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My "Savage" Experience Part 1

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geardigger

RCTalk Racer
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Twin Cities
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Well, the past couple of weeks have been very interesting to say the least. It all started with finding out I had a broken back plate and a savage 25 that wont start for nothing. Sweetdiesel came to the rescue and sent me a working back plate and didnt charge me a dime for it! Mad props go out to sweetdiesel for this one! He truely saved my ass to say the least. Always nice to know there are really nice people out there willing to help those that need it. It will not be forgotten. HPI was sending me one out but they are back ordered and I may not see it until the end of summer they say.

So anywho, while I'm waiting for a backplate (from HPI) I decided I was going to clean up this bitch and do a couple of mods while I have it apart. The rear end got the 4 spider mod which went off without a hitch. I didnt do the front end because I didnt order enough parts (that will come soon enough). I also upgraded to a motor saver air filter.

One thing I will say is that I truely believe the only way to learn anything about your savage or any RC car or truck is take the damn thing apart and put it back together again!


Now after putting it back together (several times cause I did alot of poop wrong and missed some stuff) the darn thing still doesn't run. I think I must have missed something with the roto-start. At first it appeared that I had the one-way bearing on wrong because it was spinning freely when I tried starting it. I took the motor off again and turned it the other way and I am still finding the same thing. It just spins without turning the motor over at all.


Two weeks of hard work and numerous misc. parts and this heap of poop still does not run. I have given up. I can't take this anymore nor I am willing to drop any more money into it to get it to run. If there is anyone in the twin cities area that wants to look at it, that would be great. Otherwise I just done know what to do anymore...... :(
 
OK geardigger take a deep breath and calm down. I know it is frustarting sometimes in this hobby but you need some patience with nitros. That's why there is RCNT, we can help you if you want to be helped. First off, have you checked your one-way bearing for operation? When you have the rotostart backplate off, can you turn the one way bearing and crank the engine over by hand? If not then your one way may be shot. Or try cleaning it in some DA and see if it catches, sometimes it can get slippery from fuel. Try that and get back to us.
 
SD is right. Take a deep breath. Break the issues down into bite-sized pieces. Don't look at it as "I can't drive my POS truck"! Look at it as "What do I have to do to get the Roto-Start to crank"? That's all you need to focus on right now. First, in your other thread, we have established what direction the one way needs to work. It should catch when you turn it clockwise. So. Take the rotostart plate off the engine. Put the one-way on the shaft on the engine and turn it clockwise. If it spins freely, flip it and try again. If it still spins freely, do this. Take the glowplug out. Then turn the shaft by hand and make sure the engine internals are actually moving. If they are, there's a chance the one-way needs cleaning. If they're not, there's a chance that the mechanism that engages the rotostart system may have slipped and you'll need to take the backplate off and reset it.
One step at a time grasshopper. Small pieces and I bet we can have this thing up and running for you in no time. Keep us posted.
 
I have had the roto start off twice now. It catches when I turn it clockwise so I know thats right. I know the engine components spin freely and work properly as I have tested them many times.

What you said about the roto mechanism that catches the one-way bearing...How do you reset that?

Yes, this can be frustrating and I am trying to deal. But damn, this has been going on for awhile now..... If you guys think you can help me get this running I am willing to give it a go but let me go buy some more beer first! :cheers:
 
make sure the spring and pin are in the crank shaft (they may have fell out when you took the backplate off..) make sure the pin engages in the groove in the backplate.. i bet this is your problem.. i had the backplate screws backout on me and i droped the pin and spring befor i noticed it was there..
 
beason said:
make sure the spring and pin are in the crank shaft (they may have fell out when you took the backplate off..) make sure the pin engages in the groove in the backplate.. i bet this is your problem.. i had the backplate screws backout on me and i droped the pin and spring befor i noticed it was there..
Click to expand...

Fook me your right! I just found the pin but can't find the spring....what does it look like and how does it go back together?
 
there is a hole in the crank... the sping goes first (it may still be in there) and then the pin.. then the back plate.. make sure the plate engages the pin..
 
Well I'll be damned beason, that was it! I was kinds wondering what made the connection between the crank and the one-way.....


How dumb do I look now.... putting it back together now....I will keep this thread updated.
 
Man, you can't buy a break! Is your glow ignitor charged? Better check that while you're at it. Radio and receiver batteries fresh? Good fuel? Just tryin to help ya out. Mainly because I can't take all the suspense!
 
Well, it starts! It kinda runs. I have some tweaking of the needles to do again. It doesn't seem like its getting enough fuel. I started out with factory default needle settings but I think the motor saver is introducing more air than the stock one was so I have to figure out a new needle scheme that will work with this air filter!

On another note, the roto start works soooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than when it did brand new. I can also say that HPI put this thing together like crap! So many loose screws, crappy grease in the diff's, thread lock they use blows goats too.

Anywho, the roto start is charging again. I am going to let it fully charge this time around and play with it some more. I will update you all later on tonight!
 
See, it just takes time and patients to get these things running. Everyone has the un-lucky days where nothing works. I drove 30 min away for a bash only to have a locked up motor. Drive all the way home and realized theres a friggin' pebble jammed inbetween the flywheel and chassis on my old buggy! Then the ingintor ran out...man was I pissed lol. A lot of the time the radio doesn't work...these things are mechanical and have many moving parts so things are bound to wear out or break more often. Just stick with it...
 
See! Taking it one small problem at a time does bring solutions. So now the engine is running. That means you're mere inches from actually driving it again. Even if it seems that the truck isn't built all that good, it's still ready to go. Just wait until the engine is ripping. You'll forget this ever happened. Just get those needles set and you'll love it.
 
ok....here's the latest. It starts good now and after about 10 secs of idling "kinda high" it takes off and revs until the point that it switches into second gear and just keeps screaming. It doesn't die when it does this it just keeps screaming until I pinch the fuel line to kill it.


Ideas, comments, bad names? I'm up for it all right now.

Edit, right now my needles are pretty much at default settings. Should I be going richer because of the motorsaver?
 
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Sounds like there is something worng with your linkage or radio. how far open is the carb when the radio is at neutral? Even if it was a tad lean it shouldn't be able to get near shifting to second.

Also check you screwd your backplate down very tight, you don't want an airleak. If this problem continues it may be an airleak in which case you would need to seal it with RTV. My guess is the linkage though...let us know how it goes.
 
It still sounds like there's a hitch in there somewhere. It shouldn't start screaming and run high enough to shift gears when it's supposed to be idling. It still sounds like the engine is fuel-starved. Back to basics. HSN and LSN at factory settings. HSN at 4 1/2 turns from closed. LSN 3 turns from closed. And idle set so there's only a 1mm opening at idle. Double and triple check the idle. Make sure the throttle trim on the radio isn't holding the throttle open. Heck, at this stage I'd unhook the throttle linkage and operate the throttle by hand just to make sure. Hold that throttle closed to make sure the idle is down. If it still screams, try reducing the idle. Also, there is a possibility that there's a small obstruction somewhere in the carb. Just a hunch. Perhaps a small speck of plastic or something got in the HSN housing and is leaning the mix. Again, just a hunch.
 
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geardigger said:
Well I'll be damned beason, that was it! I was kinds wondering what made the connection between the crank and the one-way.....


How dumb do I look now.... putting it back together now....I will keep this thread updated.
Click to expand...

Holw do you think so many people knew you left out the pin? Cuz some of us have done it also. I did it in my T-Maxx once so don't feel too bad.
 

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