Call LiteMachines and send it back. So far on the LMH BBS one of the most talked about problems is the V7 con rod. The attention that it has been getting Im sure hasent been good for sales im sure. hate to hear that its still going on. One of these days there will come along an engine thats more reliable. Its appearant that its an obvious QC problem that it will be hard to ignore. Ive noticed that the bad engines usually have been throwing rods at about 4-8 tanks of gas. What I hate the most is the downtime waiting on replacement. Im like you Spiro, the electric seemingly is calling. Ive started one and got one going I need to get a better battery that my esc would like. so far Im reading that the stock motor and esc likes the 2400 7 cell pack. Hopefully I can aquire one soon.