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Lst2krew 05-22-2019 12:37 AM

Lst2 hop ups?
 
Need help finding aluminum parts for lst2. Shock towers, bumpers, upper lower arms, hubs, etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thx

1QwkSport2.5r 05-22-2019 07:01 AM


Originally Posted by Lst2krew (Post 12526572)
Need help finding aluminum parts for lst2. Shock towers, bumpers, upper lower arms, hubs, etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thx

Why would you want those parts made from aluminum? Are you building a shelf queen?

Lst2krew 05-22-2019 10:13 PM

I’m looking for parts that are going to be stronger and last longer than plastic . I would think that’s a no brainer . And no I’m not making into a shelf queen . I’m going to bash the **** out of it . Isn’t that the purpose of owning a MT.

1QwkSport2.5r 05-22-2019 10:54 PM


Originally Posted by Lst2krew (Post 12526785)
I’m looking for parts that are going to be stronger and last longer than plastic . I would think that’s a no brainer . And no I’m not making into a shelf queen . I’m going to bash the **** out of it . Isn’t that the purpose of owning a MT.

Well, I’ll tell you this; coming from someone with two LST2s - both with modified .28s..... leave those parts plastic. Honestly. You will have more problems and do more damage otherwise. The LST2 is a stupidly overbuilt truck. You don’t need all that aluminum crap. And honestly - I have aluminum C-hubs, steering knuckles, and RPM arms that I’ve used on one of my trucks. I took them off and went back to plastic. Why? Plastic is more durable. Takes the shock loads much better because it’s more flexible. I keep spare parts like arms, steering knuckles, and C-hubs in my parts box I bring with when I go run. It’s super rare to need to replace any of those kinds of parts in the field. Even shock towers - never broken one in over 10 years of running these trucks.

D3MON 05-23-2019 02:57 PM

im going to agree with 1Qwk on this, do not go to aluminum for A-Arms, or bumpers ( you WILL break/bend chassis components, bulkheads, and anything else that will take the shock from impacts with aluminum). Shock towers are nice to have plastic and as the LST is overbuilt in the shock tower area you would be fine going either way, remember though, Aluminum bends and stays bent, Plastic bends and bounces back. aluminum hub carriers for how overbuilt the truck is anyway would be just a little stronger, but aluminum eats hub bearings for breakfast and a set for lunch, and another set for dinner.
if you really want to upgrade the arms, go for RPM, that said, with how the LST2 had A-arms redesigned, they arent completely necessary.
i do recomend getting a not stock engine brace that is machined, not cast aluminum, getting a FOC, and lunsford turnbuckles and tie rod ends on all four corners.
also RC Raven Springs.

Lst2krew 06-02-2019 05:23 AM


Originally Posted by D3MON (Post 12526926)
im going to agree with 1Qwk on this, do not go to aluminum for A-Arms, or bumpers ( you WILL break/bend chassis components, bulkheads, and anything else that will take the shock from impacts with aluminum). Shock towers are nice to have plastic and as the LST is overbuilt in the shock tower area you would be fine going either way, remember though, Aluminum bends and stays bent, Plastic bends and bounces back. aluminum hub carriers for how overbuilt the truck is anyway would be just a little stronger, but aluminum eats hub bearings for breakfast and a set for lunch, and another set for dinner.
if you really want to upgrade the arms, go for RPM, that said, with how the LST2 had A-arms redesigned, they arent completely necessary.
i do recomend getting a not stock engine brace that is machined, not cast aluminum, getting a FOC, and lunsford turnbuckles and tie rod ends on all four corners.
also RC Raven Springs.

That all makes sense. Thx for all the feedback . U guys just saved me a ton of Money.
Also I just recently did a complete tear down and rebuild with a plastics, thread locked screws . A couple problems I came across are the tie rod ends rubbing and occassionally getting stuck on the c-hubs . If I turn my steering to fast or all the to the right it gets stuck on the c-hub . I’ve put the turnbuckles spacing to factory length but that’s makes it even worse, undriveable . I have the turnbuckles set so the wheels are as straight as possible now but continue having the same issue. I did go down to a single steering servo but I put it in a protek 150t. That thing is fast, moves the wheels with ease. Could using a single servo be the reason? is it allowing to much play in the steering, and it’s over turning? That servo was expensive I would like to be 100% sure before buying another one. Iv read people switching to a single servo and not having any issues . It’s getting almost too frustrating to continue on with this lst. When I first got it it was totaled chassis snapped in half, a few broken pieces, and completely rusted over. I decided to see if I could rebuild it and get it running again. Its my first nitro fueled rc iv ever owner but I like a challenge. I’m constantly teaching myself new trades or hobbies, u name it. From the visual side of it, it’s night and day, a lot of new parts, looks brand new but on the mechanical side of it I have not been able to run it more than a handful of times since I’ve acquired it about 3-4 months ago. I work on it almost everyday, it’s really frustrating not being able to use something you put so much time and energy into. It has an axial .32 spec 1 in it. I’ve had to replace a stripped head button with a turbo head button, being the only one I could find, And I’ve had to custom Fab 2 new head shims, can’t find a replacement set anywhere. The old ones were really bad. Before with the stripped head button and the bad head shims I had it running, it was leaking nitro all over the place but it ran never over heated, a nightmare to clean each time I ran it tho. now with the new head button and new shims. I can’t get it to even turn over And I know part of it has something to do with the type of turbo plug I’m using. I started with a cold plug it would turn over occassionally but couldn’t keep it running. I tried a hot plug, only one they had at my local hobby shop and no chance of turning over at all . Im running Byron’s race 2500 25/11. If you guys or anyone can help me out with any of these problems I would be more than grateful. Thx
i would post some pics but it’s not allowing me too

1QwkSport2.5r 06-02-2019 05:39 AM

Post pictures of the problems you’re having. I will be able to tell you what you need to do to fix it.

The Axial engine is total rubbish. Hardly worth putting time or money into. Get a dependable engine and you’ll be MUCH happier.

Lst2krew 06-02-2019 05:45 AM


Originally Posted by 1QwkSport2.5r (Post 12528743)
Post pictures of the problems you’re having. I will be able to tell you what you need to do to fix it.

The Axial engine is total rubbish. Hardly worth putting time or money into. Get a dependable engine and you’ll be MUCH happier.

ok I’ll try and post some. So The axial engine is no good! Ok novarossi it is. I have an rs8 crono do u know anything about it?

Lst2krew 06-02-2019 06:26 AM


Originally Posted by 1QwkSport2.5r (Post 12528743)
Post pictures of the problems you’re having. I will be able to tell you what you need to do to fix it.

The Axial engine is total rubbish. Hardly worth putting time or money into. Get a dependable engine and you’ll be MUCH happier.

not letting post pics. Not sure why. What type of engine do u recommend. Using it for bashing . I was thinking the novarossi plus 28-7t 7 port off road

1QwkSport2.5r 06-02-2019 08:08 AM

You cannot use a buggy/truggy engine in an LST truck. You must use an engine with a starter system of some kind. The rotostarter/spinstarter variety work best. Stay away from pullstarts due to the engines being hard on them. They tend to break pretty often.

Get 10 posts and you’ll be able to post pictures.

The Novarossi Truggy 28-8RT is a perfect choice.

Tzicul 06-03-2019 12:04 AM


Originally Posted by Lst2krew (Post 12528739)


the tie rod ends rubbing and occassionally getting stuck on the c-hubs . If I turn my steering to fast or all the to the right it gets stuck on the c-hub . I’ve put the turnbuckles spacing to factory length but that’s makes it even worse, undriveable .

Are you sure you installed the c-hubs the right way? It happened to me to install them wrong side out and the car was indeed undriveable

D3MON 06-03-2019 09:47 AM

i personally have had great luck with the Axial engines, loving my .28 Spec 2s, i guess to each their own on that though. easy to tune, good power,(its not holy @#$% power but its not weak.) starts with just 1-2 pulls every time. and was sold brand new MSRP for 130$.
axial and HPI engines are almost exactly the same except for porting, pull starts are the same, carbs are the same minus the MSN.

1QwkSport2.5r 06-03-2019 10:44 AM

Many of those Taiwanese and Chinese engines are made in the same factories. SH engines makes engines for XTM, Dynamite/Mach, etc. Those engines usually run fine, but they don’t last as long and aren’t made to the same standards that the better engines are made to. I’ve got a Mach 427 and an SH .28 6-port engine; both run good and make good power... but to buy one of those engines today for $160-170 new, and a Novarossi 28-8RT is close to the same
price, it’s a no brainer. Over the years, I’ve heard many stories about Axial engines wearing out quickly and/or breaking significant parts early on. 1 or 2 real decent ones out of every 10.

If it runs and and does what you want it to do, great. When you’re ready for something better, hold onto your hat! The 28-8 is a BEAST!

D3MON 06-03-2019 10:58 AM


Originally Posted by 1QwkSport2.5r (Post 12528976)
Many of those Taiwanese and Chinese engines are made in the same factories. SH engines makes engines for XTM, Dynamite/Mach, etc. Those engines usually run fine, but they don’t last as long and aren’t made to the same standards that the better engines are made to. I’ve got a Mach 427 and an SH .28 6-port engine; both run good and make good power... but to buy one of those engines today for $160-170 new, and a Novarossi 28-8RT is close to the same
price, it’s a no brainer. Over the years, I’ve heard many stories about Axial engines wearing out quickly and/or breaking significant parts early on. 1 or 2 real decent ones out of every 10.

If it runs and and does what you want it to do, great. When you’re ready for something better, hold onto your hat! The 28-8 is a BEAST!

i guess i was more or less basing it off of the fact the thread starter already has the axial .32. if you do upgrade i definitely am with 1Qwk on getting the 28-8, that said i am impressed with the power i am getting out of my original mach .26 from my LST, if im not careful it lifts the front wheels up when it shifts. (does have the FOC in it though, and aluminum clutch shoes.)
i must have gotten lucky with my axial, i do recall when i first bought it people were having issues with it, but in many of the cases i read it was user error,(many not all) at the price point they were a cheap more performance mill so people bought them that were new to nitro and didnt quite understand tuning and nitro dos and don'ts.
biggest thing was making sure to seal the MSN or it would back out on most people. i got away with it not doing that for over a gallon after break in, but decided it was time to seal it up after one of my cleanings.

1QwkSport2.5r 06-03-2019 05:14 PM

You should never ever need to seal any part of an engine that uses o-rings to seal it. Period. If the needle moves on its own, replace the o-rings. Viton and silicone o-rings can be found at theoringstore.com.

So so many people do dumb things to their engines thinking they’re doing some good, but not knowing the reasons for the problems they’re having and the correct way of fixing them makes it that much more difficult. O-rings dry out and shrink - usually black rubber is used on the needle valves themselves. The problems with shrunk o-rings is needles moving on their own and fuel leaking OUT under high throttle. Air doesn’t leak in. Air leaks will manifest themselves in erratic ways. Most of the time, “air leaks” are actually poor carburetor settings.

Lst2krew 06-03-2019 05:15 PM


Originally Posted by 1QwkSport2.5r (Post 12528976)
Many of those Taiwanese and Chinese engines are made in the same factories. SH engines makes engines for XTM, Dynamite/Mach, etc. Those engines usually run fine, but they don’t last as long and aren’t made to the same standards that the better engines are made to. I’ve got a Mach 427 and an SH .28 6-port engine; both run good and make good power... but to buy one of those engines today for $160-170 new, and a Novarossi 28-8RT is close to the same
price, it’s a no brainer. Over the years, I’ve heard many stories about Axial engines wearing out quickly and/or breaking significant parts early on. 1 or 2 real decent ones out of every 10.

If it runs and and does what you want it to do, great. When you’re ready for something better, hold onto your hat! The 28-8 is a BEAST!

Thx for the input. yea definitely going to upgrade. My axial has been nothing but problems. I have no idea how the previous owner maintained it but by the condition I got it in he was careless. It’s a bummer because I’ve been putting so much time and effort to try to get it to work I’m not one that gives up ever and No way was I going to take it in so someone could tune it for me . It is wat it is. I do have a brand new never RS8 crono inscribed with 02/03/04 and team sp . Can’t find any solid info on it but someone out there has to know something about it. As soon as I get some solid info putting it up for sale unless I can throw on my lst lol

1QwkSport2.5r 06-03-2019 05:20 PM

If the RS8 has a closed backplate, you cannot use it in an LST. The engine is too
high on the chassis to get a bump box to work. Sell it and get a 28-8RT. DONT get a pullstarts engine. You’ll be replacing the pullstart spring or string on more than one occasion.

D3MON 06-03-2019 08:54 PM


Originally Posted by 1QwkSport2.5r (Post 12529058)
You should never ever need to seal any part of an engine that uses o-rings to seal it. Period. If the needle moves on its own, replace the o-rings. Viton and silicone o-rings can be found at theoringstore.com.

So so many people do dumb things to their engines thinking they’re doing some good, but not knowing the reasons for the problems they’re having and the correct way of fixing them makes it that much more difficult. O-rings dry out and shrink - usually black rubber is used on the needle valves themselves. The problems with shrunk o-rings is needles moving on their own and fuel leaking OUT under high throttle. Air doesn’t leak in. Air leaks will manifest themselves in erratic ways. Most of the time, “air leaks” are actually poor carburetor settings.

on this i guess we are going to have to agree to disagree, its not so much to seal the engine that people RVT and or threadlock the MSN, its the fact that for 99% of the people that run them, do not ever adjust the midspeed needle. and as we know any metal on metal threads get threadlocked to avoid backing out. if its not going to be adjusted anyway it there is little reason to have to have it readily adjustable (i.e. need for an o-ring). and some people were having the issue of it backing out during or shortly after the break in period

i know plenty of people that are quite happy with their axial engines, seems you either got one that will last for quite a while or you had one that would die almost immediately.

Ive only had one engine that the backplate would not seal correctly on and so i did seal that one. to generalize that it is never an issue is kind of a closed minded way to view it imo, and for some after doing this it seemed to correct the issue, so i guess good on them. Most do it for no reason, but its not something i would recommend doing unless you have determined that it is an actual issue.

1QwkSport2.5r 06-04-2019 01:40 PM

The midrange adjustment is o-ringed on a quality carburetor. The carburetor is probably the biggest problem on the cheapie engines. If one is a keen tuner, adjusting the midrange can make a mountain of difference in how the engine runs. The manufacturer would never have put that specific adjustment in place if it wasn’t necessary in most cases. The fact that most people are advised to never touch it is poor advice.

All I’m saying IRT RTV use on anything is aimed specifically at the cheapie engines that are made to a lesser quality standard despite the need for RTV should never be needed. If you ever need to use RTV sealant on an engine, something else is at fault - ie: shrunken o-ring(s) or improperly sized o-ring, or even a warped backplate. I will use RTV in place of paper gaskets, but never for o-rings unless o-rings aren’t able to be sourced for some reason.

D3MON 06-04-2019 02:25 PM


Originally Posted by 1QwkSport2.5r (Post 12529216)
The midrange adjustment is o-ringed on a quality carburetor. The carburetor is probably the biggest problem on the cheapie engines. If one is a keen tuner, adjusting the midrange can make a mountain of difference in how the engine runs. The manufacturer would never have put that specific adjustment in place if it wasn’t necessary in most cases. The fact that most people are advised to never touch it is poor advice.

All I’m saying IRT RTV use on anything is aimed specifically at the cheapie engines that are made to a lesser quality standard despite the need for RTV should never be needed. If you ever need to use RTV sealant on an engine, something else is at fault - ie: shrunken o-ring(s) or improperly sized o-ring, or even a warped backplate. I will use RTV in place of paper gaskets, but never for o-rings unless o-rings aren’t able to be sourced for some reason.

for the most part the people that were advised not to touch it were people brand new to nitro, and didn't understand tuning with only the standard Idle,MSN, and HSN as it was.
for those people sealing off the MSN on the engine for all intents and purposes converted the 3 needle carb back to a 2 needle carb for simplicity of user. while still leaving free range of the people that already understood tuning and were capable of tuning a MSN to peak performance.
I do agree it can make a difference in running, but if the individual is still learning to understand and hone their skills of just tuning the 2 needles that will affect normal running in a negative way, why have them try to learn another needle that if set to factory position will not hinder the engines performance. (obviously unless there is a leak or some other mechanical failure of the needle.)
RVT is semi-nitro fuel soluble, so i do not recommend unless absolute necessary, that said i have not had a failure of RTV exclusively due to nitro fuel, but i do not want to take that risk unless its the last ditch effort.

1QwkSport2.5r 06-06-2019 03:29 PM

I say - why put a midrange adjustment on a RTR engine? People running RTR engines don’t need the headache of one more thing to deal with. That’s the fault of certain engine manufacturers installing 3-adjustment carburetors on cheap RTR engines. :rolleyes:

D3MON 06-07-2019 06:31 AM


Originally Posted by 1QwkSport2.5r (Post 12529679)
I say - why put a midrange adjustment on a RTR engine? People running RTR engines don’t need the headache of one more thing to deal with. That’s the fault of certain engine manufacturers installing 3-adjustment carburetors on cheap RTR engines. :rolleyes:

imo good engine to learn on instead of spending hundreds of dollars for a race engine that you burn up because you dont know how to do the mid-range.

well either way, i have to say, i enjoyed the discussion about it. thanks!

1QwkSport2.5r 06-07-2019 01:52 PM

Everyone assumes that new nitro guys ruin their first Engine. I don’t understand that at all. Better engines are better to learn on because they tune better right out of the gate.

I had the same opinions as you for a long time. Cheap engines are good to learn on. Until I experienced better. Better = way easier to tune. But that’s my two cents worth.


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