Clash

To those who have run 3 gallons plus through their trucks please let us know your experiences.

Especially interested in the experiences of people who removed their washer and had problems.

Thanks

Pinolelst

I'm in the middle of my 3rd gallon .my motor seized at the initial start up and I took it to the lhs.They removed "metal fragments or shavings" which may or may not have been what was left of the washer.Some "minor damage " was done but not enough to affect performance per the lhs guy who did the work.I asked about the washer and he said he didn't see one but told me that they would warranty the engine with the extra knowledge that it came from the factory with metal fragments in it that caused some damage ie: early failure due to just about anything other than me physically setting fire to it will be covered within reason.If I get 8 gallons through it with no trouble ( I always run rich and never above 250 deg) and it blows up on the 9th I'll forgive the minor damage that was done
To date though still pulling strong and once warmed up in this cold weather starts up first bump almost everytime unless I flood it or something else like forgetting to put the glow heater on the glow plug [:@]

motorpsycho502

I am on my 5th gallon and really just removed my washer a couple of days ago just because I was paranoid, on removal which was kinda difficult to get off the pin by the way, it showed no signs of wear on either side, I wonder if the ones that fail are really due to being installed incorrectly, but whatver, mines gone now and I can finally sleep at night.

wadesie93

My Feedback: (11)

I removed my washer after one tank and have no problems at all have 4 gallons threw the truck. NOW I have a buddy who has a mach 26 in a t-maxx and he has 4 gallons threw his and he didnt remove the washer. SO I cant help! I will say that alot of people dont have much good to say about this motor but I nor my buddy have any complaints! plenty of power and has held up well.

2DMaxLST!!

I replaced mine just shy of two gallons for peace of mind and frankly fear of dead time. It has rained here for the last week and a half and I was putting on a special clutch. I took off the backplate of the engine to hold the rod with my finger while I tightened the new clutch nut and the washer fell to the floor, it seemed like destiny..........

lstmanuk

wadsie93...your friend mite not of had any problems with his mach because if he didnt take it out of a LST, then it does come with a washer...well as far as im aware. it was a last minute idea for the LST

4wheelin

I seal allm y engines first,,,,,,did not see any washer

LosiCruncher

I took out the washer and it purs like a kitten. We'll see down the road how my Blue holds up. It actually seemed to start faster after i removed it. The one problem I had removing it was getting the last screw in the rotor start plate. When I was putting it in I must have threaded it sideways. Oh and you also have to realign the transmission and the motor which is discussed in detail in the LST manual. Or talk to LST RUNNER when he's on here, I need to holla at him too when I get my transmission in the mail, prolly Tuesday the 30th.

LC

LosiCruncher

So I was in the hobby shop getting some stuff for my car when this guy comes in with his friend talking about how his new LST just froze up. I am voting for him on here just in case he doesn't come on like I suggested. He found the washer, at the time he thought it was something else, bound up in his engine. I asked him how long it took before it happened and he said 3 gallons. That is a testiment to the truth about the washer. I told him Horizon will fix it or replace the engine and to give them a call.

LC

Clash

OK Thanks for the feedback.

My washer is now out. I must admit it does seem a rather flimsy piece of metal to be in such a location.

Pinolelst

Just so ya'll know I just removed the washer from truck #8380 so apparently they haven't learned there lesson yet.

LST Racer

[8D]I've got over 3 gallons through my LST, I bashed it up at construction sites during the summer and now I race indoors every weekend and the only things that have broke are 1 CVD and 1 turnbuckle, and had the turbuckle slide of the nut, all on the track. I think this is the greatest truck ever. Maybe the washer is only a problem for some.

jefx

You'll find out.

tight

Motor 1 blew up in september when i first purchased the truck.At the time i didn,t know about the evil washer.Anyways Horizon replaced the motor.Motor 2 came with no washer.1 gallon later runs good execpt waiting on new clutch springs.

arubadubis

I just purchased LST #6989. I must admit that after reading this forum, I was pretty paranoid about this washer myself. However, the last poll I saw there were only 35 or so responses and most had not actually had the washer go. With such a small sample size, I'm wondering how much you really need to worry about this.

I talked to my LHS, and they had not even heard of this issue (yes they are a great shop with a lot of experience). So at this point, I'm leaving it in until Losi or the guys at my LHS say to take it out. If Losi is replacing engines, then you have nothing to lose except a bit of time.

That being said, if your going to sleep better, take it out. Apparently no one is having problems with doing that.

You're in a win-win situation!

jefx

This truck has only been out for 4 months, and it was in limited supply for the first month or so.
Most people haven't even had the chance to get more than 3 gallons through it, plus it's getting cold out and less people are actually driving their trucks. The washer is definately something you have to worry about, it's just that most people haven't run the truck enough for it to go bad.

You also have to consider that there are 9,000 LST's out there and only a small percentage of those people are active on forums, and even a smaller percentage of those have taken that poll you're talking about. If there were only 35 negative responses, maybe only 50 took the poll. Of those 50, maybe only 15 of them have over 3 gallons through it. You see what I'm saying?

Anyway, I highly suggest taking the washer out. But if your comfortable leaving it in, that's up to you. Over half of the LST's sold at my LHS have been returned for washer damage in the engine.

arubadubis

Ok, now that is a bit more interesting. Unless of course your LHS only sold 2. Ha.

I see what your saying about the poll. The one I was refering to had a total of 35 responses when I saw it. Only a small percentage of that actually had an actual breakdown. When you look at how many have been sold, and then start looking at the types of people that participate in internet forums, it just skews things too much.

Somewhere I read that if you open the engine up, your voiding your warranty. Is this true? If not, I would be more then happy to leave this washer in, and inspect it periodically for wear.

I would also be interested in knowing what kind of fuel the people who have broken or worn washers have been using, and what temperature they try to run their engines at. Pinolelst posted above that they never go over 250 degrees, but Losi says you should run 200-230. Are people running too hot?

jefx

No, my LHS has sold quite a lot of them, but I don't know the exact numbers. Their initial order was for over 200 units.

If you take the washer out and send it back in, then it voids the warranty. If you take the washer out though, you won't need to send it back in, and if you do, then just put the washer back in first.

The manual may say 200-230, but that is just too cold for my engine to run properly. The manual also has two different break-in settings for the carb, so what does that tell ya? As a general rule for nitro engines, anything under 270 is safe. Mine likes to run at 250-260, and even at those temps it sounds as if it wants to be a little leaner.

arubadubis

Very interesting. Thanks for the tip. I'm just getting back into Nitro after about 15 years off so I'm definately not an expert on the topic.

I did notice the two different settings in the manual. Personally, I went with the setting of 3 1/2 that was in the Dynamite manual for my idle tanks. The wife is not that impressed with the puddle of oil on the patio, but what can ya do. Right now, I think I am going to target my temps at the Losi recommendation. I'm only at my 5th tank, so I'm still pretty rich. Only got the temp up to 180 after a few high speed passes today at lunch. But I still smoked my buddy's Revo! Ha. I can't imagine what it must run like leaned out to 250-260.

I also looked at the HPI site, they talk about running between 220 and 280 for their engines depending on if you want high speed or climbing performance. Anything over 300 is too high. Seems like there are some different ideas on the best temps on nitro engines.

Nippy_Kangaroo

well, given the fact that the warranty is only valid for 90 days and it's winter which means not much run time, I've decided to take mine out as knowing my luck it will break 1 day after the warranty ends,
can i take the backplate off without removing the engine?

Pinolelst

I believe you can but it's far easier to do with it in your hands as the screws for the rotostart are loctited in and the washer once exposed takes some finagling with a blade to get off the pin.MAke sure you use the correct size screwdriver with a good fit in the philips head screw or you'll strip them.If they look like they're going to give you trouble it'll help to heat the screw head up for a minute to break down the loc-tite.


Hope this helps

Peace [8D]

smashn

I must also tell u USE A GOOD PHILLIPS SCREW DRIVER mine were a bi$#@ to get out with the best one i had....apply plenty of preassuer to (this is when u are taeking off the roto start) also i am interested has anyone had there screws holding on the one way loose enough to fall out when they got the roto start off?

Rockman

Okay, I pulled the engine out today while doing a tear down of the truck to clean and decided to take out the washer.
Phillips head are way to soft to be able to take them out easy. Had to slot them with dremel and use soldering iron to heat them each to loosen enought to take out with flat head screwdriver. I am going to look for cap head hex screws to replace them.
I took off the back cover plate and put the copper RTV sealant in there and sealed it up tight with blue thread lock.
Put the sealant around the carb also.
By the way, when I took the washer out there was NO wear at all on the washer and I have run about 2 gallons thru the engine but I am glad I did it anyway.
Good luck to all as you deal with the phillip head screws.
By the way, as you put the engine back on the truck use thin strips of copy paper to space your spurs and clutchbell pinions.
Rockman

davewing

my washer went at the 10th tank.it is a bad idea to run any sort of washer no matter what its made out of on the back of the crank.the crank should have been machined a few thousands thicker to take up any play in that area.TAKE THE WASHER OUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dschaening

Yep, at the track racing today. Just around 10 tanks, and leading. Engine froze, pulled the backplate, and there it is! I am new to RC, this is my first truck, and should have listened, just didn't want to take the engine apart. Wish I had...