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Newbie first question, is my front engine bearing bad?

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Sage2k

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Hey guys

I just bought my first nitro r/c car, its a used traxxas revo 3.3.

I have only 2 tanks of fuel through it so far, been having some issues tuning it but i think its ok for now. Anyways the last time I had it running I noticed i felt some droplets of oil being slung at me. It feels like its coming from the flywheel area. Do you think it might be a bad bearing? (is that considered the front bearing or rear?) If i need to replace it, how do I go about doing so? Any special tricks in removing and installing that bearing? I been reading about sealing engines so If i have to remove the bearing I will go ahead and "seal" the engine while I'm at it. Any advice appreciated.
 
Could a leaky front bearing cause starting issues? I find the engine hard to start, but once I finally start it it runs pretty good.

Also they're like 30$, is it worth replacing an engine with unknown wear, or should I just trade the engine using the traxxas program and get a new one for 120$
 
olds97_lss said:
Is this your first nitro? If so, it could just be your starting technique giving you issues.
Click to expand...

Yah it is my first one. It seems like it floods easily. I tried leaning the LSN then I tried to richen it, it doesn't seem very consistant. Eventually seems like it hits a good spot then starts after a few pulls. Then if the truck dies due to running out of fuel, I fill it back up and its hard to start again.
 
Hard to start again may be due to you running it too hot. If you don't have a temp gun, get one. Generally engines like to run between 210F-275F. Any hotter/colder and they are hard starting or have short lives.
 
olds97_lss said:
Hard to start again may be due to you running it too hot. If you don't have a temp gun, get one. Generally engines like to run between 210F-275F. Any hotter/colder and they are hard starting or have short lives.
Click to expand...

It's also hard to start when cold. I'm getting a temp gun and also a new igniter.
Perhaps a weak igniter is making inital ignition too hard?
 
Sage2k said:
It's also hard to start when cold. I'm getting a temp gun and also a new igniter.
Perhaps a weak igniter is making inital ignition too hard?
Click to expand...

Are you priming the carb? If you run out of fuel, then you should prime the carb again. Especially if your using a pull start. It will start easier!
 
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Well my roommate brought home a temp gun, my truck was running around 295 degrees so i riched it up a bit, now its running around 235. Feels less powerful but oh well i guess safer this way. Tomorrow I'm getting more glow plugs for spares and a better igniter and we'll see what happens
 
Some engines like running as hot as 300 degrees, some not so hot. If you're seeing a power loss, you might lean it just a touch to get some power back. If there is blue smoke coming out the tail pipe, it should be running enough oil through the engine. There's a tuning series on YouTube that I found really helpful
 

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