I recently bought what I believe is an older model of a nitro Traxxas Rustler after browsing Ebay along with doing further research online. I'll clean the car before bringing it inside for further inspection. I do have a complete Futaba Magnum radio in storage, even though its probably just as old as the Rustler.I have looked at newer radios like Spektrum & Traxxas of course for obvious reasons. I noticed that servos need to be purchased seperately when buying Traxxas radios which I think sucks. I"m considering doing an off chassis rebuild but if I don't I was thinking of adding new loc-tite to the already secured engine & mount. I figured it would be the right thing to do. I've looked into getting a parts car & found a few on Ebay & watched a few videos on "what to look for when purchasing a used rc car" especially the engine. I saved an exploded view of the Traxxas engine for my own benefit in case I have to take it apart. Thanks

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/167624282707

hmm for loctite use blue not red

1st thing is 1st make sure the engine has pinch. take it and rotate the flywheel if the piston has resistance near the top of the stroke that is a very good sign.
Also don't doubt yourself if you think there is a problem there probably is one.

I've bought like 6 or so used nitro RC's and out of those. Only 1 had a good engine which was good, and didn't need more in parts then a brand new engine to repair it.
Hell my 1st RC was a used nitro that I spent many hours trying to figure out thinking I was the problem. I bought a new engine, and had 0 issues again.

looking at the condition it is in in the photos I would expect to have to replace the air filter, possibly the engine(or at least the sleeve and piston), the fuel lines and possibly the gas tank if it wasn't drained.

as for servos generally they are separate. IF you want to go cheaper for radios look at a flysky radio like the FS-GT2 (I have had one for over 10 years). As for servos see if what is in it work if not you can get servos dirt cheap off amazon. And when I say cheap last time I bought a pile of servos for a robotics project I was working on I think I spent $15 for 4 where I used to spend $15 a piece for the cheap ones >.>

Thanks for the tip about the air filter. I probably would've remembered the filter after having a closer inspection of the car, or going to the hobby shop with a list of stuff to buy then realizing when I get home I forgot to buy a new one. I was thinking about the diff gears today & I have a couple tubes of Tamiya's Molybdenum grease which comes with a skinny nozzle to put grease in the right places. I was going to use the reference pics of the Rustler at the Traxxas site, & I think I'll take photos of my used rustler before & after assembly for my own benefit. I hope that I don't have to replace the engine as the engines specificaly for Traxxas nitro vehicles are over $300 & out of stock, although there are replacement engines I could buy. I just noticed I can buy complete front & rear differentials, but I'll check out the ones on the car before forking over $100. I also found a parts car with the engine which is nice, as most traxxas cars I've looked at don't have one. I started looking at Kyosho cars to repair & T-Maxx's, then I asked myself how many projects do I want.

Thanks for the reply
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/226849326284. This is the deal I wanted to buy except I was being outbid & chose to buy something else
https://www.rcscrapyard.net/ca/ I found this website when searching for more information about radio control models.

see a few new TRAXXAS engines on ebay for $140ish USD .15's and 3.3's from RC chop shops.

Hi Syco. I managed to get the engine unseized this afternoon using a heatgun. I used wd-40 at first as well as sewing maching oil but that combination didn't work, until I applied heat for about ten minutes going all over the engine without melting any plastic from thte ez-start housing . I stripped 3 screws trying to remove the housing. I bought more hex wrenches thinking some of the tools I was using were bad. Thanks

yea low quality hex keys can strip out. Had that happen on my 3d printer quite literally yesterday when I was trying to undo a seized grub screw. Found a decent one, and it came right out

That engine was probably stuck from the oil from the nitro fuel's residue. I had that happen on mine as they sat for over 10 years without being ran. I found em stuck as I was prepping them for sale, and making sure they still rotated before listing em(sold 2 out of 3. 3rd I'm keeping).

You should get small bottle of After Run Oil as WD-40 isn't really good for nitro. I think I paid like $2-3 for a bottle 15 years ago, and it still has like 95% in it as you only use like 2-3 drops after each run.

Also one question when you rotate the flywheel does the engine have more resistance at one point? I only ask as I'm not sure your level of expertise. As if it doesn't have and form or resistance, and feels the same it most likely would need a new sleeve and piston, but if it does there's a chance it might work fine.

Hi Syco. I think I have good compression on the engine as I did feel resistance at one point turning the flywheel, before it got easier even though it was still a little stiff. I do remember the possibility that even though the engine turns using the flywheel, it could be something like a bad piston and sleeve.

to be honest turning the flywheel isn't a full proof test to see if the engine has pinch, but it is promising if it does have resistance.

If it didn't it would have like no compression, and would run like **** if it ran at all.