California Help Tuning Engine in San Diego

[D3MON]

the bell gear is the gears mounted directly to the engine. the 3 mounted to the transmission are the spur gears.
for setting the mesh with paper you slide a piece of paper between the bell gears and the spur gears then hold the engine squarely against the spur gears semi tight. dont need to squeeze it.
to check spin the clutchbell and make sure that gears spin freely. also rock the clutchbell back and forth to make sure there is not too much slop!
the threads in the crank are super hardened typically and should be find. try threading a new bolt in to make sure that there is no binding or anything with the threads.

setting gear mesh is kind of a learned art. it will take a few tries (at least it does for me) to get it how i want it. you want just a little bit of slop enough where you can feel the gear rocks just a tad to where you can feel it but can hardly see it.
while rocking the bell gears make sure to hold the spurs solid so it doesn't rotate.

 

[josegarcia8578]

Thanks for the explanation. I did not know this was an issue, I noticed that the engine mounts have slots on the chassis, this makes sense. It seems that this can be used to move the engine closer or further from the spur gears when tuning the mesh. When I assembled, I thought it was just a plug and go. I need to be careful next time when I put the engine back on.

I removed the engine and an engineer at work helped me check the threads on the crankshaft. Like you said, the were fine. We ran a new bolt and applied thread locker to it. I will now have to until the new gears come in.

 

[D3MON]

Thanks for the explanation. I did not know this was an issue, I noticed that the engine mounts have slots on the chassis, this makes sense. It seems that this can be used to move the engine closer or further from the spur gears when tuning the mesh. When I assembled, I thought it was just a plug and go. I need to be careful next time when I put the engine back on.

I removed the engine and an engineer at work helped me check the threads on the crankshaft. Like you said, the were fine. We ran a new bolt and applied thread locker to it. I will now have to until the new gears come in.

I wish you speedy mail delivery! Yeah some manuals assume you know too much sometimes.
Glad you are getting it figured out! Nitro can definitely be frustrating at times, when you get it dialed in it is rewarding x10!

 

[cbaker65]

Another note ,as you wait for your gears ,you can go through ,an add loc-tite to the areas needed ,usually it is
metal to metal parts that are screwed together!...

 

[Rolex]

Once your engine has been through its break-in you should NEVER go back to factory settings. That just makes it filthy rich on both needles and you'll have a very difficult time getting it started. If it ran the last time you used it then you know you're already really close to where it's supposed to be. Adding a little trim to the throttle will help it start cold and leaving the glow plug on for half a minute will also help keep it running while it warms up.

 

[josegarcia8578]

@D3MON , @cbaker65 : Thanks, parts should be Monday. I will put it back together then, I'll probably reach out. I learned a lot about drivetrains tha ks to you guys. I appreciate it. It has been a painful road, but I have learned a lot. And when I had it turned, it was a blast!

@Rolex That makes sense. What do you recommend doing? I didn't write down the tune. I took pictures.

 

[cbaker65]

@D3MON , @cbaker65 : Thanks, parts should be Monday. I will put it back together then, I'll probably reach out. I learned a lot about drivetrains tha ks to you guys. I appreciate it. It has been a painful road, but I have learned a lot. And when I had it turned, it was a blast!

@Rolex That makes sense. What do you recommend doing? I didn't write down the tune. I took pictures.

Can you remember roughly how many turns in that you put on the Hsn. ,if so ,you can start there ,then once you get to were
it stays running ,you can tune it a little bit more ,most of your tune should be on the Hsn. ,you should only have to tune the
Lsn. only slightly for idle an quick throttle response!

Now ,when you make changes on the Hsn. ,your engine should increase in RPM's when it should be idling ,there at that time ,
maybe when you can slightly open the Lsn. to calm the engine back down to counter react of the leaning of the Hsn.!

You can do this while you wait for your part ,but make sure that you keep the bell on the engine to keep the clutch
shoes covered if you do start it ,you can do a rough tune ,then when you get your parts in an on your truck ,the truck
would be ready to tune while running it around!...

 

[josegarcia8578]

@D3MON : how does this fit seem to you?

 

[josegarcia8578]

I used a piece of paper in between the gears:

 

[D3MON]

that seems very loose, it looks like the larger clutchbell/smaller pinion was tight and the smaller clutchbell/smaller pinion were loose, like it went in a little crooked. the gears should almost be tight against each other. just enough gap that it spins freely but no more. id try another time and try to make sure the engine as as straight as possible in line.

 

[D3MON]

the center of the teeth should be what is impacting, on every bell. ill try to post a pic of what mine looks like when i get home, those multi-gear clutchbells are frustrating to get the mesh correct on.

 

[josegarcia8578]

@D3MON I see what you are seayong. It's even visible on the piece of paper! Let me try again!

 

[D3MON]

like i said it still takes me a few tries sometimes. ill usually tighten motor mount screws across from each other then check the mesh, if it tightened up too much or loosened up then i just undo the two screws and try again. you really just want to make sure that it spins freely.

 

[D3MON]

found this pic online, should give you an idea of what it should be across all gears.

 

[josegarcia8578]

@D3MON what do you think? I think it looks better

 

[josegarcia8578]

Think I can make it tighter?

 

[D3MON]

Yes that I can tell, l looks like the tips of teeth are all that is going to be contacting

 

[D3MON]

should be able to slip a piece of paper in the outer gear (first gear) and seperate slip of paper in the innermost (3rd gear). I've only had to do a 2 speed setup similar to this and more or less what i did anyway. typically i hold the truck sideways while setting mesh, one hand on the motor and the other for snugging up the screws to get the mesh. but on yours it may be easier to set it on the bumper as all my trucks are transverse transmissions with the motor sitting crosswise to the vehicle not longwise.

 

[josegarcia8578]

Thanks for the help @D3MON.i appreciate it. This is tricky. Check my last try:

 

[josegarcia8578]

Image