G'day all. Got a bit of a drama with my newish (10-20 tanks) GST 7.7. After a re-fuel I tried to restart the engine but the pull starter felt like it was disconnected from the crank. Straight away I thought it might be the one-way bearing in the pull starter so I packed up and took it home to clean up and strip down. On inspection I found that the one-way bearing was fine, so I went deeper and removed the back plate on the engine and found that the small pin inside the big-end crank pin is not protruding past the crank pin, so it won't engage the starter disc poking through the back plate.
What I need to know is:

a) Is the pin simply stuck in there, or would it have sheared off. If it does get stuck, is there an easy way to get it un-stuck?

b) If the pin is damaged, can you replace the pin (or a collapsed spring?) or do you need to buy a whole crankshaft.

c) Is this a common problem, or is there any chance of warranty through CEN (I've taken good care of the truck and have been tinkering with RC for over 10 years, and know not to try to pull start a flooded/ hydraulically locked engine).

I bought the buggy from an on-line RC store in the U.S.. It seems from other posts that CEN frown a bit on this, but most hobby shops over here are bloody thieves! Other than this small hiccup, this has got to be one of the best built trucks I've seen.
Cheers in advance,
Geoff.

Hey Geoff, Welcome!!! Glad to hear you are lovin your GST. This is not really a common problem but as you know with RC that high stress parts do fail... Contact CEN and they will be happy to get you the parts you need. Its most likely the spring broke, but my advise would be replace both the pin and spring!!! You can find the contact info for CEN on their website www.cenracing.com

Hope this helps some!!

G'day Dogman, ta for the reply and the welcome!
I just got home from work and did a bit more exploritory surgery on the engine. I removed the crank and was able to remove the pin and spring from the big-end. To my suprise I found the pin was broken in two, and both pieces were still in the crank, along with the intact spring.
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I'm putting it down to an 'act of God' rather than a design fault. Now I have to try and find the replacement parts. I saw a post way back at the start of this forum that stated the part number for the spring/pin kit for around $5.00, but now I can't seem to find it (perhaps the CEN mediator can supply me with the part number ).

Anyway, If nothing else I hope this helps anyone out there with similar problems.
Keep on truckin'
Cheers,
Geoff.

OK, the part# I have for it G70357-11 Oneway Start Shaft and it includes the shaft that passes thru the back plate, and the spring and pin!

Hope this helps!!!

Yes- That is the correct part#

G'day,
Just thought I'd let you know my LHS had the kit and it worked like a charm. It cost me $42.95 AUD (a bit more than I expected to pay, but it's the old supply vs demand thing I guess...). Also bought a CEN rotostart adapter and start shaft for when my pull start gives out (about another $65.00 AUD, these guys should be insurance salesman!).

Just wanted to say thanks for the help guys, much appreciated. [sm=thumbup.gif]

Cheers,
Geoff.

u paid 43 AUD for just the spring and pin?!?!?!?

Hey nick dont rub it in buddy, they aussies have always complained about how expensive things are there..

G'day Nick,
Yep, I paid $43.00 for a spring, a pin and a drive plate. It's better than having a $750.00 Tonka truck!!
I think in the future I'm gonna try and find a needle roller bearing of similar dimensions if it ever lets go again.
I try to buy all my bits from the states, but sometimes when you need it now, you need it now!
Cheers,
Geoff.