Need help please...

[ALPHA]

Hi,

I got an HPI Firestorm the other day and it's great. I took it out for a spin today with my friend, near his house, and we did some got it tuned in nicely. After we finished of the 4th tank of fuel, we packed up and left. However, when I got home, I realized that my air filter was missing! I don't know when I lost it because it was there the last time it took the body off.

I don't know how long the filter was off for, it must have been about 2 minutes or so.

What do you advise? Should I clean the carb and engine, or should it be okay?

I've got my friend out there looking for the filter right now.

Thanks.

 

[olds97_lss]

Well... if it were me, I'd fully dismantle the engine and clean it out with DA (denatured alcohol), lube it with ARO really well (all contact points and the bearings), then hope for the best after sealing it up and putting it back together.

Can you see any dust/dirt residue down the throat of the carb?

 

[ALPHA]

Yeah, I can see dirt in it...

Thanks for the advise.

 

[flandersander]

Yeah clean it out REALLY well. Like olds said.

 

[olds97_lss]

Yeah, I can see dirt in it...

Then definitely tear it down and clean it. I'd also take the carb completely apart and clean it out and lube the slide as well.

It takes very little grit to grind these engines to bits. With the RPM's that they run, 30,000 scratches show up with one grain of dust within a minute of running.

 

[ALPHA]

I found my air filter yesterday and cleaned the engine and carb out last night. It was pretty grungy, found a twig about an inch long in the carb!

Anyway, I'm gonna fire it up right now so I'll see if it works. Thanks for the input.

 

[BOUTCH]

...You had a twig in the carb? DAMN!!! Really was time to clean!!:spit:

 

[ALPHA]

Update:

I took your advice, and I've stripped down the engine and carb and cleaned them, they are now debris free.

However, I'm having issues still, the engine keeps stalling on me. I can get it running fairly easily, but after a few seconds or a little bit of throttle, it dies. One thing I have noticed is it quite often stall right as I pull the glow igniter out of the heat-sink.

I have double checked the carb and engine, drive-train seems to be fine. I'm at a loss.

Thanks.

 

[h8z2luze]

sounds like maybe your tuning is off again since you dismantled everything... but I'm a noob so i dunno lol.

 

[flandersander]

newb here too but thats what it sounds like to me. Maybe go back to factory settings and retune from there.

 

[Rolex]

Stalling when you take the igniter off the glow plug is a sign that the LSN is too rich. Lean it about 1/8 turn and try again.

 

[olds97_lss]

It's either a sign that your a bit rich as Rolex suggested or that your GP is no longer working as it should. Even though they glow red it doesn't mean they are good. If you have a new one laying around, give it a go if tuning it a bit doesn't seem to help.

 

[ALPHA]

Okay, thanks guys. I forgot to mention that however I tune it, it still stalls. I tinkered for about 3 hours trying to tune it right, but it kept stalling. I'll try a new plug and tune from there.

 

[Cupooterluvr]

If even a little dirt got in there while the engine was still spinning, the sleeve could be ruined. That would explain the stalling problem.

Captain obvious I know but I'm surprised nobody said anything before... lol