cardo

Today I took a “lunch break” with the guys and went out for a little T-maxx bashing.
It was running good and strong for about 5-7 min then it seemed like the engine started to just bog down a lot.
So I brought it in and took the body off and to my horror I saw that there was NO AIR FILTER!?!?!? I had lost it in a crash the day before…..but didn’t know.
It was still idling ok when I brought it back to me but when I opened up the throttle it sounded like there was just a big load on the engine.
So my question is, is my engine totally dead now? Or could I do a little rebuild on it?
It’s a traxxas T-maxx 2.5 monster truck.

Thanks for any and all help!!

NitroVenom

Once you get sand in the engine, it will probably never run the same again. The sand and debrie will scratch the sleve lining and the crank. Its like taking a sand blaster to your internals. If you want to run it until it dies then take the whole engine apart and clean everything out with carb cleaner. Then lube it up with WD40. Your probably going to have to take all the needles out of the carb also and clean those out. Honestly its not going to be worth it. Its time for a new mill.

GreenRacer

My Feedback: (3)

Might not be as bad as all that. Disassemble the engine, and carburetor. Inspect it, then use carb cleaner on everything metal and compressed air to blow it all out, including the bearings. Oil lightly, reassemble, and see how it runs. Of course you will have SOME damage but it may run a while longer before you need a replacement. And this time (and always) use a strong zip tie on the filter where it connects to your carb. If it still runs like a pregnant mule, then it's time for a new piston and sleeve. Good luck.

beer=food

Toasssssssssssssssssssssssssst !

GreenRacer

My Feedback: (3)

Hahaha maybe not! Okay more than likely but you never know for sure until you try!

beer=food

You might get real lucky, but dont get ya hopes up, being realistic, its toast, the peak compression is gone, its now a matter of getting it to run and tune, pretty toasted, custom air filters pay off, try one and clip tie it to carby better, try ya engine ya never know, just dont get to excited, 90% chance its stuffed, this has happened to me and most of us over the years, 30 seconds without an airfilter in dusty or worse sandy conditions = dead engine.

G.W.

My Feedback: (22)

Could it be that the engine was running lean due to the absence of the filter? That would explain the engine bogging down. All of the sudden you would get increased air flow into the carb, thus causing a lean condition. If you got Sand in the engine it probably would just die. This is assuming there was no traces of dirt/sand around or in the carb. Pull the head and back plate and look for any foreign objects. If there is nothing visible, replace the filter and see how it runs.

cardo

Cool! thanks for the help! I will try taking it apart and cleaning it out.....I guess if all else fails I can just get a new engine. (I will just haft to remember to always check the filter befor starting it up....sucks to haft to learn this lesson the expencive way )

choppaholix

When this kinda stuff happens its not good,But what is good is that we lern from our mistakes and try not to due it again.Dont forget to put a zip tie at the air cleaner boot also, peace out.

matts6887

Like the others have already eluded to; any time sand gets inside of a nitro engine,....u can pretty much kiss the piston, sleeve, and conrod goodbye; because the grittiness from the sand will just tear the heck outta those 3 components, at which point u are much better off rather than rebuilding, it to do the trade in program(if its a traxxas engine 2.5 or 3.3)...u could try cleaning up the inside and see if it will run ok after that; but chances are is that it will probably do more harm than good trying to run it even further at that point....

cardo

I tore the engine apart last Friday, I didn’t see any big particles of dirt or anything, but you could tell there was a little grit in there. So I cleaned it out with carb cleaner, then lubed it with wd-40. I put back together and got it running again….so we will see how long it lasts. It seems like it still has good power so I will just try to take care of it until it dies and then go with something a little bigger. (it’s just the stock 2.5)

Thanks for all the help/reply’s!!

matts6887

Just keep an eye on it, because if it starts to lose a lot of low or top end power, that could be sign of bigger problems either now or down the road if u continue to run it that way...