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Motor longevity

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M

Morpheus

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Since I'm new to the hobbie, I was curious about motor longevity in general. I realize that a whole lot plays into motors wearing out such as how you use, how much you play with it, etc. Question is, just generally speaking, how long are motors usually good for? Maybe 10 gallons? 20? Years? Assuming, that everything stays tuned well, and I run into no major issues, how often will I be replacing the motor from just wear and tear? I don't race, and don't plan to, just a 3 or 4 time a week basher. Thanks.

T.
 
actually if you want to keep your engine that you have you can just rebuild it with a new piston and sleeve and just break it in again like its a new motor, and alot of it depends on how you have it tuned i have had my picco .26 and i have run about 2 gallons through it and it needs rebuilt and it's my fault that it needs rebuilt already. I started leaning it out WAYYYY too soon and now my piston and sleeve are shot, but generally speaking i would say that they would last about 5 or 6 gallons before you need to rebuild, i don't know how accurate that is but thats just a guess. But depending on how you take care of it, i:e, after run procedures, good tune and waiting to tune it till it warms up will also help with the life of the engine
 
Wow! I would have thought they would have lasted longer than that! Are they pretty easy to rebuild?? Also, does the T-Maxx come with a 2.5 motor or a 2.5R?

T.
 
T Maxx's have come with pro .15, 2.5, 2.5r and currently 3.3's. These engines are very simple to rebuild. Just takes patience the first time. Having an exploded view of the engine would help ya.
 
Italian engines will go 10-12 gallons with proper care. The only way this will happen is if you change the engine bearings as needed. Bearing life depends on ABEC and CLASS rating. The higher the better usually. Ceramics are king for all engines. They rotate much freere and truer. A new conrod will be needed around 6 gallons roughly. Most recommend changing the conrod after breakin, which can take 1-2 gallons. breakin is really rough on the rods. Novarossi, Axe Rossi, Picco, JP are a few examples. These are race engines, with high compression ratios and are started with a bump start box, which can be rough on the engine bearings if not done properly. These also turn 40K rpm's! So add all that up, and you see why they need bearings and rods even though they are made from better materials and better manufacturing tolerances.
Yor basic RTR engine won't last as long. Sometimes they do, but it's very rare.
They are not held to very high manufacturing tolerances, no two will run the same or last as long. They need beariings immediately after breakin IMO. The bearings are such poor quality that some are worthless out of the box. Axial is one I feel is a good example.
I have seen two Axials last 9-10 gallons, but these were ones the factory actually got right. i had 4 that ran hot and performed poor, one of those the main bearing fell aprt during a 1 gallon check. I got lucky, if I had ran it one more tank it would have been a complete disaster.
Biggest factors are proper breakin and tuning. Good fuel with a heat cycle breakin is the keys to an engine that astounds the average basher's expectations. I have had several 100 dollar engines that with no modification would kill 300-400 dollar engines, just because I have done my homework and had many good tutors along the way.

Traxxas engines are throw awys IMO. 4 gasllons is the average life span with good tuning and no parts replacement.
Save your cash and buy an O.S. 21 TM and enjoy a nice running quality engine.
 
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So that's why my 3.3's eat crank bearings....LOL. I've routinely had to change them at 1-2 gallons. I started doing that after my second one got bad and ruined my piston and sleeve. Needless to say, I've moved on.
 
Anytime you replace a main bearing, you need to do the front bearing at the same time. If either one goes bad, it kills the other quickly.
 
I've had many engines over the years and have only had a few long enough that they actually wore out. Both were OS low end engines. OS21RG and OS15CV-R(X). Both lasted 10+ gallons before they needed a pinch. I have 14 now on the OS21RG after a pinch at 11 or 12 gallons. I have replaced the bearings once, a crank shaft once and 2 OWB's.

My current engines are a TRX 2.5R and two LRP28S3's. My one LRP is around 5 gallons and running strong, my second is probably around 3 gallons and running better every day. The 2.5R only has a 1 - 1.5 gallons on it maybe and I've replaced the crank case 3 times so far... stupid jato keeps snapping the mounting ears off.

I have an XTM 24.7 I run as my winter engine in my savage (vs the LRP28S3) and it only has a couple gallons on it but the pinch is worn enough to where you barely feel it when cold with the glowplug out.

I also have a OS 18TM that has probably 6 gallons on it and it ran strong until I busted the ear off of it as well in my jato. It's in a drawer now with a new crank case waiting for me to buy something that I can put it in that won't break it... kind of thinking of getting a revo again...
 
I agree with what Scrogg said. My first three engines were all cheao rtr mills that didn't last very long at all. My fault completely since I didn't have any one around telling me to not over lean the engines, and to run the engine dry when done and turn piston to BDC.

Now I have all Italian mills and loving it. 10 gallons or more is not uncommon in high quality mills. The first engine I wore out was a STS .21. Only thing I changed on that one was the bearings, and that one lasted me 11 gallons.

A buddy of mine got 20 gallons on his BP engine before it ingested sand. It could easily have made another couple of gallons.
 
Sounds like it's not a bad idea to install quality bearings in a new rtr mill. Like a 3.3 trx for example. I realize this is not what a new comer wants to do when it's their first rc. For someone with some experience, this is not a daunting task for some added longevity. A 3.3 with some ceramic bearings and the after market con rod would probably make for a good running, long lasting engine.
 
yeah I bought some no name cheapos for one of my 3.3's a while back, they had 2 more balls than stock and lasted about 5-6 gallons. I'm going to buy ceramic from here on out.
 
All this sounds great, but I have no idea about half the stuff yall are talking about! LOL! RTR mill?? Ceramic bearings??? I know what bearings are, don't get me wrong, but ceramic bearings? Yall will have to shed some light for me.

T.
 
Rtr mill= The engine that comes in ready to run vehicles is usually of less quality then a race engine. The cheap compared to the expensive. Ceramic bearings roll on ceramic balls rather than steel or alloy balls.
 
Cool. So the OWB is recommended to change out with Ceramic bearings? Also, what are some good decent upgrades in terms of just making it a stronger drive train?? Like for instance, I'm looking into changing the spur gear out to an aluminum one, only because I just prefer gears to be metal. But what else would be a good upgrade choice? Remember to make it as plain as possible, not up to speed with all the "technical terms" related to everything, but I'm working on it.

T.
 
You don't want an aluminum spur. They just send the shock from the drivetrain into the tranny. Spurs are plastic to be a weal link. It's easier to change a spur than to split the tranny open. Spurs last a long time when they're meshed right.
 
No one makes a ceramic one way, those are needle bearings. Ceramics have to be kept clean, one spec of dirt gets to it and it will ruin it. Otherwise they are superior in every way.
Good quality bearings free up horse power and RPM's. LRP's need bearings @ 5 gallons no if's ands or buts. I would not chance it. Got my bud's LRP sitting in a bag, main bearing failed and destroyed the rod. Scarred up the block some too.
Go to www.bocabearings.com and read up.
 

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