bigcam406

well guys,this is a new one.after having all my collet and flexshaft problems,this one takes the cake.i rec'd parts today(flexshaft,collet)from horizon today,after re and reing the old and the new,i was ready in less than an hour to run the boat.i checked everything,made sure the collet was tight,setscrew loctite,gap on the shaft etc.everything looked fine.took it down to the lake with my better half,started up no problem,made sure cable and collet were running fine,threw her into the water and......nothing,slipping like crazy.brought it in,checked it out,checked tightness of collet(snugged it up a bit more,but didnt overtighten it),fired her up again,threw her in,slipping again.took her out again and noticed the setscrew on the propshaft loosened off,and propshaft was backed off quite abit.removed setscrew,tried to pull propshaft out,wouldnt budge.had to use pliers and 4 hands to reef it out.checked propshaft and the hole through the prop strut,everything looked fine.reinstalled the propshaft,made sure setscrew was on flatspot on it,used loctite and tightened it up again.went over everything again before firing it up.fired it up,threw her into the lake,slipping like crazy again.removed the boat,noticed the setscrew was gone this time,and the propshaft was almost out of it again.had to use pliers and 4 hands again to remove the propshaft again as it was really stuck in the prop strut this time.as you can guess,by this time,my patience was next to gone,so i packed her up and came home.anyone have any ideas,as im stumped this time.i have looked over everything,and when i reinstalled the new parts,i did it by the book and doublechecked everything.sorry for being longwinded,but you had to see it to believe it.even the girlfreind was shaking her head.

TCHedOff

Been wonderin about ya BigCam!

You are a magnet for problems (just teasing - dont take me wrong - been there myself -w/wife shaking her head! [8D]).

Drive Dogs can come loose; it happens.... filing the flat on the propshaft may help a little, but more importantly is giving the Locktite time to dry (ask me how I know).

I am puzzled by your propshaft description. All 3 of my boats have the propshaft and flexshaft soldered together as 1 piece.... if I loosen my collet, I can pull the whole assembly (flexshaft/propshaft/drivedog/prop/prop nut) out to grease it. The way you described things didnt make sense to me.... if my set screw on the drive dog loosens - at most it can only slide toward the strut (IF my prop nut stays tight, the @1/8" length of fuel tubing I slide between the prop nut and the back of my prop pushes/hold the prop and drive dog forward - it cant really go back).

As for the binding - do you use a teflon liner in the brass flexshaft tube? In any case, I'd think you'd feel any significant binding before you even fire up the engine, just by turning things over by hand.

bigcam406

yup,this boat is posessed.the propshaft is inserted into the end of the flexcable, as they are not soldered or together.i was going by the directions in the booklet that came with the boat,where it says that you loosen off the setscrew to remove the flexcable seperately from the propshaft.that wasnt a problem.the propstrut bushing looked fine as well,as i looked through it to see if it was damaged at all.so,my next guess was the shaft itself.i looked it over and it doesnt seem damaged either.so im guessing it might be bent a smidge,because when i go to remove it,or install it,i have to use force halfway through installing it.and each time i went to run the boat afterwards,i checked to see if it would turn by hand,and it did,turning the cable and the engine as well.so im stumped.i looked on the horizon website to see if they had a replacement shaft,but its not listed,so im going to check the proboat site to see.thx for the reply.

catman_grrrrr

My Feedback: (7)

You might end for end the cable.....will torque the spiral strands opposite direction...thus tightening.Had this problem on an older home made boat I had a few years ago....just a thought.

Raging Rio

I got frustrated with my dynamite .15 so I went ahead and pulled it out. I'm debating whether or not to remove all the hardware and repaint the outside at the same time. I also ordered the tiger drive adapter for the OS .18, as I found out the hard way that the stock one doesn't match up properly. Decided to order a new mac header and tuned pipe also. Just need to decide whether I want to re-do the hull's paint job....

bigcam406

whats the problem with your dynamite? not fast enough? i thought the OS had a pull start,which is more reliable.let us know how it works.

bigcam406

oh yea, forgot to ask where you ordered the mac header and tuned pipe from

Raging Rio

I can't seem to get the dynamite to consistently run correctly. It's difficult to start and recently it started sneezing fuel out from under the head. I just had enough of it. The OS does have a pull start, but im replacing it with the tiger drive because I usually run my boat by myself, and don't think I can get a pull start going alone. The tiger drive is pretty reliable. Ordered mac header and pipe from funrcboats.com

think I decided I'll leave the exterior of the hull alone for now. I'm going to expoxy the inside now that I have most of the guts removed...

bigcam406

yup,you are right about those engines being fussy.should be interesting to see how the os .18 works.im thinkin its going to be a rocket with that mac header and pipe on it.keep us posted.im thinking about buying another one as i have come across a deal,the shop has only 1 left and they want to get rid of it.

catman_grrrrr

My Feedback: (7)

Well, finally got my y-535 sharpened and balanced......what a chore! If I go to to a three blade I'll have it done!It's worth the money. Now hopefully I'll get a chance to run it this weekend.Still tossing the idea of putting a .21 or something like that just to make a monster for drag racing,people would be surprised.

Chriscraft

Hi guys'
Got my .18 Dynamite mounted in the Fastech, no problem. It mounted right to the motor mount.
Had to adjust the angle of the motor itself becuase of the angle to the flexshaft tube.
Did not make any adjustments to the strut or tabs or turn fins. Test fired and checked flexshaft rotation.
with radio check and good batteries, took her out to the pond.
I had to adjust the needles a bit becuase she wanted to "bog" when I hit the throttle. After that she ran great and steady.
Took walky-talkys with us and I got my friend to get on the road by the pond and try to run 50 MPH with the car.
I called out to him and he started down the road when I was coming around. He was running 50 MPH on the road and Fastech was keeping up with the car. She was running 50 MPH with the .18 Dynamite in her.
I think I will stick with this engine and "dress her out with accessories" like some colored tubing, exhuast pipe,colored cover for the tigerdrive, etc
This boat is a fun boat now and I like the way it is running now.[8D][8D][8D]

Chriscraft

Hey Bigcam,
I was reading about your "possesed boat". Just kidding about the boat, of course.
When I am removing the flex cable for greasing, this is what I do, and I am just giving you experience of how I go about doing it.
I loosen the screws in the flex shaft first to remove the prop shaft. Then I loosen the strut to lift it out the way. I have loosened the collet before, and the flexshaft slips out with just alittle effort.
I do the reverse after I grease the flexshaft, aligning the strut to the flexshaft by using the prop shaft to make the alignment, then tighten the prop shaft to the flexshaft,putting the washers on and checking spacing.
Just checking about something, have you looked at the shaft itself to see if there might be a shinny area where it might be slipping?
check where it is inserted in the collet, check the adapter for the prop shaft to make sure it is attached well.
Just trying to help ya,man. Stuff like this is a b___h and it can make anyone MAD. It will be OK. Keep at it.
I had to learn to check the alignment of my flexshaft by breaking one when I thought it might be tunning.[:@][:'(][&:][8D]
P.S. grease the strut for the prop shaft, hole on strut is there

aas1973

Been keeping up with things here.  Got my Y535 cleaned up and put it on and man this thing flies.  Fortunately I haven't managed to flip it yet (in calm water) although I did manage to do a complete 180 in the air off some of the boat's own wake (wish I had that on video).  I had originally been a bit disappointed with the somewhat wide turns (especially when compared to an old Kysosho Nitro Viper I've been playing with) but there is something to be said about not having to repeatedly get your boat out of the water while submerged and upside down.  Perhaps I'll get a bigger engine one day (instead of rebuilding this one) if the boat is still in one piece but for now I'm quite happy with the performance.  What about the .18 Aquacraft.  It looks like you can pick one of those up for about $60 shipped?
As far as your issues BigCam, what can be said?  You can pick up a new prop shaft with drive dog for under $10 for the proboat stock part.  Having done so myself (and having changed a flex cable 2/2 to some stripping at the collet side I can tell you that the tolerances are not all the same.  The notch in one prop shaft may not line up perfectly with one on another.  Are you certain that you have your setscrews tightened all the way and in the notches?  That said, you had earlier seemed to indicate that you though the slippage was on the engine side.  Do you know which it is?  You really need to figure that out before you can try to remedy it.   I should think that you could try holding on to the prop (lightly with pliers if you are afraid of losing a finger) and then try turning the engine over with the starter.  You should be able to see (and maybe even feel) where things are going wrong.
Good luck.

bigcam406

chris and aas....congrats on getting your boats working great.sounds like they rock! would love to see some vids of them screaming around the lake.as far as my problem,i have emailed horizon describing the problems i have been having.im thinking its the propshaft.i have removed it previous with no problems,but as you read on my previous post,it has been a pain.when i have had removed,i have checked it,and there are no shiny spots,the end where its inserted into the end of the flexshaft looks fine.its not bent either.it is lubed very well also.my first problem with it slipping was definately a collet problem,so i ordered a new one and a new flexcable as well,as the original one started getting frayed at the collet end.after i reinstalled the new one is when i started having problems with the propshaft itself.i can turn the prop by hand and the whole assembly turns without any problem,it just when its fired up and put in the water when it slips,and judging by the difficulty of removing the propshaft from the strut when i go to investigate it,makes me think something isnt right.i have looked for the propshaft and drivedog part online from horizon and proboat,cant find it.i havnt had a response from horizon yet either from my email.so yesterday i purchased another fastech from a shop out in edmonton,its there last one,should be here in a week or so.i bought my first one in june,havnt run a gallon of fuel through it yet,had all of these problems,and coupled with the fact that my lhs only orders parts once a month,swayed me in purchasing another one.my time is limited up here weather wise,granted,it has been nice the past few weeks,and it wont last too much longer.thx for the help guys,i appreciate it,and i'll keep you up to date with my progress.

bigcam406

well, i took the boat out today,went over everything again,everything looked fine.this time it wouldnt start.went through 2 starter batteries before it would fire,by that time,batteries were pooched,and all i had left was half a tank of fuel.let it run for a bit,had a grimracer prop on it(unbalanced and unsharpened).noticed while it was idling how an unbalanced prop stresses the prop strut.thing was vibrating like crazy.so crazy it vibrated the prop nut and prop off.yes, the nut was loctited as well.im kinda glad i didnt launch it,as i would of been out a prop and a nut.i wanted to make sure the prop shaft and everything else wasnt slipping,and they wernt.so,gonna recharge the batteries and put one of my balanced props and try it soon.

catman_grrrrr

My Feedback: (7)

Might try atrick I found on funrc boats.com,without the ignitor on hold your finger over the exhaust andspin starter for 2 or 3 second,this pressurizes fuel tank and line,then hook up the ignitor and it fires right up!Was wondering how many have cut their pipes down on this boat and how far???

bigcam406

thx for the tip,makes sense.

aas1973

With all of the trouble you've had trying to get it started I am hoping that you have tried new glow plugs and or igniter/batteries.I can tell you from experience that for whatever reason, one boat Ihave seems to start better off one igniter and the fastech off either.

aas1973

Also, you are blipping the throttle right?

bigcam406

the starter batteries were freshly charged venoms 1800 mah.the ignitor was showing 6 volts on the meter.i took the pressure line off the exhaust and blew into it as i was cranking it,and yes,i was blipping the throttle as well.one day,it'll fire up no problem,other days its chore.

TCHedOff

Aint it funny how many times problems are ones we create for ourselves?!!! (Happens to me all the time! )

catman_grrrrr

My Feedback: (7)

Anyone running nitro higher than 20%?

bigcam406

u got that right,TCH,the only reason i was using it was to see if i was having any more propshaft problems,because if i did,i wouldnt want to lose one of my balanced and sharpened ones.as for Catmans question,im using 20% as well.i really dont know if there would be any benefit using more in the dynamite that comes with the boat.i have a question though,i was wondering if it would be beneficial to use a hotter glow plug in the boat,and if it is,which one? im using mccoy mc59's right now.

aas1973

I had used 20% but now use 30%.  I've made a few other changes along the way however so I can't say how much benefit I've got from the higher nitro content alone.  I can say that I won't go back.  Certainly the best and simplest increase in speed came from the prop.  I do think the fuel has a bit more punch though.

bigcam406

what glow plug are you using with that fuel,aas?