lemonlaw95

ok, so this has happened on both of my nitros.
when i took off the cooling head, i forgot which way it was when i took it off so when i put it back on it was turned. after that, on one of the trucks the engine wouldn't even start, and on the other one it ran far more slowly than it should have. what's the deal, and how can i fix it?

Spetz

It shouldn't make a difference to power. The only thing is the engine might heat up more/overheat.

What I suspect happened, is when putting the head back on, you didn't form a tight seal. Does the engine that lost power leak oil or making an "air leak" sound when you slowly turn the engine?
Also make sure that the washer is in place and not damaged

lemonlaw95

hmm... it did seem to be leaking oil; i'll check for that. but the funny thing is that i tightened the screws so tight it felt like the hex driver was twisting... perhaps a grain of sand or dirt?

gmcman

Did you remove the head right after you ran it? If so, chances are you have a tiny piece of grit under the washer.

When you remove the head for any reason, turn the engine upside down and clean out around the plug, take a towel and clean around where the head meets the case...has to be perfectly clean. ANY grit in the engine is a bad bad thing, treat your engine like an operating room when you dismantle any of it. Clean Clean Clean.

Argess

Also......you have to tighten the head screws a little bit at a time and work your way around the head...back and forth as much as possible. Otherwise, if you tighten only one screw down all the way, and then move on to the next, the head may be in a canted position, stay there, and leak air.