BaddogKY0007

OK, I finally found a new SW 36 and have a spare stock flex-shaft included with it. I have also ordered the pra8021 (yes it is way long but it needs cut anyway) flex-shaft from the LHS. I will still order a MM18 when available. I know some of this stuff is in the Official SW thread but being a newbie I can hardly see the forest for the trees there.

Questions
Flexshaft:
How to possibly make the stock cable live. Someone mentioned they removed the washer between the strut and drive dog. Another mentioned that the thing was misaligned to start with and another says something about 1/4 clearance between strut and drive dog. Can you give it to me in laymans terms? I have a Dremmel tool and am pretty good with mechanics having built BBC supercharge engines and repair computers and peripherals. Just need a few instructions.

Break-in:
Should I run it on the bench doing the 2 liter bottle trick or just follow what is in the book?
Links on break-in?

Tuning:
Bunch of complaints in the SW thread about stalling, not running up all the way etc. How to identify lean and rich conditions? Starting point on needles? How much to change them at a time when I am close?

Auto Bailer:
Where can I get one without paying more for shipping than the part costs?

Exhaust Coupler:
How to make one or where to buy a better one?

Maintenance:
How often to lube cable and with what?

Whatever else I did not ask?

Take mercy on a humble idiot!

Tim T.

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

I'll give it a shot. Where to start............
OK, most flex cables aren't cut to length, you have to cut them to the size that you need. An easy way is to slide the cable all the way in with the prop and drive dog already on. Set that end up just like they did at the factory. A little trick there for placing the drive dog in place is to use a stack of 3 or 4 Dremel cut-off wheels on the mandrel to make the notch for the set screw.Be careful not to go too deep as it'll cut quickly.
Find out how much is hanging out of the strut then measure it. Leave the 1/8" to 3/16" in your figure and cut off the excess. If done right you should be okay. You can always err on the long side and shorten it a little more if you need to.
You're better off trying to break it in on the water, that way the motor is running under the load of the prop.
Carb settings. It's probably set rich from the factory and only a rough starting point. Too rich and it'll blow out a lot of fuel & oil. Check the head temp, if you can touch it for a couple of seconds, you're close. Too cool and it's still rich. Look at the plug to see how wet it is.
Auto bailer. Have your LHS get one for you.
You can buy the coupling by the foot so you'll have extra on hand. I use Aerotrend Products couplers because my LHS's have it in stock. GS Racing is another brand that a lot of shops carry also or can easily get plus they have a lot of colors.
Grease the cable after running it for a day or before heading out to the lake.
Don't feel like an idiot, we all didn't start off as R/C boating geniuses and I'm still far from being there.

soren wichmand

I dont think you can get the stock cable to live longer than 10 tanks of fuel no matter what you do! so you better take the new cable and compare it with the stock-cable and cut it after that...this way you are sure about the size.

I have tried to run the boat with and witout washers, 1/8" and 1/4" cable after the strut without feeling any difference in performance or wear so I dont think it matters that much as long as the cable rotates without any ristrictions. Actually you can feel if the flexcable slide frely into the strut and silicone/plast tube (the area where the strut meets the transom of the boat) if it does its ok but if you feel a distruction you will have to adjust the strut in order to fix the problem.

One thing I have had a lot of problems with on my shockw. is the manifold seeling (where the manifold meets the engine. If the engine performs badly from 1/2 trottle and up and you have tried to set the needles aprx. 2,5 turns out this might be the problem, but the couplar is bad too together with the tank cap....just an advise check these parts before you end up with a boat you simply hate!

Best regards
Soren

BaddogKY0007

Thanks for the replies. The boat is due to arrive today so before I run it I will attempt to correct some of these problems.