Guys I need advice please..... I have a Rex-x buggy (X-terminator to you guys over the pond!!) with the force21 P4 engine. I have been out 'playing' tonight and seem to have suffered a piston failure - see pics attached. The engine is two weeks old and has only been used a little. Now, I believe these engines come with a 30 day guarantee against parts failure IF failure is not due to lean running... Here's a few questions I need help with please :

* could I have caused this through lean running or is it likely to be a simple piston failure?
* does anyone have any experience with claiming against the warrantee (succesful or otherwise)
* In the UK - what sort of money am I looking at to repair this?
* is it worth repairing?
* given that I don't race - what engine would be good to replace this with if I wanted a RELIABLE / faster / more powerful engine without it costing a fortune?

I've had the head off and there appears to be no damage to the bore.... I was half expecting to see that the engine had seized and then broken the piston but there are no score marks. All the components I can see appear to be a normal colour (I can't see any blueness indicating ridiculous temperatures)

Any advice / help given would be much appreciated as I am a newbie to Nitro engines.... Cheers.

Well, living in the states, I can't help ya w/ prices, or parts, but...If you figure you're going to need a piston/ sleeve set, a pin, and retainers, and con rod. The price of those parts will probably be close to the price of another engine. You'd also have to darn sure there wasn't any hidden junk trapped in the bearings, etc. Can you get the XTM .247 (24/7) over there? I have an X-Terminator w/ that engine and it's a real nice, powerful and reliable (so far) engine...

i didnt notice you said you opened it... i agree get a new engine instead of a rebuild if its not covered...its cheaper

Hello

Somehow I doubt THAT was caused by lean running, running lean generally just shortens engine life, among some other things, but it doesnt usually result in piston failure. If you dont mind my asking, did you follow proper break-in procedure because if you did a very bad break-in or none at all it might have caused your problem.

If you ran the engine in properly then I would think it was manufacturing problem and I would see if you can get it replaced, if you cant i dont think trying to repair it would be to good and option, rather buy yourself a nice reliable engine, my RTR engine is already shot, losing compression fast and I havent even run 4 litres through it, (around 1 gallon) and I have serious problems. Cant even finish 2 laps at the track without it quitting :P, that is why im getting myself a nice Novarossi P5.

Well thats all I can think of for know, perhaps one of the more veteran racers will be able to shed some light on the situation.

Thanks
Smokey

sorry - already answered above!!


--> Thanks for the answers guys... Is it likely that I caused this by running too lean or is it just a simple parts failure???

Cheers

Steve

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Smokey... I am pretty new to all this but with regards to break in, I did at least 5 or 6 tank-fulls of fuel without running flat out (I used 5% for running in)... Since reading a lot of the forum posts, I probably didn't run it in 100% properly but I have a feeling something else was at fault....

About 2 sessions ago, the plate that sits between the one-way bearing and the crank came a little loose... the tiny spring loaded pin that sits in the crank came out whilst the engine was running. At the time the damage looked minimal and the problem was fixed but im now wandering if this could have cracked the piston... hence the failure. As I already mentioned, I am new to this so probably missed the important signs of immenent failure...

Steve

2 things the manufacturer will look for as sure signs its "your fault" is the color of the top of the piston(is it black ?) and the color of the crank pin, if you disassemble the engine and take the rod off the pin it may be blue....this is bad.


Try for the warrenty thing, providing its not black on the piston and blue on the pin, if you need a better engine go for the 24.7 or Hyper 8 port or somthing like that...really depnds on how much money you want to spend..and how fast you want to go !

TM

Thanks for the advice guys... I have contacted the shop and they have agreed to send the engine back to the manufacturer for inspection.. I will let you know how I get on. In the mean time, I managed to pick up a (new) identical engine minus clutch, starter, heatsink and mount on ebay for £28 (around $45) last night so im hoping that will get me out of trouble if all else fails!

Cheers

Steve

Are you going to get your money back for the broken engine or just a fixed engine?

I'd be happy with a fixed engine (or a replacement) to be honest as I only use my car for playing & I don't intend on racing

Steve