick with 1/4 travel opening or should I experiment with that as well? After break-in are you starting with a part throttle opening or are you starting at an idle position?

 

[olds97_lss]

Here's the one on the MGT: MGT Primer

And yes, just put it inline of the carb intake line.

 

[FastEddy]

Blowing into the pressure line is perfectly acceptable.
I find the best throttle setting for starting to be just a baby's hair over idle. 1/4 IMO is way to much. If you are running rich and the throttle is open to much this will cause flooding and you will never get it started. Once it is broken in and leaned out it should start with the throttle setting anywhere.

Again your just going through brake-in woes. Don't get discouraged.
-Ed

 

[rossb]

I had better luck today and I learned a bit about this motor. The best tip was to loosen the glow plug. Thanks hb1111! Pulling the starter cord was lot easier and I had no issues with the pull start. The motor was able to start and run even with the plug very loose.

I first figured that it would be a good idea to get a new glow plug. Of course my LHS did not have an HPI standard plug or an OS A5. The only thing they had was this plug ->
Megatech Chris Chianelli Q Plug. I asked the guy if this plug was the same heat range as the OS A5 and he had no idea. I figured during break in that my temps would be fairly low so I figured I would give it a shot.

I primed the carb by blowing into the pressure line, opened the carb about ¼ of the way and after about 4 fairly easy pulls with the glow plug loose the motor started up. As the motor was running I could see the engine vibration spinning the glow plug further open. I used my still attached igniter to close the plug down a bit and then removed the igniter and tightened the plug with a 5/16th nut driver. The motor started to rev pretty high so I manually pulled the throttle servo back. That brought the revs down a bit. I got greedy and tried to bring it down even further and it stalled.

After about 10 pulls at ¼ throttle it started up again and started to rev. It revved so high that it hit second gear and the truck started to slide off my makeshift stand made of wood blocks. I have to get a real stand and was considering THIS ONE.

I tried to bring the revs down with the throttle but I killed the motor again. That is when trouble started. I tried to start it again and it would not start. I must have pulled the cord about 50 times and got nothing. I took a step back and took 10 minutes off because I was getting frustrated. I removed the plug, turned the truck upside down, and gave it about 20 pulls in an effort to clear out what I felt might be a flooded engine. Put the plug back in and I got nothing after about 30 more pulls. I was getting even more frustrated and I took another 20 minutes off.

I came back and said to myself that I have to get this thing running. If I can rebuild a 1:1 car motor I surely can get this thing running. I topped off the tank and though to myself that I have to try something new. My previous plan of action obviously was not working. This time I though to myself maybe the carb is drying out and maybe I should prime it again. The fuel line stayed full with no air bubbles during all of my previous attempts at starting but I was not sure what was going on inside the card. I held my finger over the stinger and gave the motor a few pulls with the plug loose. I saw fuel flowing into the carb. I put my igniter on the plug and gave it about 2 pulls. I heard the motor try to kick over and noticed that some fuel was spitting out of the loose glow plug hole. After two more pulls it roared to life. Well what do you know, the carb must have been dry and it needed to be primed.

I let it rev a bit to warm the motor up before trying to lower the RPMs to an idle. After about a minute I lowered the revs and got it pretty low without stalling. The wheels were still spinning but when I put the car on the ground the clutch released and the truck did not move. I put the truck back up on the wood but I had to hold it by the roll bar because it kept falling off my wood blocks (got to get that stand). I let it run for the entire tank and near the end of tank I revved it for a second. I took a temp reading off it before it ran out of fuel and I got 213 degrees.

So there you have it. My main problem was I allowing the carb to run dry and I needed to prime it. I now at least know that I should see a little fuel spitting out of the glow plug hole with the plug loose. Tomorrow I plan to drive it around at low speeds.

Has anyone tried the stand I linked to above? Is that plug I am running ok for the S25?

Another thing I noticed, on my way home I noticed that my empty fuel bottle had a very small pool of what appears to be a dark looking oily looking substance. I am running O’Donnel which is clear so this seemed strange to me. I guess that was leftover oil and it is normal?

 

[olds97_lss]

Just an FYI, when I prime an engine (keep in mind, I normally drive alone where it's pretty quiet), you prime until you hear the fuel in the engine making a squishing sound. I don't quit priming when the fuel reaches the carb, I wait until I hear the squishing sound. With this method, once squishing sound is acheived, put the heater on and it normally starts in 1 or two pulls.

By empty fuel bottle, do you mean fuel tank on the truck or the actual bottle you fill the truck with?

BTW, i think that car stand is made for lower ground clearance cars... not the MT's. The assembled Height is 4-1/4.

This one is kind of on the pricey side, but it's adaptable to a savage: AJ's Stand

I made one from looking at this site with 1/2" pvc... took a couple hours, but I use it all the time: PVC Work Stand

 

[rossb]

By empty fuel bottle, do you mean fuel tank on the truck or the actual bottle you fill the truck with?

I meant my field bottle. It has a little dark residue left on the bottom.

Nice PVC stand. Is it sturdy enough to pull start on? I found the AJS stand while searching on the web. I might build my own stand out of 2x4 wood pieces.

 

[olds97_lss]

I don't know about the stuff in the bottle. But the stand is more solid than you would think. I've used it for break-in with my maxx.

I didn't use the dimensions that were on that site. I made mine a little narrower and a little shorter.