Posts: 179
Joined: 3/2/2006 From: kf,
OR, USA Status: offline
Replacing the clutch spring is pretty simple,and seems to be something all Redcat owners have done or will do as the factory spring doesnt hold up to well. Even if it breaks it can still be used again providing the break happened somewhere around the spot where the ends of the spring meet.
Symptoms of a broken spring are very obvious. If the vehicle can be started while suspended but not while the tires are on the ground,or if the vehicle wont stand still while at idle and the engine dies when brakes are applied its probably the clutch spring. Also,with the engine off,if the clutch bell spins with resistance and a metal on metal noise can be herd from inside the clutch bell,the spring has come loose. *Note* Having the idle on the engine set to high can also cause the clutch to engage. And having the idle set to low can also cause the engine to die when brakes are applied as it will close the air intake of the carburator to much,thus stalling the engine.
Ok lets get started. First you'll need to remove the four screws holding the engine to the chassis (pic 1),you'll also need to loosen the grub screw in the tip of the exhaust pipe (2.0mm) which secures the exhaust pipe to the chassis. With the engine out of the vehicle you'll need to remove the clutch bell (2.5mm) (pic 2). Pull the clutch bell off taking care not to lose any of the washers under the screw and the washer behind the clutch bell (and be sure you put them on exactly how they came off!). If you have a replacement clutch spring or if you've managed to reuse the old one this is the trickiest part,have the ends connected together and ready to go. I recommend using both thumbs for this but I needed a free hand to take the picture. Grasping the engine in your hands,slip the spring over the tip of the crank shaft and use your thumbs to roll the spring on and around the clutch shoes working from one point outwards,evenly in an upward motion as show in pic 3. Do it slowly and with caution as you dont want to overstretch the spring,it may take a couple of tries as these things require alot of force and can slip out from under your fingers.
If everything went well and the spring is secured in its little groove on the clutch shoes then your ready for assembly,pretty much in the same manor you took it all apart! For the last part once the engine is back together the gear mesh will need to be reset. One way this can be done,is to take a piece of notebook paper and run it between the clutch bell/gears and then snugging the engine/clutchbell up against the spur gears and bolting it down and removing the paper (blue locktite is recommended on engine screws as nitro vehicles have ALOT of vibration). If the gears are to close they will spin with resistance with a clickity feel,and if set to far apart the power from a nitro engine can easily chew the teeth right off a spur gear. Pic 4 shows how my gear mesh is set after assembly. Notice how there is a space between the teeth of the clutchbell and spur gears but the teeth still have a good amount of contact surface and still spin freely.
Well thats its,not a whole lot to it but stretching the spring over the shoes is the hardest part. The clutch shoes can also be removed if you've purchased the "clutch slice" assembly if you dont want to fuss with springs or if you wish to replace/upgrade. The large E-clip is the only thing securing the shoes to the flywheel and can be removed by using a narrow flathead screw driver. Stick the screw driver in between the E-clip and crank shaft and slowly turn the screwdriver,this will force the E-clip out but becarful cause these things can go flying off pretty easy!
< Message edited by Redcat Support -- 6/7/2006 9:09:01 PM >
Posts: 53
Joined: 4/16/2006 From: Hurst,
TX, USA Status: offline
I will add a great little tip....
Before you take your engine off the chasis for the first time, turn the car upside down and take a PERMANENT marker and draw circles around ALL four of the screws that are holding the engine in to the chasis. SO, when you put the engine back on, all you have to do is line the four screws back up inside the circles and you wont have to worry whether the engine is in its correct factory position or not. (I'll post a picture when I get home from work.)
I have taken my engine off three times already and never have to worry if it's put back on in the right place matching up with the gears.
This can turn into a nice little FAQ for us new guys if everyone adds their tips here.
Posts: 1002
Joined: 3/9/2006 From: Tallahassee, FL, USA Status: offline
Hey nitrosteve where did you get your clutch bell from? The one in the picture looks a lot better made than the ones that come with the cars. Sorry if you've already answered this in another thread. And great job with the tutorial man.
Posts: 179
Joined: 3/2/2006 From: kf,
OR, USA Status: offline
Thanks guys ,I think this could turn in to a good FAQ thread as well,especially if everyone adds in there tips,tricks and advice. Good point bspate. And the clutch bell/spur gears are the same ones that came with my Tornado,the clutch bell does shows very slight signs of wear but overall seems to be holding up quite well. So what other kind of FAQ's could come in handy?
Posts: 1002
Joined: 3/9/2006 From: Tallahassee, FL, USA Status: offline
Probably one of the hardest things to do when you first get into this hobby is learning how to tune your engine. One of the problems I first had when I got into nitro was simply realizing what everything was and where the adjustment screws were. Well anyways, here's a picture of the adjustment screws.
The following are what the factory settings are incase you ended up tuning things to the point where the car won't start anymore: High Speed Needle (HSN) - Turn the screw all the way down (clockwise) but don't tighten it. Then unscrew it 2 1/2 to 3 turns (Counter Clockwise). Low Speed Needle (LSN) - Should be flush with the collar. Idle Screw Adjustment - Take off your air filter and make sure your throttle is at idle. Then make sure that the opening in the carb is about 1mm.
Hope this helps. If anyone wants to add anything to this feel free to.
As for tuning idle mixture i read great trick on how to do this. Make ur engine run at idle then pinch fuel cable (engine will stall), but before it stalls it should rise rpm a bit. If it doesnt rise at all - u run too lean. If it raises hundreds of rpm - u run too rich. It took me 5 minutes (it is almost week that i have my first nitro) and my engine now works great. Then u adjust idle speed (gap on throttle). Set idle speed so that clutch doesnt engage. As for high rpm needle u have to try your car at high speed. Mine was too lean and at half open throttle it didnt want to gain rpm. Unscrewed it half a turn at a time and now it rockets from 0 to max without hesitation. IMPORTANT NOTICE, for tornados xp/xl and alike use hot glow plug (helps to tune idle speed). At first i used OS R5 (almost coldest one) and 5 geeks coulnt tune it, changed to OS A3 (one of the hottest) and tuned properly in 10 minutes
< Message edited by jackkpl -- 4/28/2006 9:07:22 AM >
Posts: 1002
Joined: 3/9/2006 From: Tallahassee, FL, USA Status: offline
Thanks for the advice jackkpl. I've been curious about how different glow plugs affect the engine for a while now. I've been too lazy to look it up or ask.
well this has everything I have been looking for.. I am pretty sure my clutch spring was broken when I opened the box.. (LAME) and this has that awesome pic of the idle screws.. ( I had no idea where to look the instructionmanual makes them all look like they are the same screw)
this is AWESOME why isnt this a sticky?!
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Posts: 1002
Joined: 3/9/2006 From: Tallahassee, FL, USA Status: offline
Hey glad to hear this helped nicacus, if you or anyone else needs anymore guides or anything like that let us know. This is a great community and we're all eager to help
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Redcat vehicle repair/tune FAQ - 
