I have a question regarding clutches. How would I know if my clutch is worn out? My RC car is a HPI RS4 RTR 3 Viper. The problem with it is that the wheels turn if I am on idle. I tried to adjust the RPM or the high end needle but my engine dies if I set it too low. The clutch bell also became wobbly and I hear a clanking noise when I ran it. I also saw some silver metal particles inside my clutch bell when I opened it up. I added another washer on top of the clutch bell so it does not wobbly to much but made sure it still spins freely, but the same results the wheels still turns at idle.

What am I missing? Help! I am a newbie. Just got my new RC 3 weeks ago but have been playing with it a lot. Almost ran more than a gallon of fuel on it.

Thanks for any help.

P.S. My clutch is still the stock clutch that came with the RC car. Thinking of upgrading it with a Nitro Racing Clutch but not sure yet if that is really the problem.

you need to adjust the idle stop screw so that the carb is slightly open. take the fuel filter off and adjust the screw. as far as the clutch wobbling i have no clue. take it off and make sure everything is straight. Grinding sounds is not a good thing. I am not sure if its possible but you may have bent the clutch nut. your pinion gear also may be stripped aswell as your spur. make sure everything is loose and straight. You may need to remove the engine to get the clutch off. make sure you set the gear mesh when installing it back on to the chasi. take a pecice of paper and press the pinion to the spur with the peice of paper in bettween, tighten the screws and you should have the perfect mesh.

Thanks for your reply. I dd adjust carb opening to 1mm per instructions from the HPI manual. I have a digital caliper and made sure everything is adjusted properly. I replaced the clutch with a Nitro Racing Clutch which is a hop up from the original clutch. I just bought and installed it today and same thing. If I adjust the idle to low the engine dies but the wheels even at low idle still spins. Regarding the mesh of the gears, I made sure it doesn't wobble but made sure also that it does not bind. I also read the article on RC Nitro regarding "How to: Install any type of clutch?" I followed every procedure that they suggested.

I am stomped. I do not know what to replace next. The only thing that I can think of is change the clutch bell, bearing and the shims. What else is left?

one thing you could try is drilling tiny holes and i mean tiny holes like 1/16 size(prefer smaller) in the clutch shoes. Make sure to drill them in the middle of the shoes and drill 2 to 3 holes. this will lighten them up and make it harder for them to engadge. try that and if it still doesnt work try going with a bigger size drill bit. dont go to big or your shoes may break in half. did you install the clutch shoes correctly? everything spins freely correct?

Ok. I will try that. But, I am wondering why do I need to lighten my clutch now but when I was breaking it in I did not have to adjust my clutch. Everything was ok.

Installing a clutch.

http://www.rcnitro.com/rn/articles/ht_anyclutch.asp

http://www.rcnitro.com/rn/articles/clutch.asp