I'm pretty new to this hobbie. I started about 8 years ago with little help, crashed a lot and quit. I have recently started again with an Avistar with an OS .40 LA. I had six take offs and landings, solo, before the inevitable.

I did the normal inverted pull up instead of down, and you all know what happened after that. Anyway, I crashed in a vacant field that had recently been plowed(actually broke the fall a little). My question is that both the screw hole in the spinner were full of dirt, the engine has dirt on it(sticking to oil and fuel) and the carb has no filter. I am awaiting parts and was wondering if a little dirt in the carb will automatically destroy my engine, or if there is some chance it will be ok, or what? The hole in the carb is definitely not full of dirt, in fact I can't even see anything in there, but some had to have gotten in. Should I bother with this engine or should I get a new one?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

BTW, I have learned so much from reading posts on this website. It is an invaluable resource. Thank you.

Dirt in the carb is not neccesarily the end of an engine. The most important thing is to NOT turn the crankshaft over until you get the engine completely cleaned out. I use some old fuel and a toothbrush to clean engines. Clean all the dirt off the outside, and then take the spinner, prop, muffler, glowplug, carb, and the backplate off. Squirt fuel all through the crankcase until it's clean. Then try carefully turning the crankshaft. If it turns smoothly then the engine should run OK once it's reassembled. If the crankshaft wobbles or grinds, then the crankshaft is bent and/or the bearings are bad. Then you have to decide if its worth messing with, or just a 'parts' engine.

Dry the parts off with a clean towel, and then put about a teaspoon of after-run oil or transmisson fluid in the crankcase. Work it in good; make sure the entire inside is oiled, especially the bearings. Put the engine back together, making sure all the bolts are tight. Mount it on a test stand and see if it will fire up.
Good Luck!

The 40LA is a bronze bushing engine (no bearings). The tolerances are pretty close. Be careful about turning the engine over. If it feels gritty, stop. Make sure you clean it out well using ho2zoo's method.
The engine should be fine. They can actually take a fall rather well, as long as the engine didn't take the impact directly.

I would recommend that you go to Lowes and get a gallon of denatured alcohol. Put this in a container and submerge the engine and begin cleaning off your parts. Disassemble as much as you can but rinse everything off throughly.

Do this and your engine should run fine if no mechanical damage occurred.

My dad and I always put the engine in a crock pot full of antifreeze. We let the engine cook for about 8 hours to 24 hours. When you put the engine in the crock pot, it will also get all of the oil and gum out of your engine. After we cook the engine, we wash all the parks up with a tooth brush and a rag. After that, we put the engine back together and oil it with after run oil. All of our engines get pretty clean for the following year. Hope i could help.

Airplane_boy