Picco red dot junk

[bigbronco]

Well, I now have lost pretty much all my respect for the picco brand. i have two picco engines, one a MAX .21 and the other a .26 MAX JL RED DOT. The .21 has some major leaks that i can't seem to get sealed, but thats not the issue, i got that one used. The big dealk is the red dot. The red dot litterally just fell outta my engine. WTF?? whats worse is that we called OFNA to ask what could be wrong with the engine before we took it apart and told them we were getting red silicone type material on the glow plug and they just smartly replied "how did you break it in? it has to be on pavement and your connecting rod is ruined". Well, according to thier manual it doesn't, and no it isnt. they said they wouldn't honor the warranty so we took the engine down and found that the "putty" they use in the crank came out and appart. now i have an engine that is less than a stellar performer for the money i had to pay and WAIT 3 weeks to get. what a let down. Thanks for letting me vent guys.....

 

[ckeast420]

Well, I now have lost pretty much all my respect for the picco brand. i have two picco engines, one a MAX .21 and the other a .26 MAX JL RED DOT. The .21 has some major leaks that i can't seem to get sealed, but thats not the issue, i got that one used. The big dealk is the red dot. The red dot litterally just fell outta my engine. WTF?? whats worse is that we called OFNA to ask what could be wrong with the engine before we took it apart and told them we were getting red silicone type material on the glow plug and they just smartly replied "how did you break it in? it has to be on pavement and your connecting rod is ruined". Well, according to thier manual it doesn't, and no it isnt. they said they wouldn't honor the warranty so we took the engine down and found that the "putty" they use in the crank came out and appart. now i have an engine that is less than a stellar performer for the money i had to pay and WAIT 3 weeks to get. what a let down. Thanks for letting me vent guys.....

Thats just crazy..there no logical reason for there to be any type of "putty" inside of a engine!

 

[bigbronco]

They say the putty is a filler from the crank being lightend or some crap, it supposed to be worth another 2000 rpm and .2 hp. still crappy

---------- Post added at 11:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 AM ----------

oh yeah, the other picco .21 we talked about last week is still screwin up. think i am going to sell it as junk and buy an lrp or sumthin

 

[ckeast420]

that is just stupid man....putty on the crank?....seriously....go back to the drawing board ofna

 

[Snook Man]

that is just stupid man....putty on the crank?....seriously....go back to the drawing board ofna

Most likely it is epoxy, not putty. Many stock engines have the crankshaft epoxied to smooth out the flow of fuel which produces more power.
Many engine modifiers do this to cranks that are not epoxied as well.

Several things can lead to the epoxy coming loose. Excessive heat, not adheared well to start with, and using an ARO not compatible with the type of epoxy.

 

[ckeast420]

Most likely it is epoxy, not putty. Many stock engines have the crankshaft epoxied to smooth out the flow of fuel which produces more power.
Many engine modifiers do this to cranks that are not epoxied as well.

Several things can lead to the epoxy coming loose. Excessive heat, not adheared well to start with, and using an ARO not compatible with the type of epoxy.

I've rebuilt nitro engines and I've never seen any epoxy
I've never owned a picco tho (wouldnt want too for there prices!)

 

[bigbronco]

OK, the stuff they call putty is mor like orange RTV, feels like rubber. the engine was never over heated. it only has about half a gallon through it. the point is they acted as if i were stupid. i may not be an rc guru, but i know the difference in red stuff on the plug and a connecting rod hanging out of the block

 

[ckeast420]

Yea i hate customer support reps some times man...they act like they got a chip on there shoulder!

You didnt seal the carb and get some down in the internals of the engine did ya?

 

[Racer 1966]

I've rebuilt atleast 10 nitro engines and I've never seen any epoxy
I've never owned a picco tho (wouldnt want too for there prices!)

You haven't been in many good engines then. I have to agree with snook man's post.

OP: How about some pics of the engine internals? I can't believe Ofna didn't at least want you to send it in for evaluation. I'd call and talk to a different rep and try again for the warranty.

 

[ckeast420]

You haven't been in many good engines then. I have to agree with snook man's post.

OP: How about some pics of the engine internals? I can't believe Ofna didn't at least want you to send it in for evaluation. I'd call and talk to a different rep and try again for the warranty.

Mostly 3.3s!.....and +1 on talking to another rep

 

[bigbronco]

The rep told me they only honor there parts for 30 days. it took almost that long to get the thing... the engine is back together now though

 

[REVO-5309]

Call picco racing them selves....

 

[Extreme RC Mods]

Just clean it all out and it will be fine. I have ramped many engines in the past and never had a single issue with the filler I use coming out. I can understand your frustration but saying that picco is junk is a little harsh, I've seen it happen to the best of them. Here is a picture of one of my filled cranks and what it's supposed to look like.

 

[2revo1maxx]

The picco carbs are known for leaking where composite and aluminum meet, some lucky seven will fix that.
As for the .26 problem, I find that the .26 max is more than enough power and has been very reliable too.

 

[Extreme RC Mods]

They have revised the carbs, at least on the .28's, there are no more leak issues that I have heard of for quite some time now. You can also compensate for the lost plug by running a good pipe, with a better pipe you won't notice any difference due to the better "tuned" effect the pipe will have on the engine including crank case pressure.

 

[Extreme RC Mods]

One other thing, ofna is just a distributor, they do not make picco engines, they are imported from Italy directly to ofna for distribution. It may be hard to talk to picco directly and ofna can be a little... sometimes. Good luck.

 

[2revo1maxx]

Yeah Robin I was referring to the .21max and .26max carbs. Glad to hear they've done something about it.

 

[bigbronco]

Robin, it has one of your pipes on it now! lol I am having the hardest of times finding o-rings for the 21 carb. I really hate to keep putting money in this .21 especially if i dont need to, wish i could send it to somebody that knew what they were looking at......

---------- Post added at 5:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 5:54 PM ----------

Oh, one more thing, i know calling the picco "junk" is harsh, but this makes two that i am having problems with. just not having much luck i rekon.

 

[sv250]

You need to talk to Robin about checking it out for you. It would be a good idea to have an expert check the internals and fill the crank again for you.

 

[Extreme RC Mods]

I can do that if you want, just hit me up in pm or email me, I could easily put a plug back in that I guarantee won't fall out. Are the engines still tight or have they loosened up? Until the pitch loosens up they can be very hard to get a solid tune, it's just part of running an engine with high grade internals.