Problems with my RS4 TYPE SS engine...

[yup5588]

I finally got my first nitro car and I can't wait to tear up a parking lot or two with my buddies.... but I got an engine problem.

I couldn't get it started for the life of me; I figured it was flooded because the glow plug was fine and a few other trouble shooting steps I did checked out.

So I proceded to drain the engine as per the instructions and re-primed it. When I started to pull the cord again it was very resistant so I opened up the screw on the carb and tried again; this time it almost started but the cord was so easy to pull that I pulled too far and now it won't recoil.

Any ideas on how to fix it?? Do you think that my engine could be damaged now?? I figure that maybe the recoil spring came undone inside the pull start but I want to wait and get some recommendations for a first timer before I begin to operate.

I was also thinking that I should just take it in to my LHS for checking.

Any help will be big help.
Thanx

 

[Nitroaddict]

yup - is this your first nitro car? or do u have some experience? i dont want to over talk or under talk to you. As per the starter cord, yes, u pulles it out too far, and unwound the spring. It is possible to fix it, but it takes hours, and is most likely the worst thing to ever do, man it sucks. You can get a new pull starter for about 25.00 and i think it is well worth it, rather than repairing the older one. As for your starting problems, this comes up alot, and you have to remember 1 thing. There are only 4 things that make a nitro engine run: fuel, air, combustion, compression. Thats it. So just check them one at a time in this order. fuel - can u physically see the fuel traveling through the line from the tank into the carb? if not, replace the fuel line. still nothing? then richen your carb. okay? doesn't start? move on to second step. combustion - check the glow plug, does it glow bright and hot? is it the right plug for the engine? if all is okay, move on. Compression - when u turn the flywheel over, does it have a resistance? yes? move on. Air - when u remove the air filter, do u have a 1mm opening at idle in the carb? no? readjust the idle set screw. If all this is okay, then it can only be ONE THING. the fuel air mixture. start from the factory break in settings and lean the HSN 1/16 of a turn. this is not the exact setting the maufacturer wants u to start at, but sometimes the factory settings are soo rich that it is tough to get started.

BTW- I dont know if you bidget will allow it, but if it does, purchase a starter box, it makes life soooo much easier. good luck!

- Anthony

 

[Somers Racing]

Hey, I was right about the recoil spring.I agree with Nitro said. Try adjusting the needles. If you want, go to your hobby shop and ask them to do a engine tune up or setup so you can start to run the car. Make sure you are there to watch incase you have this problem again.
Peter
Regards...

 

[yup5588]

It's almost up and running....

Well yesterday I had it going; FINALLY.

I had the car up and running but the idle was still too high so I was adjusting it. Over the course of me setting it up I had it running about 4 times without stalling but the idle being at a very high speed. To stop the engine I blocked the air filter and after each stop it was just a total pain to start it up again.

To get it to start again I did all the steps to unflood the engine, which I thought I did in the process of trying to start it, and as I was doing that some very thick liquid was dripping out of the exhaust stinger. Any ideas on what that was??

Anyways ... I got it up again; I ran out the gas tank to stop the car this time and went to make a few adjustments to the engine again and then went to start it up .... guess what?? YUP.... wouldn't start again. Why is that??

Should I have not cut off the air flow to stop the engine??
Also, when in idle the tires are still spinning a little.
Should they be completly free from spin and idle (as I imagine they should be)??

Any help you guys can give would be great. I can't wait to get her up and running again.
Thanx.
PS: Sorry for the long post pps:

 

[Nitroaddict]

Re: It's almost up and running....

Originally posted by yup5588

1. To stop the engine I blocked the air filter and after each stop it was just a total pain to start it up again.

2. some very thick liquid was dripping out of the exhaust stinger. Any ideas on what that was??

3. Anyways ... I got it up again; I ran out the gas tank to stop the car this time and went to make a few adjustments to the engine again and then went to start it up .... guess what?? YUP.... wouldn't start again. Why is that??

4. Also, when in idle the tires are still spinning a little.

==========================================
1. Bad, Bad, Bad. You should only stop your engine 2 ways. first, pinch the fuel line, until the engine stalls. second, the better way, touch the tip of your shoe against the flywheel.

2. that liquid is a mix of oil and unspent fuel, if u have been idling for a long time, or it is just a little bit, that is normal. if it is alot, u may be running too rich.

3. check the temp. alot of times, when it is difficult to start, u have overheated the engine, but if u were stopping it by covering the air filter, that is also a problem with restarting as u are severely flooding the engine, and possible causing it to vapor lock. be careful this can cause u to bend the con rod.

4. if the tires spin a little when they are off the ground, that is okay. but if they are spinning excessively - then u want to turn down your ISS, and maybe richen up the LSN abit too.

- Anthony

 

[robriguez]

That is what I call Nitro Juice. Basically its unburnt fuel collecting in the pipe. This is usually due to running rich during the initial break in.

Couple things to check:
- Make sure your throttle trim is set so that your carb is fully closed. Play with the trim on your radio a bit before trying to start the car to make sure its seated fully. There are many things that could be causing the fast idle (which is causing the tires to spin) but this is the easiest to find and fix.
- Look through the owners manual to find the factory needle settings for Break-in and set them to whatever it says in the book. Then turn the HSN (High Speed Needle-the manual should show you which one this is) 1 or 2/12ths turn counter clockwise. Imagine the numbers on a clock. Turn the HSN back 2 hours. This will richen the fuel/air mixture abit to make sure you dont overheat the engine too bad
- There are many different ways to stop your engine. Blocking the air intake is not recommended (Causes the fuel/air mixture to become tooooo lean. Many of us just put our finger over the opening in the exhaust pipe (its called a stinger). Many people will tell you that pinching the fuel line is the best way. Some will say that since your running a smaller engine you cn just put your finger on the flywheel to stop it. Personally, I find that of all the ways, cutting off the fuel supply is the best way. I get more reliable restarts this way. But thats just my experience.
- Finally. Until your engine is well broken in it may be difficult to restart it when its hot. Its just something you will have to deal with for a while until it is broken in.

 

[Nitroaddict]

Originally posted by robriguez


1. Make sure your throttle trim is set so that your carb is fully closed.

2. Blocking the air intake is not recommended (Causes the fuel/air mixture to become tooooo lean.

3. Many of us just put our finger over the opening in the exhaust pipe (its called a stinger). .

================================
Please dont take this the wrong way, but these statements are incorrect.

1. u want the carb to have an opening about 1mm. if it is fully closed the engine will not run, or start.

2. blocking the air intake will starve the engine of air, this will cause it to run too rich and flood out, not run too lean.

3. that is also an improper way to shut off an engine, and is very bad for the internals. by doing that, u create backpressure into the combustion chamber and again flood the engine out. it can also increase the compression ration so high that it will bend a rod, or damage the piston.
===================================

Rob - please dont be upset, I'm not calling you out, i just dont want him to get the wrong info. no hard feelings.

- anthony

 

[robriguez]

no no....no offense taken.

1. I used the wrong terminology...I was refferring to whether the throttle servo was keeping the throttle open

2. Either way...I did say that is is not recommended

3. Stated that cutting off the fuel supply (ie pinching the fuel line) is the way that "I" recommend he shut his engine down......

Sorry yup......I should have been clearer in what I meant.

And as for you nitro..... I still owe you a kick in the pants for the whole TATU thing. :wedgie:

 

[yup5588]

It's all good now ...

Well guys I have to give thanks to all of you for your advice and ideas.

I just got back from running a good tank full at the local school parking lot with no problems.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Nitroaddict]

dont run off, yup - make sure u keep posting on this site. it holds a wealth of information

Glad to see everything worked out.

 

[yup5588]

Oh I won't being going anywhere. I'll still have many questions when I actually get down to tuning it.

I'm just glad to finally have it up and running.

Laters...