Need help getting my Duratrax Street Pro GP to run again after a long long time.

[justcallmemind]

I have a 2000-2001 Duratrax Street Pro GP that I’ve been trying to get running for the past week. I started off with a new glow plug and I freed the engine up. Now I’m having trouble getting it started and I have no clue why. I’m pretty sure the engine isn’t flooded (I’ve drained it several times) and it’s getting gas I believe. I took my air filter off and put fuel in to make sure it was getting fuel and now it has gotten a little harder to pull start, so I drained it again, and again, and again, until I was sure it wasn’t flooded. It’s only hard to pull when the glow plug is on and before this it had healthy compression but still wouldn’t start. I’m out of ideas, if I can’t get it running I’ll just switch it to electric. I’m also new to this so bare with me.

 

[tudordewolf]

Nitro can be tricky to get started, especially if you're new to it. The biggest help would be preheating the engine, with a blow dryer or heat gun if you have one on hand. I just blow the hot air down through the cooling head, this was I'm also not applying direct heat to any of the plastic/rubber/silicone components. The other thing to try might be increasing the setting on the idle screw (turning it clockwise a little bit) to give the engine more air to start with.

 

[justcallmemind]

Nitro can be tricky to get started, especially if you're new to it. The biggest help would be preheating the engine, with a blow dryer or heat gun if you have one on hand. I just blow the hot air down through the cooling head, this was I'm also not applying direct heat to any of the plastic/rubber/silicone components. The other thing to try might be increasing the setting on the idle screw (turning it clockwise a little bit) to give the engine more air to start with.

Would any of that have something to do with the sudden difficulty the pull start is having?

 

[tudordewolf]

Would any of that have something to do with the sudden difficulty the pull start is having?

That suggests that the engine is flooding. When you drained it, what did you do? To clear a flooded engine, you need to remove the glow plug, hold the car upside down, and pull the pull start a few times. Then replace the glow plug (make sure you haven't lost the copper washer, it's important) and try to start it again.

 

[cbaker65]

Would any of that have something to do with the sudden difficulty the pull start is having?

If the engine wasn't properly tuned an the idle gap set right to begin with ,then yes on
on what was said!..

 

[justcallmemind]

That suggests that the engine is flooding. When you drained it, what did you do? To clear a flooded engine, you need to remove the glow plug, hold the car upside down, and pull the pull start a few times. Then replace the glow plug (make sure you haven't lost the copper washer, it's important) and try to start it again.

That’s exactly what I did

 

[cbaker65]

I have a 2000-2001 Duratrax Street Pro GP that I’ve been trying to get running for the past week. I started off with a new glow plug and I freed the engine up. Now I’m having trouble getting it started and I have no clue why. I’m pretty sure the engine isn’t flooded (I’ve drained it several times) and it’s getting gas I believe. I took my air filter off and put fuel in to make sure it was getting fuel and now it has gotten a little harder to pull start, so I drained it again, and again, and again, until I was sure it wasn’t flooded. It’s only hard to pull when the glow plug is on and before this it had healthy compression but still wouldn’t start. I’m out of ideas, if I can’t get it running I’ll just switch it to electric. I’m also new to this so bare with me.View attachment 165334

What I see in your pic ,the HSN needle looks to be closed off try opening it up 2 turns counter clockwise!..

 

[Defiant]

Also make sure to try another new glow plug, just because it glows when hooked to an igniter doesn’t guarantee it’s a good plug.

And definitely sounds like you’re getting too much fuel, it’s easier to work with too little fuel and then make adjustments rather than to work with too much and have to clear a flooded engine every time.

 

[gandalfnz]

What I see in your pic ,the HSN needle looks to be closed off try opening it up 2 turns counter clockwise!..

Good spot, that HSN def looks to be all the way in, if so you will not get any fuel to enter the engine, set it flush with the housing, then give some throttle trim or increase idle gap and try again.

 

[dasrcparts]

Dont break the pullstart mechanism lol they are difficult to find

 

[justcallmemind]

Dont break the pullstart mechanism lol they are difficult to find

I did recently, but I found a $8 one on Amazon that works perfectly

 

[justcallmemind]

Good spot, that HSN def looks to be all the way in, if so you will not get any fuel to enter the engine, set it flush with the housing, then give some throttle trim or increase idle gap and try again.

I’m kinda confused on what you mean. Could you simplify it for me?

 

[gandalfnz]

The little brass round housing in the middle by the air filter, its houses your High Speed Needle (HSN).
It seems that its turned in too much (clockwise).
A good starting (Factory) setting for HSN is to be flush with the top of the housing, so unscrew it, until it sits flush, then try and start the engine.
Do the same with LSN if it doesn't start, or you can't see fuel entering the carb by looking at the fuel line.

 

[justcallmemind]

View attachment 165568

The little brass round housing in the middle by the air filter, its houses your High Speed Needle (HSN).
It seems that its turned in too much (clockwise).
A good starting (Factory) setting for HSN is to be flush with the top of the housing, so unscrew it, until it sits flush, then try and start the engine.
Do the same with LSN if it doesn't start, or you can't see fuel entering the carb by looking at the fuel line.

That just flooded the engine

 

[gandalfnz]

That just flooded the engine

The key is to prime the engine without flooding it.
That's good, at least now you know the HSN is not closed all the way in, or clogged.
Remove the glow plug, engine upside down, tug the pull start a few times, excess fuel will come out.
Try to start it, if engine still too tight, loosen the glow plug just a tad, then try again.

 

[justcallmemind]

The key is to prime the engine without flooding it.
That's good, at least now you know the HSN is not closed all the way in, or clogged.
Remove the glow plug, engine upside down, tug the pull start a few times, excess fuel will come out.
Try to start it, if engine still too tight, loosen the glow plug just a tad, then try again.

Good news, after I in flooded it I set it back to 2 and it turned over for a second, then died again, it won’t turn over again. Any recommendations?

 

[gandalfnz]

Good news, after I in flooded it I set it back to 2 and it turned over for a second, then died again, it won’t turn over again. Any recommendations?

You set it back to 2? What does that mean, 2 turns out from fully closed?
That means that some fuel entered the engine and it wants to start, but if you screwed it back in like it was before, it is now deprived of fuel again...

 

[justcallmemind]

You set it back to 2? What does that mean, 2 turns out from fully closed?
That means that some fuel entered the engine and it wants to start, but if you screwed it back in like it was before, it is now deprived of fuel again...

Oh, I thought lol I managed to get it to start a couple times but I had to prime it after every time for it to do it again so I think you are right. And yes, 2 turns from fully closed. That is what is recommended in the manual but I’m afraid that opening it up will flood it out every time, is it recommended to keep it open or is that to just check for pressure?

 

[gandalfnz]

Oh, I thought lol I managed to get it to start a couple times but I had to prime it after every time for it to do it again so I think you are right. And yes, 2 turns from fully closed. That is what is recommended in the manual but I’m afraid that opening it up will flood it out every time, is it recommended to keep it open or is that to just check for pressure?

Manual states 2 turns out from fully closed? Weird, usually its flush with the housing.
The only logical think I could suggest is to give it another turn out, so 3 in total and try again.
Give it a bit throttle via Throttle trim button on the remote, not too much, as you don't want it taking off...
Maybe post a video, if possible.

 

[dasrcparts]

Theres clearly something wrong besides just tuning. I have ran many sfgp's and even with the mixture screws way off they still ran and did not flood. Pull the carburetor off and inspect.