Grimracer

Racers,

I would like to have a clean section on this board for us to post news and updates regarding the Rio 51. If we can Ron lets try and keep this one on track so those needed or wanting this info can find it easy.


I would like to provide you with some info that can help save your exhaust header and Casting of the Fuji 28 from undue stresses. It has been proven that the pre-load stresses caused by the misalignment of the exhaust system to the exit hole in the transom of the Rio 51 has been to blame for some of the parts breakage we are seeing.

OK let me see if can write this up so it easy to understand and for the most of you (we have some great wrenches on this board) can make the necessary adjustments to your parts to avoid breakage.

1. Unbolt the header from the engine and remove the header, pipe and rubber transom seal.
2. Reinstall the header and pipe into the boat. (Now might be a good time to re-place the pipe o rings if needed)
3. Rotate the pipe on the header and keep an eye on the stingers position in relation to the hole in the transom
4. Note the position of the pipe coupler water cooling fittings
5. If you can install the water lines with out any obstructions go ahead and mark the upper side of the pipe as the top.
6. At this time you can remove the pipe.. and….re-install the rubber transom seal, pipe and header, hook up your water lines and you are good to go. We have found that once the pipe is in place it does NOT have a tendency to rotate during operation. COOL…

If you could not get your water lines back on the fittings per #5 go back up to #4 and read on.

1. Rotate the pipe JUST to the point you are able to safely get the water lines on the fittings.
2. Mark this as the top of your pipe
3. Mark the back of the transom where the stinger is touching the hole.
4. Carefully and slowly, file, sand or grind the side of the hole to allow the stinger clearance from touching the hole.
5. Make a 1-1/2� wide by 1� tall aluminum or wood plate 1/8� thick with a 3/4� hole in the middle of it. Note: You might have to size the hole just a tad larger.
6. With the rubber seal in place over the stinger slip the plate on the stinger from the outside of the boat. Note: you can also install the plate on the inside of the boat if you like.
7. Glue and or screw (with sealer) the plate onto the back of the transom (this re-locates the hole in the back of the boat to remove the pre-load from the exhaust system. Remember if you use wood you are going to want to coat the wood with some sealer.

Here are some pictures of what this looks like.

Let me know if you have any questions. Also, we will provide you with more info as we can.

Grimracer

goldendesign04

way to go with the fix! Now I have to wait till uncle sam on that rebate an I got me a new boat!

I know its off topic but will just the hull be available anytime in the future? Looking to do a Brushless...maybe, just for ****s an giggles[8D]

Yeah a double order in the works, stock an electric to race each other!

Hells yeah
-Wayne

Jager 247

if your looking for a haul only let me know

Grimracer

Rio 51 Racers,

Dew to Dream's Stut falure I would like to post some information about the strut.

The pictues tell the story. let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks

Grimracer

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

Mike, I'll try my best to keep this on-topic. It appears that Matt has already done some clean-up work so be forewarned members that we will dump anything off-topic. We can do that with or without notifying you.

Grimracer

Ron,

No need to let me know.. That type of info does me / us no good....I would rather make sure that people that want to know have a place to get this information. Thanks man...

Let me also state.. agian..

IF.. we are on the road and anyone would like to talk RIO 51 with me please lets meet and talk face to face.

I will be in Las Vegas at Sunset Park (8 to noon) on the 23rd of this month.. We will be running the Rio 51 and would be happy to answer questions.


ROCK ON

Grimracer

Wet-N-Wild

I have tried the new fix for the Rio 51 but used the new pipe assembly from BH Hanson. Very helpful. I ground out the hull to find where the pipe wanted to be. Removed the pipe then filled in the hull with epoxy. Made a templete then re drilled the hole for a perfect fit. just need to add sealer then test. Here are some pictures. Tom

nwnitro

[8D]Are 'new' Rio's coming with any upgrades from the orig. run?, thx

SeanCWH

Tom,
Would you be so kind to list the Hanson part #s you purchased? I'm thinking of going your way...Cheers

bish72

grimracer im very new to forums so im trying to get this right but not new to the world of rc.i did make the aluminum plate for the back of my hull.it definatly has less strain on it now.it probably needed the hole in the plate offset alittle instead of centered because it still could have moved alittle bit but my plate wouldnt have been flat,it would have been on the curved corner.has this method of repair been working so far for people.i havent had it in water yet but its running great.started it several times hooked to a garden hose.also is the header holding out with this revision in most cases if its still the older one with no real visable weld.i did have a leaky tank but no questions asked and their sending out a new one.great customer service.no complaints what so ever on the company or the boat.love the looks of this huge think,hull looks awesome.

Grimracer

Rio 51 racers..

First Bish72 welcome to the fourm and to RC boating.

Im glad you were able to use the info to get your pipe aligned.

Be carefull doing the on shore testing. MAKE DARN sure you have water flowing through the system.. If not the orings from the header to the pipe can go bad. Also.. just for the sake of it I would get a new set of O rings just in case.. they can go about 3 gallons before they need replacement but I picked up some weeds on mine last night and.. toast.. I need new O rings.

You will know when you need new O rings because you will find more then the usual amount of water in the boat after a run.

Also..

I hope to have some info for this thread soon regarding what we have been doing to the boat for production.

ROCK ON RIO 51 RACERS

Grimracer

bish72

grimracer,thanks for replying.the repaired hull turned out good and cant even tell that i moved the exhaust exit hole.i did actually have a hose end made to hook to the pick up tube and had more then enough water running threw it but was unaware o-rings will need to be changed now and then.thanks ill get some on hand.and today i took my rio out for a run.still using the leaky tank but its pretty slow leakin now.replacement should come soon.ran it for 2 tanks with absolutely no problems what so ever.even ran fairly good speed for being pretty darn rich.after 2nd tank i leaned it ever so slightly.it was alittle fat yet but it was coming to life.ill take my time and lean it slowly.well i didnt get to run it that way to long.got alittle shallow and the long rudder snagged a rock.sheered the small bolt on the rudder and it hinged back.scared me alittle.it suddenly wouldnt turn lol.good thing that little bolt breaks easy,like that alot.no damages.never touched hull or prop.got lucky i guess.again i love this thing.bigger is always better.still running great and slowly getting it to perform.handles better as you get alittle speed i noticed.not that it ever handled bad.just responds real good.the header with a weld not real visable but a sweet soldered look held up the hole time.people definately got to try the update.believe it works.

Grimracer

Bish,

I changed the O rings in mine last night and the boath were toast. The inner ring was leaking as well as the outer.

Good tip.. get a few extra o rings.. Looks like they are good for about 3 to 4 gallons of regular use and about 10 seconds of plug water use..lol

ROCK ON

Grim

Hairballusmaximus

I have done the hull mod for proper pipe alignment, and got the new Rio 'welded' header pipe, so it now has good exhaust. I have another problem I am in the middle of fixing and am just wondering if this has happend to anyone else. The 'tall' wood runner that the engine bolts to on the ex pipe side tore out from the hull. Its a rather simple fix and is going to be way stronger than before but I dont think this should have happened. I am simply running new glass from one side, over both wood runners and to the other side in one complete piece, but is only about 8 inches wide as the one runner only pulled loose the first 6 inches or so. It did not put any holes in the hull it only pulled loose from the little 'flaps' of glass that run up each side of the runners about a 1/2 inch.

Anyway, anybody else had this happen? Any ideas how/why it happened? And is my 'fix ok or is it going to add too much weight or any other thoughts would be great.

Hairball

hawaiianed

Same happened to my Rio as well - and it happened when I had the stock motor in. I think that area is a two piece rail - I could be wrong but the crack in mine appeared that way. I did a similar repair except I glassed from the hull and up the rail and repeated on the opposite side (didn't wrap over the rail). I have a mod Bonzi motor, with a T-bar holding a ss stuffing tube in position in the same area and the rails have held up great since the repair. I'm sure Grim will chime in on this discussion soon.

Grimracer

I have not had this happen on the Rio but on some of my other boats.

Anytime you PULL on the motor be it starter cord or belt starting system you are going to place some stress on the rails.

its best to glue them back in (vinyl ester resin) or (polyester resin) is what is needed to do this. Also.. it’s a good idea to use heavy weight glass cloth as a fillet in the corners.

Also: remove the motor and pipe and wash the inside of the boat with dawn dishwashing liquid and hot water.. wash the heck out of it.. let it dry completely before glassing the rails back in

ROCK ON

Grim

Hairballusmaximus

Well, Ive been busy working on a full size boat but finally got to fixing the Rio engine rails. Grim, the only other thing i would recommend is using course sand paper and sanding every where you are going to glass for a really good bond. I used a full piece from side to side over both runners and both corners up front at the cross brace and is rock solid now!

Question for Grim, I noticed tower now has a exhaust brace available, do those of us with the early Rio need to buy this brace to protect the cyclinder, or is this available from aquacraft for free to eliminate the issue of broken exhaust ports?

Thanx for your time Grim

Hairball

Dreamin Hemi

My left rail started coming loose when the Fugi was in there. When I did my swap, I glassed both sides and filled the corners with micro chopped strand filler/resin. While still wet, took 2.5" 8.5oz glass tape and placed that on both sides of the rails, each one inside and out. VERY stiff and extremely strong. The picture is my own Dreamin CS, but I painted over the Rio interior and hard to see the extra glass.

Grim, just as a test for the Rio's overall structural strength, my neighbors 11 year old decided he didnt want to turn for a second on our pond and with a mild mod Zen power at full throttle HIT THE BANK!!!! The boat hit the waters edge, ran up the "ramp" at LEAST 8 feet in the air and 10-15 feet out while doing barrel rolls. The Rio hit the ground 45 degrees with the nose pointed down and finally came to a stop. Thinking my Rio hull was toast, I hesitated to walk to the carnage but to my surprise THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG! Looking all around inside of the hatch area the only thing inside there was some loose floatation resting now up against the heaer melting away. The exterior after a thourough inspection revealed a very minor gelcot scratch that exposed some glasswork. This thing can take a beating I tell ya....I just fired it back up again and gave it a few laps test run and decided it was back to business. Wish I had that camera going then, was quite a site seeing that missle launch out from the pond. Great job on an absolutely fantastic hull.

Just thought I'd share that.....

-Scott

webdr

There is no better feeling than expecting the worst and finding there is ZERO damage. Ive been there. Glad she survived the wrath of an 11 yo!
matt

mowerman88

My Feedback: (11)

GRIM I just ordered my rio is the newest run of boats coming with that pipe brace and if not do you have a part # so i can get one THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT AND GREAT LOOKING BOAT

Grimracer

To help with a few questions.. here are how the new parts are installed. "Exhaust support and pipe stop"

Let me know if you have any questions.. and thanks

Grim

Grimracer

lawn.. it will have the new parts.

Grim

Scubaru Steve

Hello,
i purchased my 51 about 2 months ago and i finnaly figured out how to start it and tune it, tried on 91oct at the beginning since i was told to, but regular is so much easier. had a few problems so far with the exhaust tip, it broke off the tuned pipe slid forward burnt some glass work and some of the wood reinforcement. i fixed it by using some jb wield. then about to run it again today and i see that the outer strut is cracked. i took everything out. I noticed that the bottom bolt prevents the strut from sliding in as much as your picture grim. currently reinforcing with more jb wield. hopefully tomorrow test it all out to make sure it will work again.

other then upgrading the steering rudder and the 2 minor breakages this boat is fun and attracts alot of attention.
i think i still need to reinforce all the wood as the radiobox is moving when i apply rudder or throttle.

Steve

suzukiboy

Grim

I want to buy an RIO 51 here in Australia, found one at a fair price but it will be shipped to me.

Way too far to pickup, I asked which version the seller has (update bits) and they are not sure, is there a way I can tell/inform the seller on how to check what he has. (re: model numbers/bar codes something on the outside of the box)

I gave him the link to this page, but they probley don't want/can't be bother to open box and look at the exhaust.

Cheers,
Dave

gcosse

Grim, Thanks for clearing up the proper install of the inner strut and shaft. I just have one question. In the pics you posted, you said that the inner strut needs to go all the way to the mounting bolt, so does that mean that the flange where the flex meets prop shaft goes on the stansom side of the mounting bolt? The mounting bolt passes inbetween the innner strut and the flange on the shaft? Thanks in advance. This is something thats had me stumped for a while.