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helifrek

RC Newbie
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RC Driving Style
hey guys,
First time poster on this website, regular on RCG. I am not new to RC, been flying helis for 15 years or so and have had several t-maxxs. I just got what I considered to be a great deal, a 3.3 and 2.5 for $300 bucks! with plenty of spare parts. the 2.5 is waiting on a new clutch spring and a gear set for the transmission, it was stripped when I got it. anyways..... I don't plan on spending a ton of money on these things, so I am not going to put a new engine on 'em unless I have to. I have read a few nitro tuning guides and have done my best to tune the 3.3 correctly but I know it is still off and now I am burning up glow plugs, literally nothing left of the glow plug. I am going to take the engine apart and inspect it for damage and clean it, I don't know if I have been running it too lean or not. I am running 20% fuel and yesterday I ran it two tanks straight without slowing down and it was running pretty good but was idleing really high, I was away from the house and didn't have any tools so I just left it alone. It was in the 30s yesterday and I did not richen the engine, I drove it to the house and had the wife bring out my temp gun before I shut it off and it was reading about 320 at the head and around 280 down towards the base of the engine. today I went to start it and the glow plug light was not lighting up so i replaced it with a brand new traxxas heavy duty plug, I richened up the engine slightly and only got about half a tank until it blew the plug, and there is nothing left of the inside of the plug. I started to tune it at the recommened settings and thought I was doing good until today. also, it never seemed to have a ton of take off power, it wasn't able to pull the tires of the ground from a dead stop. anyways, I am not sure what to do other than start tuning it from scratch again. any advice is much appreciated. time to take this engine apart.

oh yeah, I don't know if I was running lean because there was plenty of smoke coming out of the exhaust and oil getting everywhere but also the plug doesn't looked fowled from running to rich. not sure what is going on. I am an electric guy :)
 
engine is apart and I think I found the problem.....

I am trying to upload pics but it's not working, the pics are too large. anyways, the lower half of the piston itself is broken off and has been chewed up by the engine. I have all the parts manuals on my computer but cannot find the 3.3 engine exploded parts diagram. anyone know where I can find it. thanks again.
 
I searched all over the site and couldn't find it, after alot of googling I finally found it. Is there anywhere that sells the piston and sleeve for cheaper than $50 ? that is the cheapest I have found it on ebay. thanks again.

Brandon
 
E-Bay will probably be the cheapest place for the parts, being as it broke and was chewed up you will REALLY want to check the bearings and crank for any damage. If they are damaged just replacing the piston and sleeve may be a waste, and it would be cheaper to get a new engine. You can do the trade up through Traxxas and get a 3.3 for $110 + $5 shipping. Not sure how you LHS works but mine doesn't do the power up, they just sell the 3.3 for $130, or just grab one from a RC chop shop on the bay, if you did that you would have a spare cooling head and case. You could just get the Dynamite .19, it's a drop in replacement and goes for $110.
 
Thanks guys,
Thats a tough call..... spend about $50 to fix the engine or for an extra $60-70 I could have a whole other engine that I could use and have spares. looking at some of the threads the dynamite seems like a better choice. I think I may just have to stick with helicopters, they cost more up front but they don't wear out as fast, unless you crash.... every rc car I have had just seems like a ton of work. If I completely refurbish each t-maxx what do you guys think they would be worth? I have a 2.5 and 3.3 both in pretty good shape, The 2.5 is completely torn down for inspection and for parts to be replaced. the 3.3 is about to get the same treatment. thanks again guys.

Brandon
 
Update:
Well, I finally got the 2.5 cleaned and put back together. I had to replace one of the gears in the transmission and replace some of the old bent hardware. After all that I took it out and cranked it up and it was doing great...... that is until I was going full throttle down the road and realized I had no control, stupid antenna :) stupid me...... I am so spoiled by 2.4 that I didn't think to pull the antenna out! it creamed head on into a telephone poll. Broke one of the grey pieces that hold the shock tower and the two grey pieces on the bottom of the chassis plate that hold the transmission in as well as bent the front part of the frame up a little..... so, now I have to order more parts! seems like I can't win. o-well, try try again. I'll get it back up and running soon. As for the 3.3, I did order a new piston and have gotten the motor mostly put back together, I have to rebuild the carb tomorrow
 

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