Shady9503

So i recently got my Hurricane XTR love the buggy, break in went great and after that i ran 4 tanks no problem after some tuning after break in, temps never went over 180-190f but yesterday and today i've been having issues, itl start right away on first pull but after a little bit it just dies, and i can only start it if i hold my throttle down and rev it first then after i start it a bit of riding around it dies again but this time i saw smoke coming from the glow plug, i might have burned up the plug not sure but id like to get it to stop randomly dying

Dads like rc too

You say after a little bit it dies. Do you mean you start it and never warms up, just has trouble idling and then stalls? Or it warms up and appears to run ok and then keeps stalling?

Foxy

The reason for your stalling and smoking glow plug are one and the same, it's just running much to rich. Turn the high speed needle clockwise 1/8th of a turn and then try again. Regarding your break-in, I'm afraid the fact it never got above 200F actually means you haven't done a very good break in. One of the main goals during break in is to get the engine up to temp (about 200 to 220 is fine) allow it to cool and then repeat. This gets the engine in the habit of contracting and expanding and make it more resilient. Running cool during break in stresses the con-rod, especially when also running too rich as most do during break-in. Anyway, i digress, honestly don't worry about your break-in now, I'm sure you've done enough, that engine is a total tank anyway, just lean it off now until it starts to perform. Always make sure there is a decent trail of smoke, that's how you know that enough fuel oil is getting through the engine. Good luck, and be patient, tuning isn't easy the first fee times, it really helps to have someone experienced to lean on, but you couldn't have asked for a more user friendly engine than that one.

If no amount of tuning seems to help it may be the case that you have a significant air leak somewhere in the carb or engine itself, but that usually wouldn't cause the cutting out symptoms you describe.

BEFORE you do all that though, please answer a couple of quick questions...

What kind of temp is the motor at when it starts this cutting out business?
Have you messed around with the low speed needle?

nitrosportsandrunner

i agree with foxy
only other thought i had is the glow plug and/or glow plug washer is not tight. would allow it to start up easy but not have enough compression to run properly. I know with some nitro motors that washer is actually not flat, but flared a touch. installed backwards it will not provide the proper seal.
So make sure the glow plug is in tight and the washer is at least present.

Shady9503

it has no trouble idling at all it appears to run alright and then stalls.
So it might just be tuning then? because ive been in this hobby for about 3 years nothing big but ive dealt with the .18 in the tornado and the .21 in the earthquake tuning was easy enough but i guess this engine is just a beast lol
anyway to be honest the smoke trail is a little big its very noticable if tuning is my issue then i'll have to keep leaning her out and see what happens :P
and when i ran it today she cut out at about 170F after a 4-8 second WOT run and once it cut i could only get it to start if i opened the throttle up a bit
And yes i've leaned out the low speed needle because once she started and i went to hit the throttle it would cut the second i twitched on it lol

Dads like rc too

Make sure you didn't lean out your LSN too much. It's very easy to do. If it's too lean or too rich it will try to stall when first applying throttle. Have you pinch tested it yet?

nitrosportsandrunner

if it stalls when you apply throttle, then its a High speed needle issue...

Shady9503

just to be sure, pinch test is pinching the fuel lineabout 2-3 inch's from the carb, and if it cuts after 3 seconds then its good correct? because that is my knowledge of it if im wrong please correct me :P
and yes she stalls after i drive at high speed for a bit, like i said 4-8 seconds of WOT and she stalled, also temp wise, this engine is ok with 190-220? thanks for all the help guys, its very appreciated by the way!

Dads like rc too

Correct, pinch your line and see how long it takes to stall or at least leaning out and trying to stall. 3 seconds is average. More than that and LSN it's too rich, less and it's too lean. Let's check this and see where it's at, then we can go from there.

Shady9503

ok so i took it out this morning to do the pinch test she started up i waited about 30 seconds just to be sure, pinched the line and she died after about 4 - 5 seconds so assuming she was too rich i leaned it out slightly about 1/8th of a turn maybe slightly more and heres were problems started the engine started sounding like it was chattering when i picked it up the wheels started spinning fast assuming i thought my idle was too high (gap did look bigger than 1mm) so i closed it up a bit then it would start and die the second i took off the igniter so i kept leaning lsn 1/8th turns until it would start and idle without the weird chattering but when i pinched the line died after about 1 second, too lean, so i tried richining it out a little and then she just wouldnt start, no matter what i did i checked my glow plug and its lighting up, im starting to question my igniter though or the quality of my plugs, (original blew after about 3 tanks after break in) the coils don't look like they're lighting up all the way, and i had charged my igniter over the night to make sure it was good i just really want this baby running because for the couple tanks i did get, it was great! id also love to take it to a track near me during their open practices and see how i do!

Dads like rc too

Well you can continue on, adjust your LSN to where you think it needs to be. Sounds like you have your carb gap right, so richen up your hsn a little. If your starting to run around in circles chasing one adjustment after another, the quickest and easiest thing to do is run both needles out and re-tune from there. Also, break in can be very hard on your plug, just because it lights doesn't mean it's not weak. Try replacing it also.

Shady9503

So its just a tuning issue then? alright no worries i just need to figure out this beast of an engine :P just wondering about temps foxy had said to run between 200-220 just want to confirm if this is alright?

Dads like rc too

Conservatively yes. Even as high as 240, if your running higher oil content. The thing to remember is with the gearing on the hurricane, don't expect it to break speed records, it makes a lot of torque.

Shady9503

Yeah i've noticed the torque on it when i ran it for a bit before these problems lol, i know right now its a 14t clutch and a 46t spur could i throw in a lower toothed clutch bell? or a lower tooth spur gear?

Foxy

Way too conservative on the temps guys, 280 is dandy, over 300 is time to worry. Shady, what you need to do now is go back to factory settings and start the tuning process again. You'll get there.

Shady9503

I guess i might just have to do that :P i've never worked with an engine this big before so i thought the little adjustments like the ones i make on my .18 or .21 would be fine, lol guess not :P but again thanks for all the help guys i'll try to do some tuning today and let you guys know what happens!

Dads like rc too

I haven't found any other clutch bells or spurs to swap with it. Bigger bell is more speed/less torque. Opposite for the spur gear.

Shady9503

Ahh ok thanks for the info! i probably wont change the stock stuff but its good information to know! I'd just like to thank everyone for helping me out! ive got it to the point where she idles nice and i can drive a tank, just fine tuning at this point, thanks so much everyone!

Dads like rc too

It's hard to second guess from this point but more than likely since you said you adjusted your LSN before the tuning problems, it probably started with that. Just remember to always adjust in small increments, 1 hour increments when turning the needles. Also the LSN is very touchy. Remember though, if you get turned around when trying to tune, sometimes it's easier to just back both your needles out and start over.

Shady9503

Alright guys thanks! it was a little too cold out today and rainy so i couldnt try anything but i will tommorow!!

Shady9503

Ok guys im sorry but i still need help with this, i keep trying to tune this engine but i cant, it will idle sometimes, other times it wont till i open throttle, other times it sounds like its chattering and it slightly moves back and forth like the gear is trying to push it, im starting to suspect a slipping clutch perhaps but no matter what i do it wont tune, i even took it to the lhs they tried and couldnt do it saying there must be some other issue but since they dont know redcats or stock parts they couldnt do much but they tried, would a bad clutch or clutch bell cause these issues?

Dads like rc too

weak clutch springs could give you this problem, but it sounds like its intermittent. A bad clutch would be continuous. Also, the idle issue. Does it never want to idle? Because I can tell you that my SH.28 takes forever to warm up to where it idles nicely. I start mine on positive throttle trim then let it freewheel on trim for a few passes. At this point throttle response is heavy and sluggish until it warms up. After a few no throttle, coasting passes just on trim, I can start running it and backing off the trim where it will idle and respond perfectly.

Shady9503

Well i just took apart the clutch and the shoes were toast they were shaven down a good bit, so ill replace those, probably my fault as when i got stuck in some tall grass a couple times i kinda tried driving my way out of it to be honest thats around the time the problems started, also itl idle fine at first but once i start trying to tune it because thats what i thought the issue was the whole time it would die alot on me, it would idle if i opend up the throttle trim slightly so i guess it is more of a letting it warm up thing aswell, ill replace my shoes and see what happens!

Shady9503

so when i was trying to replace my clutch shoes i couldnt get the screw that holds the clutch bell on, off. so as i was trying and trying i managed to break off the head of the screw, fantastic right? lol well i have no idea how i can get the rest of the screw out as its flush with the crank shaft and i have no way to grip it, i was gonna just replace the crank shaft but i have a new problem, i cant get the screws out of the cooling head to remove it, my allen keys just strip i bought some higher quality keys but they dont seem to be doing the trick either, anyone have any ideas how i can remove these screws?

Dads like rc too

The only way you might be able to is either drill out the holes in the cooling head so they're oversized, then maybe you can get an easy out in there. If that doesn't work you'll probably have to cut the cooling head off to access the screws, and at that point you might as well buy a new engine for what it will cost to replace the crack and head.