GST 7.7 Motor Seized !!
06-28-2007 | 03:43 PM
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From: Lakewood,
CA
GST 7.7 Motor Seized !!
Well my motor blew up, I knew from the beginning there was something off about it. So here's what went down.
At first I was scratching my head trying to figure out how in the hell did I blow this motor up, I've done nothing but been gentle with it since I got it.
I idled 5-6 tanks while heat cycling the motor after each tank, I followed all instructions and started off real nice and slow and would give it just enough gas for it to move around, do a few circles on the cement etc. On about tank 14 or so I started doing 1/4 to 1/2 throttle runs on asphalt where'd I'd run it 50-100ft and come to a full stop, 1/4 to 1/2 throttle it back to me check the temp and repeat. Did that for a few tanks and all seemed good, the motor was idling on it's own now and the temps were good so I started tuning a little bringing the temps up to around 200-210F and adjusting idle.
Once I had the mixture closer but still on the fat side I started doing some harder runs, 1/2 throttle and a few full throttle spurts. The temps never exceeded 210F and the smoke was good. Then after a full throttle pull with half a tank of fuel still in the tank the motor just quit. Like no sputtering or weird behavior it just died.
Looking back and not really having much first hand experience with nitro motors I tried to think where I went wrong, I thought long and hard about everything I did and then it struck me.. I purchased my truck and got it home charged the igniter and then proceeded to get my first round of blisters, well after 3 hours of tugging on the damn thing my hand was thrashed and I got fed up and took it back to Ultimate Hobbies in Orange, CA. where I had purchased it, the tech there didn't seem happy when I walked in on a Sat. and wanted help with my motor, he wasn't rude really, he just wasn't nice and I could tell he didn't want to help me. I didn't really care I just wanted my truck to fire up so I could idle some tanks in it, well we took it outside and he proceeded to crank on the starter and crank and crank hard, at weird angles etc.. If you read my other post you'll see he actually broke my starter before the truck had ever even been fired up, once he did get it fired up he made a few quick adjustments and got it close to idling without dying, and then proceeded to run it up and down the drive way before it had even warmed up for the very first time, he gave it a couple full throttle blasts as some customers came over to see what the noise was. And I'm convinced that's where my motor trouble began it just didn't show up for a few days later (when my motor blew). I was also noticing when I would make a pass and bring it back to check the head temp I would every once in a while here a "ding" sound like as if you took a screw driver and tapped the cooling fins on the head, while idling it would literally make a ding sound as if the head were struck with something. Again not knowing any better I figured it was normal, um wrong.. [:@]
Now keep in mind I was trusting the tech at Ultimate Hobbies because at that point he knew more about nitro motors then I did, and I didn't question a single thing he did. As a result of my blind trust I have learned a very bitter lesson, DO NOT LET ULTIMATE HOBBIES TOUCH ANYTHING.
However the good news out of this whole ugly situation is CEN Racing stepped up big time, when my starter broke the day after purchase (due to the SAME moron at Ultimate Hobbies) yankin on it, CEN replaced it no charge and same day, and offered to even swap it out for me same day! Then just this morning I took my poor truck to CEN Racing and explained the situation, and they immediately took the motor apart and said it was completely blown, the crank was bent along with many other issues, and they asked me to leave it with them, as they were going to replace the entire motor for me!
Now I know they have to deal with a lot of people trying to get something for nothing and people who trash their cars/trucks and probably try to get parts under warranty, and I know personally that my claim is a legitimate one. But to have CEN Racing step up like this and just replace my motor.... That is awesome, in my opinion it is some of the best customer service I've seen in a long time, take that Verizon!
So I want to thank you CEN Racing yet again, because you guys all rock, you have a permanent customer and a fan for life!!
-Matt
At first I was scratching my head trying to figure out how in the hell did I blow this motor up, I've done nothing but been gentle with it since I got it.
I idled 5-6 tanks while heat cycling the motor after each tank, I followed all instructions and started off real nice and slow and would give it just enough gas for it to move around, do a few circles on the cement etc. On about tank 14 or so I started doing 1/4 to 1/2 throttle runs on asphalt where'd I'd run it 50-100ft and come to a full stop, 1/4 to 1/2 throttle it back to me check the temp and repeat. Did that for a few tanks and all seemed good, the motor was idling on it's own now and the temps were good so I started tuning a little bringing the temps up to around 200-210F and adjusting idle.
Once I had the mixture closer but still on the fat side I started doing some harder runs, 1/2 throttle and a few full throttle spurts. The temps never exceeded 210F and the smoke was good. Then after a full throttle pull with half a tank of fuel still in the tank the motor just quit. Like no sputtering or weird behavior it just died.
Looking back and not really having much first hand experience with nitro motors I tried to think where I went wrong, I thought long and hard about everything I did and then it struck me.. I purchased my truck and got it home charged the igniter and then proceeded to get my first round of blisters, well after 3 hours of tugging on the damn thing my hand was thrashed and I got fed up and took it back to Ultimate Hobbies in Orange, CA. where I had purchased it, the tech there didn't seem happy when I walked in on a Sat. and wanted help with my motor, he wasn't rude really, he just wasn't nice and I could tell he didn't want to help me. I didn't really care I just wanted my truck to fire up so I could idle some tanks in it, well we took it outside and he proceeded to crank on the starter and crank and crank hard, at weird angles etc.. If you read my other post you'll see he actually broke my starter before the truck had ever even been fired up, once he did get it fired up he made a few quick adjustments and got it close to idling without dying, and then proceeded to run it up and down the drive way before it had even warmed up for the very first time, he gave it a couple full throttle blasts as some customers came over to see what the noise was. And I'm convinced that's where my motor trouble began it just didn't show up for a few days later (when my motor blew). I was also noticing when I would make a pass and bring it back to check the head temp I would every once in a while here a "ding" sound like as if you took a screw driver and tapped the cooling fins on the head, while idling it would literally make a ding sound as if the head were struck with something. Again not knowing any better I figured it was normal, um wrong.. [:@]
Now keep in mind I was trusting the tech at Ultimate Hobbies because at that point he knew more about nitro motors then I did, and I didn't question a single thing he did. As a result of my blind trust I have learned a very bitter lesson, DO NOT LET ULTIMATE HOBBIES TOUCH ANYTHING.
However the good news out of this whole ugly situation is CEN Racing stepped up big time, when my starter broke the day after purchase (due to the SAME moron at Ultimate Hobbies) yankin on it, CEN replaced it no charge and same day, and offered to even swap it out for me same day! Then just this morning I took my poor truck to CEN Racing and explained the situation, and they immediately took the motor apart and said it was completely blown, the crank was bent along with many other issues, and they asked me to leave it with them, as they were going to replace the entire motor for me!
Now I know they have to deal with a lot of people trying to get something for nothing and people who trash their cars/trucks and probably try to get parts under warranty, and I know personally that my claim is a legitimate one. But to have CEN Racing step up like this and just replace my motor.... That is awesome, in my opinion it is some of the best customer service I've seen in a long time, take that Verizon!
So I want to thank you CEN Racing yet again, because you guys all rock, you have a permanent customer and a fan for life!!
-Matt
