posted
I am going nuts! I have run 3 gallons of fuel through my engine and it ran awesome. Last sunday I went to start it for the first qualifier and as soon as I put it on the ground and gave it gas it stalled.I had not changed anything. I restarted it and kept reving it up to keep it going but it kept stalling. # new glow plugs and no improvement. After much frustration and a lot of carb adjusting, all the guys in my class figured I needed a new Piston/ sleeve and Rod. I replaced it and started to break it in. First of all the car would not run when I take off the ingnitor. Tried 2 other plugs Rb 4 and OS 3 and same problem. Rb 6 was the worst. Just can't keep engine running. It finally got to the point where it would idle but as soon as you hit the gas it goes 10 feet and stalls. The owner of he track and a RB engine distibutor both have given up.We have cleaned the carb,tried new fuel lines and tank, so many glow plugs. All with little or no luck. The only was it will run on its own is if I lean it out to 300 degrees F. Otherwise it just keeps stalling. I am ready to buy another engine but I haven't got the loot. Please help. We have tried everything.
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<darylvee>
unregistered
posted
hi sorry to hear about your problems but you might try something as i had the same problem with my OS.I know its not a RB but the symptoms are the same.strange as it sounds ' you might have a binding clutch or a clutch that is taking to soon or dirt somewhere in the drive train.chech it out....you might be pkleasently suprised.sometimes you have to look a little further.
posted
I have had days like this,and all I can say is, step back take a deep breath and start checking the simple things. Hang in there!
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larryh
unregistered
posted
It's your clutch! Sounds like your a clutch spring(s) broke and causing drag which kills your engine. If not it may be a seal gone bad in the carb or possible air leak. Keep us posted.
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Joepapa
unregistered
posted
thanks for the help guys. Put a new piston, sleeve and connecting rod and still no luck. I have come to an interesting conclusion though. First two gallons of fuel were from a local company called BK. No problems. Switched to Blue thunder, and have now killed two engines. My brother ran BT last year and always complained that he could cook food on his engine. My friend has a T-MAX and can't keep his RB .12 under 290 degrees. He is also running BT. I really believe it because I ruined a Collari .21 after about a gallon of Blue thunder. Just terrible. I am sure you all think I am lean but think again. I bought a 3rd engine, switched back to the BK fuel and have had NO problems at all. Engine runs much cooler too. Unfortunately the bearings, new piston and sleeve and connecting rod are all worn in my RBws7 from the BT so I never had a chance to try the BK fuel with the newer piston/sleeve. I am not rich on the bottom end and lean on the top because I set the bottom end so the motor will idle for 5 minutes without and problem and it doesn't load up when I nail it. Then I set the high end for about 90% of the engines peak power. Blue Thunder smokes so much less than the BK fuel. I have also used Odonnel 20% with no problems in my newest engine. I don't recomend BT to anyone. Tried Odonnel in my brothers T-Max and his OS engine ran 30 degrees cooler than with BT. I spoke with Nitrohouse in CA and when I told him I ran Blue thunder he told me that was my first problem and that he saw that fuel destroy many engines.
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posted
Fuel is indeed important to the engines life, performances and reliability. If you cannot get RB Concept fuel and you are using a fuel(whatever brand) and you have no problems, don't change if you do not want to run into the things mentioned above.
posted
Joepapa, I think you should not be too uptight about Blue Thunder fuel. I've use 3 gallons of BT on my 21 engine (+ 3 gallons of other fuel before this)and have had no problem at all with it. In fact almost all the racers in my local club uses BT. I was running some other fuel before I tried BT and indeed BT does make the engine run hotter, but there was a very noticeable increase in engine performance, the temperature however is still within the recommended range (120C-130C). So I think it all boils down what you want, performance or durability, it is the same with standard and modified engines, modified engines will give better performance but the increase performance will lead to increase stress hence shorter engine life. By the way, I've read that you recommended a fuel containing 18% oil to someone. Just for your information, the following is the oil content used by Micheal Salven.
posted
Like I said, you guys shouldn't bash a fuel based on your own experiences. I use BTR with excellent results and it doesn't run much hotter than anything else. I do notice that the extra castor will add extra torque and slight top end, a little mess as well Many top level drivers run this with results that speak for themselves. Tuning is different with this castor rich blend so tuning may be the real issue here. O'donnel is great as well as other major brands so give it a go and keep us posted.
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Joepapa
unregistered
posted
well, thanks again guys for all your input. If all of you are having good luck with BT, God bless you. I think you need to be right on with the tuning, and for me, I would rather not use something where the adjustment is so critical. The performance increase is just not big enough to justify giving up engine life. If you guys think BT is great, try something else, you might like it even better. For me, I am going to stick to a higher oil content. I see no difference in performance at all except for cooler temps, longer engine life and greater reliability. My new engine (which will NEVER see BT) is so fast and has so much power, needs to be detuned just to keep it from spinning all 4 tires. What performance gain a lower oil content may give is truly not needed. By the way, the two motors that died on the BT, after careful examination, displayed the following problems: First of all, keep in mind that all these problems are closely related to broken glow plugs. When I started running BT, I believe I had the engine tuned well. I put brand new piston&sleeve and broke in with BT. I could not keep a glow plug in the engine. Turns out the bearings were worn, which causes a vibration that breaks plugs. This engine never ran right. The Collari only saw BT and after maybe a gallon to a gallon and a half, also developed this bearing problem. Once the plugs started to break, the motor just went down hill. Part of the problem was I never took it apart to check for pieces of debri which I am sure accelerated the bearing and sleeve wear. Oh well. I still blame the fuel. When the guys at my track run faster than me and can pick their car up by the head because its only 210 degrees while mine is rich and running at 285, you need to look at the differences. Fuel was really the only thing.
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Many top level drivers run this with results that speak for themselves. Tuning is different with this castor rich blend so tuning may be the real issue here. O'donnel is great as well as other major brands so give it a go and keep us posted.
