Jump5fan's Blog

**jump5fan** · 08-10-2007, 07:57 AM

well yesterday we did some more stuff around the house. i think i got my nitro stampede working. i was able to drive it around for a little while. i turned the engine off a couple times for different reasons and everytime i started the engine back up it seemed like it ran a little different everytime. i think the tuning is close to what it should be but i am going to look online so i can tune it better. the truck is so fast that it is kind of hard to contol sometimes. with all of the other R/C cars that i have used you step on the gas and the car picks up speed. with the nitro stampede if you hit the gas it picks up speed too, but it is a lot faster and it kicks up gravel. you can do donuts and send gravel flying which is so cool! i almost got it to drift once or twice which was pretty neat too. i still have to look at my brother's truck. well got to go, see ya'll.

**jump5fan** · 08-12-2007, 09:05 AM

the forum is back up

yesterdday was a busy day. my brother and i did a lot of driving so that is cool. we went to the rercycling place and then we took my brother's R/C truck to a hoppy shop so that someone could look at it. the guy at the hobby shop looked at it and right away he said the some other guy with a truck just like my brother's had just been in a hour before us with the same probulem. he said that the engine is for the most part junk. he said that it was probuly running really rich and because of the it was also running really hot and the engine seized up. my brother is thinking about selling the parts on ebay and that try to get a eletric stampede or something. i am going to be more careful with my truck since it seems these engines aren't as forgiving as i was thinking. after that we went home and then we went down for church. i drove about half of the way home and then my brother drove the rest of the way. i drove on the turnpike for the first time which was cool. well got to go, see ya'll.

katmetal · 08-12-2007, 03:33 PM

Quote:

he said that it was probuly running really rich and because of the it was also running really hot and the engine seized up

That's not quite right; If anything, running rich would save an engine, especially an air cooled one like that. Running lean, or starving it for fuel will make it run too hot & seize. Do not follow that advice or your truck will soon follow your brothers' demise. Follow the setting in the manual for your altitude where you are located. Or, like most engine tuners do, set at factory settings, then back the mixture screw out until it starts to sputter, then turn back in until it smooths out; That is usually the "sweet" spot! Here again, running rich if anything, is the way to go, but you do run the possibility of fouling the glow plug.

Ask any auto mechanic in your area about the rich/lean thing, they can confirm it for you.

BTW, if the truck is still decent, why not look into a replacement engine; from traxxas, the engine swap is $60, I believe. And ebay has good deals on them as well. I once put a 2.5 in a truck that had the smaller one to start with, & it just screamed!

One last thought; did you remove the slipper clutch to confirm that it isn't frozen somehow?

Good Luck!

**jump5fan** · 08-13-2007, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katmetal

That's not quite right; If anything, running rich would save an engine, especially an air cooled one like that. Running lean, or starving it for fuel will make it run too hot & seize. Do not follow that advice or your truck will soon follow your brothers' demise. Follow the setting in the manual for your altitude where you are located. Or, like most engine tuners do, set at factory settings, then back the mixture screw out until it starts to sputter, then turn back in until it smooths out; That is usually the "sweet" spot! Here again, running rich if anything, is the way to go, but you do run the possibility of fouling the glow plug.

Ask any auto mechanic in your area about the rich/lean thing, they can confirm it for you.

BTW, if the truck is still decent, why not look into a replacement engine; from traxxas, the engine swap is $60, I believe. And ebay has good deals on them as well. I once put a 2.5 in a truck that had the smaller one to start with, & it just screamed!

One last thought; did you remove the slipper clutch to confirm that it isn't frozen somehow?

Good Luck!

sorry, i typed that wrong. the guy at the hobby shop said that the engine most have been running lean, not rich.we bought two replacement engines on ebay yesterday.

katmetal · 08-13-2007, 06:39 AM

Quote:

sorry, i typed that wrong. the guy at the hobby shop said that the engine most have been running lean, not rich.we bought two replacement engines on ebay yesterday.

You know, you could remove the backplate off of the engine to have a look at the lower end, just to see what may have happened. It is only something like 4 machine screws to pull it off. Then you can slide the connecting rod off of the pin that drives it, & see if the crankshaft will turn, or if it is indeed seized up. (the bearing). I have pressed those out in the past & replaced the bearing, but it is not really worth it these days since you can buy a replacement on ebay/other for a good price.

BTW, make sure you are running the correct fuel? A fuel w/ too low an oil content could possibly cause problems too, as the fuel is the engines' only source of lubrication.

Think I'll run my R/C's today, you've relit the flame!

**jump5fan** · 08-13-2007, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katmetal

You know, you could remove the backplate off of the engine to have a look at the lower end, just to see what may have happened. It is only something like 4 machine screws to pull it off. Then you can slide the connecting rod off of the pin that drives it, & see if the crankshaft will turn, or if it is indeed seized up. (the bearing). I have pressed those out in the past & replaced the bearing, but it is not really worth it these days since you can buy a replacement on ebay/other for a good price.

BTW, make sure you are running the correct fuel? A fuel w/ too low an oil content could possibly cause problems too, as the fuel is the engines' only source of lubrication.

Think I'll run my R/C's today, you've relit the flame!

i will try that, i'm pretty good at stuff like that. by the way i for got to say this before now but the engine had seized while we were trying to start it, it didn't seize while it was running.

what R/Cs do you have?

katmetal · 08-13-2007, 07:00 AM

I did have 2 stampedes a few years ago, sold them... Right now I have a T-Maxx 2.5 engine/4WD; It is a very fussy engine as well, very hard to keep it satisfied with mixture adjustment. It seems to be very sensitive to humidity/temperature changes, where most other glow engines are more forgiving. Except the old McCoy redheads for C/L & R/C planes, they were also like that, but that is way before your time.

I actually would like to get an HPI Savage, it is considered by many to be one of the top trucks, & comes with a solid running engine.

I managed a hobby store in the late 80's, & we were a sponsored race team, so at that time I acquired a lot of kits;

Several RC-10's, they were the main race vech. at that time.
Tamiya:
Fox
Falcon
Striker
Blackfoot(s)
Monster Beetle(s)
Midnite Pumpkin(s)
Lunch Box(s)
About a 1/2 dozen Heavily Modded Clodbusters!

A few Kyosho's, Ultima & Optima

I forget what else; I would have to dig out a photo album to remember more. That is one of the perks of working at a place like that; you get very nice discounts, & also to be a product tester! Almost like a kid in a toy store!

I still have a few of those around, but they just sit & collect dust most of the time. The last thing I have been working with are the model planes, & I had 2 weedeater boats, which I have since sold.

I started out with planes, & I figure I will always stick with those. One of my favs. to fly is a Sportavia, low gull wing design. It is so gentle in flight, anyone could fly it.

**jump5fan** · 08-13-2007, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katmetal

I did have 2 stampedes a few years ago, sold them... Right now I have a T-Maxx 2.5 engine/4WD; It is a very fussy engine as well, very hard to keep it satisfied with mixture adjustment. It seems to be very sensitive to humidity/temperature changes, where most other glow engines are more forgiving. Except the old McCoy redheads for C/L & R/C planes, they were also like that, but that is way before your time.

I actually would like to get an HPI Savage, it is considered by many to be one of the top trucks, & comes with a solid running engine.

I managed a hobby store in the late 80's, & we were a sponsored race team, so at that time I acquired a lot of kits;

Several RC-10's, they were the main race vech. at that time.
Tamiya:
Fox
Falcon
Striker
Blackfoot(s)
Monster Beetle(s)
Midnite Pumpkin(s)
Lunch Box(s)
About a 1/2 dozen Heavily Modded Clodbusters!

A few Kyosho's, Ultima & Optima

I forget what else; I would have to dig out a photo album to remember more. That is one of the perks of working at a place like that; you get very nice discounts, & also to be a product tester! Almost like a kid in a toy store!

I still have a few of those around, but they just sit & collect dust most of the time. The last thing I have been working with are the model planes, & I had 2 weedeater boats, which I have since sold.

I started out with planes, & I figure I will always stick with those. One of my favs. to fly is a Sportavia, low gull wing design. It is so gentle in flight, anyone could fly it.

cool! i want to get a T-Maxx 2.5 sometime when i have the money. the weedeater powered boats sound really cool. i played around with a weedeater engine once and they have quite a lot of power for their size. a couple of our dad's friends fly nitro helecopters. they invited us out one time when they were going to be flying, they are very cool. for a little while now i have been interested in building a small eletric chopper, maybe when i have the money. i'm also would like to sometime soon get into R/C airplanes. one thing that i have been thinking about trying to do for a while now is make our conversion van remote contorlled. i'm not sure how i would do the brakes and steering, but i think i know how i would do the gas, just mount a servo on the throttle body and conect it to the throttle. i would also have to make a remote kill switch that would conterled by a differant transmitter (incase something went wrong).

**jump5fan** · 08-13-2007, 08:17 AM

well yesterday was kind of boring. we bought two new engines for my brother's stampede. we did some stuff outside. i removed a couple rocks so that we don't trip over them and so that i can run my stampede around with out hitting them. there was a cool program on the discovery channel last night called Deep Blue. it was made by the same guys who made the program Planet Earth. it was really cool. my brother and sister and i went down to the culd-a-sac for a little bit after it got dark because last light was the peak of a metoer shower. i only saw one but it was pretty bright and it was very pretty. i am thinking about running my stampede sometime today. i'm not sure how long i will be able to run it because i am almost out of fuel. well got to go, see ya'll later.

**jump5fan** · 08-14-2007, 07:14 AM

well yesterday i took apart my brothers engine, cleaned it and put it back to gether. the engine really was seized but i was able to brake it free. we haven't tryed running it yet. i played with my stampede for a little while. i was able to get it running right away but then i tryed fine tuning it and it stalled, after that i had trouble keeping it running when i was able to start it. i was able to get it tuned back to around where it should be so i ran it up and down the driveway to bring the engine up the temp. after the engine had warmed up i did the spit test and it took it a while to evaprate. i will try to post some pictures of the R/C trucks sometime soon. my brother and i made a simple off-road track so that is cool, i will also try to post pictures of that too. well got to go, see ya'll.

**jump5fan** · 08-15-2007, 07:11 AM

well yesterday i helped our mom move some flowers around so that was cool. it seems like our water heater isn't working for some reason so right now we don't have any hot water. after our dad got home yesterday he had to go back out to get milk and pick up a persercipshion. my brother drove to the drug store and then mcdonnollds so we could get hot fudge sundays and then i drove on the way home. my brother and i took down a old swingset that was too old to use. i forget how old it is. we made a off road R/C track so that is cool. i am able to run my R/C truck and it starts after three or four tries but once it has been running for a little bit it is hard to restart. i think i'm going to wait to run my truck until i get some more fuel for it because i'm almost out. well got to go, see ya'll.

katmetal · 08-15-2007, 07:21 AM

Quote:

i am able to run my R/C truck and it starts after three or four tries but once it has been running for a little bit it is hard to restart.

You could try opening the needle valve just a pinch; when hot, glow fuel tends to evaporate quickly (heat from the carb area) maybe a light prime, but not too much, as it could quickly flood.

Sounds like you are having fun! What kind of track are you building? Oval? With jumps? Banked corners? Yeah!

They were my favorite to run on.

**jump5fan** · 08-15-2007, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katmetal

You could try opening the needle valve just a pinch; when hot, glow fuel tends to evaporate quickly (heat from the carb area) maybe a light prime, but not too much, as it could quickly flood.

Sounds like you are having fun! What kind of track are you building? Oval? With jumps? Banked corners? Yeah!

They were my favorite to run on.

it is a oval track. it has flat corners right now but i would like to make banked turns sometime. we haven't made any jumps yet but we are going to make some too. right now there are some tree roots and rocks that we need to remove. i will post some pictures soon.

katmetal · 08-15-2007, 02:56 PM

Quote:

right now there are some tree roots and rocks that we need to remove.

Ah, that's where you build the jumps then! No sense going to all that work ripping them out when God put them there for you to enjoy in the first place!

And let me tell you, banked turns are really neat to race on if you never have, especially if you have a loose track. You can really get some good drifting, or as we used to call it "push" in those turns at high speed!

**jump5fan** · 08-16-2007, 06:58 AM

well the pull start for my truck broke and i'm not sure if that is something that i can fix myself or not. i think i have it tuned pretty close to where it should be because i ran it at full speed back and forth in the driveway and cold-a-sac and then i did the spit test and it didn't show any signs of overheating so that is good. today we are going into NJ to pick up r a radio that our dad bought from someone. i'm not sure how much driving my brother and will be able to do because i'm not sure if our learners permits allow us to drive in another state. last night after our dad got home we worked on the water heater and we fixed it so now we have hot water again. well got to go, see ya'll later