bikeracer8523

I just bought a braveheart bh50 and during break in, Inoticed that there is a lot of rod noise. When it is shut off, you can spin the prop back and forth and there is quite a bit of play at the rod. I verified by taking the muffler off and looking at the piston which is not moving with the prop. The engine runs great but has this play, has anyone had this problem or could it be normal for this engine. Also Itried contacting Superior RC where it was purchased, and the numbers have all been shut off and they won't respond to emails. Can anyone get a hold of them?

BadAzzMaxx

This is a common problem with some of the off brand China made engines, If I an reading your post right the needle bearing are going out on your rod to crank.

If you continue to run the engine one of the needles will come out and destroy the whole engine.

Found this and if the specs are right I think a crank from a DLE 55 will work for replacement. The engine looks to be using the old style DLE 50 parts.
http://superiorrc.com/engines.html

To be truthful if you do not get a response form the dealer you bought it from you might be better off just getting another engine of better quality.

cap10b

I owned a BH50 for a while and never noticed slop in the rod bearing. It did tick when the prop was flipped over TDC. The old Brison and A&M engines did this and no it wasnt a sign of eminant failure. Allot of people wanted Gary at Brison to make the motors tighter, but they wont spin up and dont run well. Moral to the story the louder they tick the better they run.

Good Luck
Jds

bikeracer8523

Well, I guess I'll just try to get a hold of superior a little longer, I don't know if they suddenly went out of business or what. I thought they were doing really well, they had a plane and this engine in the June edition of Model Aviation.

It's odd because the noise happened immediately after it first ran, like it came with bad bearings instead of wearing out. That is why I wondered if it was at all normal, it just seems to much to be. If it matters it is only heard at idle, not at high rpm.

I think I'll just run it a little longer and keep a close eye on it. I may be shopping for a new one soon.

cap10b

If you dont mind me asking what did you pay? I know lf two BH50's and one BH100 near me, the 50's run so so, the 100 is awesome.

jds

bikeracer8523

I paid $295, I really didn't save much being that they are$318 shipped, but Ineeded an engine and this guy was having some financial issues. It was brand new.

I finally got a hold of superior rc, Idid a yellow pages search online for address they listed and it pulled up the numbers plus one different one. They had no idea the other numbers weren't working. I'm waiting for a call back from the tech guy on my engine, hopefully it should all get taken care of pretty soon hopefully.

dogshome

There should only be a few mm play at the end of the propeller. Significant play isn't good and will cause problems soon.

Sound like something was wrong before you first ran it.

Get it stripped and replace the bearing, find the problem, before something lets go.


Ticking is for time bombs

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Full circle once again.

karolh

Buying cheap is a sure fire recipie for getting burnt, so why do so many beleive that it can't or won't happen to them.

Karol

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Because quality can always be retro-fitted through customer service? If one buys the cheapest perhaps they can leverage the manufacturer to upgrade their engine through leverage in an RC forum?

Might want to read the JC engines thread to see where things stand in those areas.

bikeracer8523

Just an update for anyone interested in this engine, I have been fighting to get a hold of someone at superior rc that can actually help me with my warranty. So far, the only person I've talked to is the father of the owner of the company who can't seem to get his son to call me. It has been a couple of weeks and I think the Superior RC is no more, even if they finally choose to resolve this issue, I don't believe I will ever purchase a product from them again and just wanted to for warn anyone else before making a very poor decision. Guess it's just another lesson learned. I guess I'll find out what the inside of the engine looks like and if I can find a compatible bearing

BadAzzMaxx

Hope this is not the case, but have seen this time and time again.

Someone gets into the china made engine business and when things start to go bad they just bail out and leave the customer holding the bag.

But lets just hope this is not the case and they come through for you.

Do you know the bore and stroke of the engine.

Milton

cap10b

Biker,
Get with Tom Fawcett at Wildhare RC he can help with bearing part numbers for the rebuild. Cant help on the warranty. I think Braveheart in China is a good company but they have delivery and service problems.

Jds