savage ss problems starting engine
 

I put the savage togethor and went to crank it using the steps in the engine book.

I then took it down to my LHS and he cranked it. He said it was flooded pretty bad and showed me how to unflood.

Problem is i can't get it cranked on my own

any tips comments would be appreciated

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

When you say you can't crank it do you mean that you can't get it to turn overe or you can't get it to start?

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

I had the same problem.

It appears that the fuel flowed from the tank to the carb without priming. This is probably because the fuel level with a full tank is above the level of the carb, and there were no points in the fuel line above the level of the fuel in the tank in my set-up. So, when I followed the directions for the first start (primed it 4 times), the motor compression-locked due to excess fuel.

Don't prime the motor if you can see that the fuel has already reached the carb without priming.

If you can't pull the motor over, loosen the glow plug until you can. It will start this way, then just tighten the plug after it starts.

If you can pull the motor over but it's not firing, then check the battery and plug for good heat.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

I did the same thing. In fact, I still don't have my SS running yet, but when I primed the motor by pressing the button 4 times I flooded the crap out of the engine. This is my first RC, so I'm going slow and I hope today I can get it started. Also, I was babying the pull start......I didn't know that sometimes it's a physical fitness test in itself to get these things started during break in.

ZipZap, thanks for the tip about loosening the glow plug...I'm gonna try that today.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

These things are definetly a workout during break-in. They have a ton of compression and are hard to pull. That will all change after a couple of thanks though. One other side note you might want to wear a glove on the hand you are using to start the engine because you will get some blisters for sure.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Ok, I got it started for the very first time once I loosened the glow plug a bit!!!!! Now, how do I keep it running for over 15 seconds?? lol.......it starts, and even when I give it a good bit of throttle it usually dies in a very short amount of time. Is this normal??

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

What stage of break-in are you? Are you still runnig the idel tanks?

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Yes, I haven't been able to keep it running at all. I usually have to start the savage with almost half throttle. Once I get it running, it runs for around 15 seconds then dies. I tried adjusting the throttle down closer to idle, but it instantly dies when I do that.

Also, after I start it, when I take the glow plug igniter off the glow plug the engine has a noticeable drop in....ummm....liveliness (can't think of a better word lol). It still runs after that for around 10 seconds or so.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Is your pressure line on? (the one from the exhaust to the tank). Also check for any air bubbles in the fuel line.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

The pressure line is on, but there are a couple of TINY bubbles in the fuel line. Could this be the problem, or do new engines always die like this?

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

I think me 21BB only died like once or twice during the idle tanks, But you have the new 25 and not alot of people have experience with them yet but I would say that it is probably not normal. Try removing the fuel line from the carb and priming it until all of the air bubbles are gone and try it again.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Here's a new one on me......I start my Savage SS and it runs for about 10-15 sec. still and doesn't stay running. I tried leaning the engine out 1\8 turn to no avail. When it's running, I feel something hit my bare foot, and I lean down to pick it up and it's this (a plastic-like shaving):

It looks like it's coming from this wheel (big wheel on underside of Savage):

Is this the brake disc, and shavings are coming off of it?? If so, I don't know why because my brake isn't engaged. Also, when the truck is off the wheels spin freely. I'm confused...

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

the engine has to warm up first, so 1/2 throttle (or wherever you say is the sweet spot) get it going let it run around for a bit before you back off the throttle, it sounds like you are running too lean...Ihave no idea what that plastic part is though. maybe something was stuck in you truck?

I didn't get any blisters durring break in on my .21, well I almost got one.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

There's a couple more of the shavings lying around where I've started it up.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Remove your rims and see if they are stripped...I knwo the SS is supposed to have new hexes but the rims are still too soft for a Big Block Engine...Thats my best guess....

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

But the wheels haven't even hit the ground yet. The whole time the engine is running, I've been holding the Savage up in the air so the wheels have met no resistance. I"ll check when I get home in about 2.5 hrs just to be sure, though.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

yes that would be VERY strange then, can you better describe "wheels spin freely"

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Keep the glow plug ignitor on!

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

"Wheels spin freely" as in that they are perfectly installed with the nuts tightened, but I'm holding the truck off the ground so that when the throttle is applied, the wheels spin without resistance.

Razoo, actually the engine runs as long as I keep the igniter on. The engine only dies a short time after I remove the igniter. I just want the engine to run on it's own, without holding an igniter in it for an elongated period of time after it's been started.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Keep it on for 1 tank, you are trying to break it in right? You need to keep it running until you will be able to tune it. You won't hurt anything.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

I didn't think that even a fully charged glow plug igniter could continuously run for 15 minutes....thanks for the tip, I'll try it the next time I fire it up. Before that, though, I'd like to find out what the shavings are......I don't wanna be running it if something's set up wrong. I'll probably take it to the LHS Saturday and take the shavings with me and see if they can tell me anything.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

More pics of the shavings, and for size reference a 20 oz. coke bottle top:

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Here's a full res full quality pic of one of the shavings. As you can see, it's fibrous....for the life of me I can't figure out what it is.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

I've decided to start my own thread for the shavings issue. From now on use that thread please.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Do you have the needle settings on the engine right? It sounds like its too lean and starving for fuel when you give it throttle.On the glow plug...if you flooded it a couple times and have left the ignitor on for a long time, its probably a good idea to get a new glow plug.
If you're holding it up in the air,and holding a radio,then its pretty hard to tune the engine....I would prop it up on somethin close to the ground so you can make adjustments on it.Is there maybe a little bit of fuel and smoke coming out of the pipe while its runnin?It should be rich enough to be spittin a little bit of fuel for the first few tanks and you really shouldn't go over 1/3 throttle on those tanks either.....I'd actually drive it too but resist gettin on it;Its not too good for the drivetrain to spin the wheels with no resistance.
On your plastic shavings...Is this the SS? Did you build the truck? If so,where on the truck have you seen that material?Look over the truck real slow and carefully...turn the wheels real slow and watch everything and see if you can find anything.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

ok, you need a new glo plug, if no matter what you are doing it dies right after removing the ignitor, then just put in a new glo plug. the one that came with my SS died out on me 1/4 way through my 1st idle tank.

go ahead and put the truck on the ground, the wheels can touch, that's how you should do it.
adjust your throttle trim up as much as you can at 1st till you see the truck inch forward. then ease it back just till it idles. as the tank runs through you can back off the idle more as needed.

the second tank you might even have the trim back to the middle.


as far as the shaving go, i doubt this is what they are but they almost look like the plastic sheet that covers the body to keep paint off. i doubt you forgot to peel that off so i am honestly pretty stumped on that .

i just finished tank 2 on my SS tonight and this version of the 25 is harder then the force 25 or 26 to get kicked in on that 1st tank, but after you finish it seems to be starting much better now.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

I tested the glow plug by holding it in the igniter with pliers, and it lit up just fine. Can a glow plug be bad and still light up? If so, I'll go get some new glow plugs tomorrow.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

yes, why not try another and save the one that came in it if you feel it might work, i assume you did buy a few?

what fuel are you using?

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Yes, I bought 3 O.S. A-3 glow plugs.

I'm using HPI 20% nitro fuel....I bought a gallon of it at my LHS

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Update: I put a brand new A-3 glow plug in about 30 min. ago and she fired right up!! I set it on my styrofoam makeshift stand and proceded to do the very first 1 tank idle. I had the tires spinning some, and it ran right till the end of the tank. I have one question, though. About halfway through the tank, I could hear the rpm of the engine getting a tiny bit higher. Right when the gas was about to run out, the engine rpm jumped drastically. It was almost as if I floored it, but I had done nothing. My receiver and radio were both on, because I had trimmed the throttle to back it off a bit. Why the sudden burst in throttle out of nowhere?? It was so much throttle that I got ancy and pinched the fuel line to shut off the engine (right at the end of the tank). The batteries in my receiver and radio are good, and my radio was reading 11.6v.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

They all do that, right before the tank emptys, the engine runs very lean for a few seconds. Its normal, sounds like your on your way

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Great!! I was hoping it was normal.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

The revving when you were halfway through the tank was probably small bubbles in the fuel line.

If you think about it, running lean gives you higher RPMs. You run a car leaner by having more air and less fuel in there.

If you have bubbles in the fuel line, or if you're on the last few drops of fuel, then you have more air getting through :)

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Yeah i got my SS on aug 30th and finally everything is running great. I had some much trouble getting the engine to start that i got the roto start. Also man did it take me a while to get the idle and low end set correctly. But man is it worth it. I brought my SS to work to show my friends. Man were they impressed. This sunday im taking my SS to lake perris to play around with.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

The end of tank issue has been explained; I never let my run-in tanks go completely dry.

The middle of the tank issue; well, you've just demonstrated the stock tank leaning issue on Savage tanks. Some folks think that this is due to the location of the fuel pick-up. I, however, subscribe to the belief that it's a tank elevation issue.

At the start of this thread, you mentioned the flooding issue. This was due to the fuel level being above the carb. On the standard SS set-up, the carb is even with the middle of the tank. So, as the fuel level drops below the level of the carb, the fuel pressure level at the carb decreases. This produces a leaner mixture. It shouldn't be a big issue as long as you're tuned rich to start with. If you race tune with a full tank, you run the risk of over-leaning when the tank reaches half-full. This could create excessive temps.

This is a well-known issue in Savage circles, although the cause is debated. There are solutions to the issue which include swapping in a different tank or adding a second, intermediate tank. Go to savage-central.com and do a search on "dual tank mod".

I'm in the midst of deciding what I want to do on my Savage. In the meantime, I'm just keeping it rich!

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Maybe someone can help me out with a picture or a description here.....I'm trying to set up my throttle linkage so that when the throttle servo arm is at a 90 degree angle (perpendicular to the servo), the engine idles. Can anyone tell me how much the slide carb should be opened for the engine to idle? I thought I had it set pretty good, but with the servo arm at 90 degrees, the engine revved pretty high. So, I need to extend my linkage to close the slide carb more, but I don't know how much to close it.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

On the SS, you should have the servo arm/saver, and another 90 degree horn on the side brace near the engine. the only adjustable piece is the ball link from the 90 degree horn to the carb.

The idle on the motor is set at the factory. Mine was fine, and yours is likely OK as well. I'm guessing that you have the 18T gear on the motor, becasue with that set-up the motor is further away from the 90 degree horn than the instructions assumed (15T is a bit closer). So, when you set the length of the ball link per the instructions, a 90 degree servo position is not idle. If you set the trim for a decent idle, then it's hard to get enough brake because the servo arm is already about 15 degrees past 90 degrees.

To fix this, remove the ball link piece from the carb and from the 90 degree horn. Unsrew the ball cup (lefty loosey) until you get it to a length that sets the servo arm at 90 degrees. Then set up the brake. This should work, but you have to go through the same thing again any time you change clutch bells.

I solved this whole issue by changing the entire set-up. If I figure out how to post pictures, I'll put them and some instructions on the site.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

Gotcha. Everything makes sense, except that I don't know how much closed the slide carb has to be to make the engine idle (wheels dont spin at all, or very very very slowly). Should I elongate the ball link so that a 90 degree servo arm closes the slide carb all the way?? Almost all the way?? If not, how much open should the slide carb be?

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

The slide carb should be closed "all the way" - ie, if you were to put the brakes on your carb shouldn't close any more.

You use the idle screw to adjust how much air gets through when the engine is in this state, and the usual seems to be a 1mm gap when you peer down the carb (take the air filter off first!)

If you're gonna adjust the idle, open the throttle first to avoid damaging the needles.

RE: savage ss problems starting engine
 

When the slide carb is pushed all the way in by the servo, there's a little needle on the end of the idle screw, inside the throat of the carb, that keeps the carburetor open ever so slightly (about 1mm, or so). The size of the small opening can be controlled by turning the idle screw, on the outside of the carb, in and out.

The servo saver assembly on your SS keeps the slide pushed in all the way at idle with the help of that spring ring you installed between the two halves of the throttle/brake servo horn. You really want to make sure that the slide moves all the way in, and then the servo moves another 5 degrees or so to compress the spring. This gives you a "true" idle. If you rely on the servo position itself to set the idle, it's called "false" idle.

To answer your question specifically:
Lengthen the ball link so that the slide stops moving, plus a little more. Your servo saver will put pressure on the slide, which will give you a consistent idle.