just treied to start my sons xp and it is real hard to pull, rope broke while trying to get it to start first time, so just to check a thought i pulled the glow plug and turned flywheel by hand,wnt ok till piston got to top dead position it stopped and was extremely hard to move and while flywheel was still turning piston didnt move but could hear what sounded like the rod slipping on the crank.....could the rod be too long or is this normal and the motors are junk..... by the way car is brand new and hasnt even run yet....... have turned over my duratrax and associated and losi lst by hand and they are much freer

the rod cant slip on the crank without breaking, and the rod is built for the engine so it will fit, first starts are hard, here is what will make it easier, take the glow plug out, drop 3 drops of after run oil in it, put it back in, take the air filter off, drop 3 drops of after run oil in it, then, when you go to start it (after isntalling a new pull start) heat it up with a hairdryer for 2 or so minutes until its hot, since these engines dont have piston rings like cars, they rely on something called pinch for compression, the top of the cyilinder is smaller than the bottom, but when ti heats up, it expands, make sure you do a proper break in too

thanx will give it a try and let u know how i make out once the starter getshere

If you don't want to wait for your starter in the mail you can go to your local hobby shop and pick one up.
Just go in asking for an HPI pullstart part number 1668. It'll run you about 18 bucks. I think the hpi pull start is also a little better built than the ones that come on our cars.

Mine was so tight when I got it that I had to take the head off and puller the starter while holding it together with my thumb. I know it would have broke the rod if I pushed any harder assembled. After it loosened up enough with the head off I put it back together and broke it in. Runs fine now.

My engine was tight too, i just put some fuel in it and turned it over a little and then started it, i thought something was wrong with it but it did break in fine. its funny because it seems the torndado has this problem and not the volcano truck. The radio for the truck is different with the tornado too, i wonder if they come from a different place.

this may be true about different makers for the trucks