I was looking of buying three rc cars from this guy on craigslist. He told me that he hasn't ran them for two years now. He said that most likely there might not be any compression in them. Is there a possible way of fixing the engine? Or would I need to swap out the engine?

Depends on the condition of the engine, most of the time you can send them to a person that works on them and they may be able to pinch the sleve. thats where they take apart the engine and remove the piston and sleve and pinch the sleve to fit the piston.....

you can also buy a new piston and sleeve, check the bearings to

and then it also depends on what engines they are if it worth fixing

It is. A rebuild is simple, pop a new piston and sleeve in and break it in all over again. Brand new engine.


Is it worth it? Depends on the engine.

most definetely depends on the engine. Alot of engines, you can buy an entirely new complete one for not much more money then a complete piston/rod/sleeve setup.

If you buy a new piston and sleeve will cost you almost as much as a new engine. But give them a try, I have left mine unused for 4 months without after run oil and I didnt have any problems. Started just fine, but is there a big difference in years not being used?

If you do have problems, what i would do is take the engine apart, sand any rust with fine sandpaper and lubricate, if you have a hard time taking the engine apart throw it in the oven at 275 for 10 min so parts could expand from each other.

Also if you do get hem cars, lubricate all bearings.

I only replace the rod if the rod feels worn during teardown.