Stripped out the threads!

[alien13]

So I stripped out the threads in the head button for the glow plug. A new head button is about $30, and this engine (Force .32) is pretty old anyway. Am I better off at this point to buy a new engine for my Mutilator, or fix this one?

Don't really know what engine to get, though I can get a Losi 454 on ebay for a little over $100 new if I catch the right auction. Problem is, the new engine won't have a flywheel and clutch, can mine transfer over? And will my stock Ofna pipe work with any big block, at least until I can afford a better one?

 

[Racer 1966]

Really, the button is $30? Is it just the button or is integral to the cooling head?

If the engine's still got good compression,I'd fix it unless you're just dieing to upgrade. The clutch should inter-change fine and the pipe should be ok but the header may or may not fit. I can't say for sure maybe our nitro guru Olds will be back on soon.

 

[alien13]

The compression isn't great. The engine is at least a couple years old, with about 4-5 gallons on it. That and it idles funny, something just doesn't seem right. If I get a new engine, I'm also replacing the fuel tank and lines, to be absolutely sure there's no air leaks.

 

[Racer 1966]

Now that sounds like it's time to move on to a better engine.

 

[moe7404]

i dont know about glow plugs, but spark plugs for 1:1 trucks the tpi is NOT STANDARD. lets say, cause i dont know, that a glow plug 6 mm that doesn't mean that the tpi is the same as 6mm bolt. like i said i dont know but think about it. a 14 mm spark plug does have a different tpi than a 14 mm bolt

 

[Racer 1966]

i dont know about glow plugs, but spark plugs for 1:1 trucks the tpi is NOT STANDARD. lets say, cause i dont know, that a glow plug 6 mm that doesn't mean that the tpi is the same as 6mm bolt. like i said i dont know but think about it. a 14 mm spark plug does have a different tpi than a 14 mm bolt

Actually they are not the "popular" thread pitch but they are a standard pitch covered in the Machinery's HandBook. The glow plug is the same way.

 

[alien13]

Well, believe me when I say it had nothing to do with thread pitch. The engine always starts hard when hot, and I always thought it was because it was flooded, so I kept taking the plug out and cycling it to clear it, finding out every time that it wasn't flooded. But putting it back in, I always ran it tight, just because I have that whole "If it's not tight, it's not sealed" mentality, and I would crank it too hard. Now I have a brand new plug with metal rings on the threads. I think I learned my lesson.

In any case, it looks like before the weekend is through, I should have a new Losi 454 from one source or another to drop in. Then I still need to get new fuel line and a new tank, because something has a leak. It never holds a prime, and if I'm not plugging the exhaust, it's not pumping fuel on starting.