What symptoms would tell you that it's time to replace the sleeve and piston?

either the piston or sleeve is scored (has scratching)
or when there is no pinch left. When you rotate the flywheel there is 0 resistance from the piston going up in the sleeve.
Those are usually when you replace them.

This one still has the resistance and there is no scoring, but I have to heat the crap out of the engine with a heat gun or it will just free spin when I hit the EZ start as if it were flooded, but it's not.

 It's an older engine (trx .15) that I resurrected from the dead. It runs great once it's started but takes forever to start.

Does the ez-start just not turn the engine or is the engine really really stiff to turn over unless its heated?

Worn out Piston/Liner symptoms to look for: Hard to start WARM, Overheats no matter the fuel mixture, extremely boggy.

It's like the EZ start isn't turning the engine, but the engine is not overly tight or anything. It makes a couple of poofs as soon as I hit the button and then freespins. As I heat it up with the gun it starts turning over like normal but still takes a long time to start up.

If the ez-start is turning itself, but the engine is not turning then either something is wrong with the EZ Start gears (not likely) or the One-Way Bearing is slipping on the starter shaft of the engine. The pro .15 I had was notorious for getting cracks in the OWB causing slippage. If its saturated with oil it can slip too. Personally, I'd pull the ezstart off, clean out the OWB with brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner and put it back in. OWB's should be installed dry - no oil or they can slip. If the starter shaft is extra shiny, I'd get some 800 or 1200grit sandpaper and lightly scuff the surface of the shaft. All you're trying to do is rough up the smooth surface so the OWB has something to grab on to. If none of this works, replace the starter shaft AND OWB at the same time.

Agree with 1QwkSport2.5r sounds like a OWB issue
If it was the sleeve, and piston you would have to start it cold and have it crap out after 5 mins, and not restart till it was cold again.

I will give it a shot [8D]

btw, I had my other nitro car (traxxas 4-tec) running GREAT. Go to start it up today and now the clutch is engaging on start up no matter what I do (brand new clutch)n and the engine will cut out a few seconds after start up. My patience is being seriously tried today [:@]

NO compression, hard starting, and stalling when the engine is warmed up

Perfect suggestion. Worked like a charm

Not symptoms of a worn piston/sleeve but a way to check it out and know for sure.
Dissassemble the engine including removing the piston and sleeve.
Slide the piston up into sleeve untill it stops.
If it stops approxamatly 1/8" from the top of the sleeve then you have a good set.
The farther into the sleeve the piston goes the more worn the set is.
If the piston goes to the top of the sleeve, or farther, it is well past it's useable life.
There are some that claim that sleeves can be "repinched" and there are DIY ways as well as companies who will do the pinching for you. I have tried the DIY stuff and had very poor luck with it. I have not tried any of the repinching services but others claim to have good results. Personally, I'll just get new parts and be sure.

Awesome. Glad I could help.

I have spent the last year testing re-pinched engines on both the track and the dyno.... they make all the same performance as new if done properly, and in some cases will actually outperform the original factory fitment...... it is definitely a viable option in many cases.... plus its only $20.00 to pinch an engine so its not any big risk IMO

Well supertib, that's good to know, thanks. Other than you there are very few other people on RCU that I would believe on this subject.
I've got an old marine engine that I may try it on.
Any reccomendations on a good service?
Any idea on service life of a repinched p/s compared to a new set?

I am not sized to do anything larger then a 28-32.... if the marine engine is larger then RayA Racing may be tooled up to do the work...

Lifespan is all dependant on how tight the engine is pinched... If i pinch the engine tight, it will take about 1 gallon to breakin and will behave just like a new tight Italian engine... I have a Werk's B5 here that we have pinched twice...and its on the 2nd gallon since its last pinch and the engine is still notching at TDC and holds full compression..on the dyno it makes just over 2 HP and seems to run as good or better then a new one..... On some of the new OS engines the first batch were too loose from factory IMO..so I tightened up a few and they have been running flawlessly since...... However pinching is very very tricky to do properly...if you don't pinch the sleeve enough the pinch wont hold, a few tanks and your right back to where you started...too tight and good luck getting the engine to turn over.... The line between too loose and too tight is very very fine....... I am also tooled to lap the pistons to size if needed, and on some engines that have piston damage I will over tighten the sleeve, then size the piston accordingly..... All in all it is a good method if you have the right tooling and the finesse to find the sweet spot.... On my equipment its better to go slightly on the tighter side, it seems to last a very long time doing it that way...

It won't want to idle, it will only run for 30-45 seconds before shutting off, it will be a pain in the ass to start, and it won't have any power.

basically if it runs like a ford

ahhh! sorry i had to.

to prevent a worn out engine just make sure you always run a clean, tight air filter, never run too lean and dont WOT for long periods of time. also, a few drops of after run help before a dry start (hasnt been run in over a week)

actually if it runs like a GMC. now, if it doesn't stop moving, its running like a prius.
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no, you have to run it on sunshine and unicorn pee to make it run like a prius.

<div style="text-align: left;">yep lol.</div>

That right there is sig quote worthy, I don't care who you are!

If it's anything like my old Ford then it will never die. It may run funny a bit but it just won't give up.


<3 80's Ford trucks.

Now if it's anything like the new ones....do not want!

I lol'd
Negatory. Priuses run on Smug and Ego.

Maybe all 4? lol.

i think the last two are side effects from prius emmisions.

i eat up the looks i get when i pull up to a prius in my 78 with no cats or emmsion control

They might be. I get plenty of dirty looks from Prius drivers too. I guess they don't like me driving a 1985 F150...Can't imagine why, it runs great.

Also, you guys ever notice how Prius drivers think their car gives them a green light to drive like an arse? All the time, when I'm going down the freeway at 75-80MPH, they fly past me like I'm just sitting there.