Picco .26 Carnage....

[Bill Hoskinson]

Well, the joy of owning a Picco .26 was short lived. Tank #10, with the engine running as rich as I could tune it without it blubbering, or fouling glow plugs, it made excellent HP, but the Connecting Rod broke today, ruining the crank. The piston and sleeve aren't hurt, but the rod is in a bunch of pieces and it tore up the rod journal on the crank.

I sent an e mail to Werks to ask if they would help me with some parts under warranty, but I seriously doubt they will do anything for me.

Just curious if anyone else has had this problem with thier Picco .26 or Orion .26.

It made awesome power, for a short time.

 

[olds97_lss]

Sorry, no. But a friend of mine had the exact same thing happen with is OS 21 RG-X(P).

Except when his conrod broke, it shattered the piston and bent the sleeve.

He was also probably about a quart into the life of the engine. Had just broken it in the week before.

The only difference between his and my trucks engines were the fuel we used. I use trinity mhp 20%. He was using traxxas top fuel 10%. Otherwise, we broke in exactly the same (i did it for him, or at least was there and helped him). Mine is starting gallon 3 (as soon as it warms up a tad). he's just starting gallon 2 on his new engine.

Needless to say, he changed to trinity mhp 20% as well.

What fuel were you running?

 

[Bill Hoskinson]

Red Alert by Duratrax. I broke in my stock engine on the same fuel, and it hasn't given any problems. I dont know what the % of oil is in it, but it seems to have a fairly high oil content. Its always leaving alot of oil on the ground, and the thing was smoking like a frieght train when it blew up.

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

Almost any time I hear of something like this happening it is due to a 'factory faulty con-rod'. Like I said, just most. I would call the manufacturer and see what they have to say.

Thos parts should just come apart during break-in. I know O.S. would have more than likely replaced the parts for free. You just have to send them the mill and wait, and wait.

Good luck man!

I have 2 Picco .26's and have not had a problem (except for excess gasket rubber in the needle valves which I took care of before it seen fuel). I love the power of this mill. Almost too much.

 

[BWild97]

I also have a Picco.26 on gallon #2 and haven't had any problems. Maybe the super rich condition caused it to hydro-lock which caused the conrod to break?

 

[Bill Hoskinson]

I dunno........

This is the first time I have ever broken a connecting rod, and I've had a ton of trucks and buggys.

I put the stocker back in it for now till I get the parts to rebuild the .26 this week.

Hey Christian.....

Do you have pull starts on your Picco .26's or do you use a roto start set up?

I bought a roto start back plate for an Ofna Force .26 on e bay, and the guy said it should work on my Picco without an adapter. I found out it will NOT work without some sort of spacer, or adapter.......

Can ya help me out on this one? I hope I dont need that spring from the pull start, because I lost it somewhere... You know how that goes.

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

Yes, roto start.

You will only need a bearring.''I have mine out now so I can check the size.

I believe its a 9x12

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Hey Bill,

That definitely sounds like a defective factory con-rod. I've run plenty of those engines now with nothing but great results. If you make a big fuss they should take care of you (hopefullY0.

Peace

 

[Bill Hoskinson]

Just thought I would let you guys know......

I did send an e mail to Werks, and they asked if my engine had a pull start, or a roto start back plate.

I sent them pics of the engine. The rod bushing is still in one piece, and was still on the rod journal when I took it apart.

I dunno what caused this deal..... This is a first for me, as I have never, ever, broken a rod, or blew up a nitro engine. Even when I tried to blow up an old TRX .15.:radio:

I'll keep you guys posted on what happens. It would be nice if they would replace the engine, but I won't hold my breath.:coffee:

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Hey Bill,

I hope they take care of ya bro as 10 tanks is just getting broken in, that's rediculous..not even close to a gallon (LOL). If they don't take care of ya their never going to get any buisness from my bash buddies and I.

Peace

 

[Bill Hoskinson]

Thanks man......

The guy from Werks that I have been e mailing back and forth asked me to send all my parts in for them to look at, so I'm going to do that tomorrow.

I bet they take care of it.. This guy has been really cool about things so far.

Man this pulls some serious vacuum...... That thing made awesome power.:trashed:

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Bill -

FYI, On most of those engines I've seen a noticable increase in power after a good gallon or so (like many IME). That's become my hands down favorite mill. I got to drive a buddies Mod'd Wasp .26 (clone to the Picco) and it was just insanely fast man. Actually, it was a little to much power for a daily driver (LOL). You'd barely tap the throttle off the line and it would flip on it's lid with 73/20 gearing:OMG:

EDIT - An MGT with engine should kick some serious ass.

Peace

 

[Bill Hoskinson]

Well, THEY TOOK CARE OF IT!!!! WERKS <---:bow:

I e mailed Werks Racing from thier web site, and had a reply the next day.

I spoke with Eric from Werks Racing, and he asked that I send my parts into them for them to inspect, and make a descision on weather or not they would replace any parts under warranty or not.

I mailed the parts to them on Tuesday, and today (Friday) I recieve a call from Eric at Werks to tell me my replacement parts would be in the mail to me today, FREE OF CHARGE.

I am a VERY happy camper! IMO, WERKS customer service is VERY GOOD, and they stand behind thier products.

If you are in the market for a .26, I would highly recommend a Werks Picco .26.:winnar: