Seeking advice................

[olds97_lss]

Are you applying throttle lightly? Or are you trying to gun it.

When my engines are cold, I can't peg the throttle. Any more than 1/4 and they die. At least until the head temp is over 120. Once I hit 150, I start blipping the throttle to get it to warm up.

It is a bit funny that it won't stay running at all when you remove the glow igniter. What fuel are you running? If you are setting it to factory, you are setting it rich regardless what air filter you have. Letting more air in pretty much only benifits you once you get the engine up to speed.

Are the plugs dark or wet when you take them out? Normal batts don't work very well for good glow ingnition. I would suggest a good rechargable then give it a try. Normal alkilines loose their potency in a short time, especially if your not using engergizer or duracell.

I couldn't get my os 15 started for the life of me when I first started this racket. So, I tried a good sub-c igniter. The difference is night and day.

 

[chrisexv6]

Trinity Monster HP, 20% nitro.

Just bought a new gallon yesterday. Dont know how long its been on the shelf, but I know its been sealed (gave a nice "pssht" when I removed the red plastic plug when opening it for the first time).

I know by the time I hit the throttle the engine was warmed up. It was hot to the touch. Maybe I'm just jinxed.

-Chris

 

[olds97_lss]

What do the plugs look like when you have been taking the out? Dark and wet? Shiny and dry? Powdered looking?

If it's dark and wet, it's rich. Shiny and dry, it's good. Powdered or mishapen coil, lean.

 

[chrisexv6]

Seem to be shiny and dry to me.

Which again, I dont understand. I shouldnt be fouling plugs with a not-rich mixture.

-Chris

 

[olds97_lss]

Have you done anything to the engine? I.E. pull off the head, replace the piston and sleeve?

 

[chrisexv6]

This engine was bought from an LHS. It was "used".........he said the kid gave up trying to tune it. It has VERY good compression, the piston and sleeve are not burnt/scratched/pitted, etc. Crankshaft is nice and clean, no scoring or anything. I tore down the whole engine, replaced the rear bearing (it was rusty and had a little play). Also put new o-rings on the carb and put it back in.

And now I'm at this point.

Come Thursday, I think I might just end up putting the Fantom in and praying that there isnt something external causing these issues. I will even replace the fuel line again, even though the line on there now is only 2 days old. Fuel tank is brand new, so it shouldnt be leaking.

Something else I thought of: could the EZStart one-way bearing cause any issues? Its spinning in teh right direction, I was just wondering if it could cause any performance issues if it happened to go bad on me.

-Chris

 

[olds97_lss]

I thought that was this engine. I remembered reading that it was used from the LHS, but I scanned through the thread and didn't see it.

Man, I really don't know. If the engine is dieing when you pull the igniter off, I can't imagine it's anything but the engine causing the issues.

Did you pull the head off? If not, do. When you do, check for a head shim. If you don't have one, it could be causing a huge leak and compression that is off. That's the only other thing I can think of that might be causing you issues. I mean, it is a used engine and who knows whats been done to it. Maybe one of your head bolts is loose as well, but check for a shim.

 

[chrisexv6]

Shim is definitely there. I actually used the head off my original engine. I've also tried the head that came on this engine as well. Same issue. Id also have to think the fact that I can barely turn the engine over with the head on is proof that there is no compression leak.

Yeah, I'm at the point of chocking it up to the engine being bad in some way. I wanted to use it as the guinea pig to make sure my drivetrain wont overheat the Fantom, but I'm just gonna have to throw caution to the wind on that one.

-Chris

 

[olds97_lss]

Sorry I couldn't help. I had a bad 2.5 and have since converted to a 21. My 2.5 lasted a whole 3 weeks before I gave up. My issue was constant overheating no matter what I did. I followed traxxas break in to the letter. After recharging my starter stick packs about 20 times and running them dead to constantly start the damn thing, I finally gave up.

 

[bhwilder]

Man I don't know Chris, If you're at factory settings then it is a "little rich". I know you probably tried every needle setting there is. Guess I'd start with factory, lean the hsn until it didn't run good, back off 1/4"turn, go to lsn and start leanin it till it pulled willies and then stop messing with. It should be right.
As for the burning the glow plugs, Mine burnt 3 in row after running them at wot for 4-5 mins. Never did find exactly what went wrong but I really believe I was running too hot. I kept an eye on the temp with my temp guage and never let it get above 170. As you get closer to empty then it will run leaner and a little warmer, but don't worry, the next fill up will bring the temp back down. Good luck, let us know.

 

[olds97_lss]

What temp are you checking? The top of the head or down where the gloplug screws in?

170 is to cool to be running if your checking at the glowplug. Yes, there is such a thing as "to cool". You should be over 200 at the glow plug or your risking premature piston/sleeve failure.