Bad Engine From Traxxas?
02-26-2009, 05:32 PM
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Bad Engine From Traxxas?
I recently purchased a T-Maxx 3.3 new version (about 10 days ago). After performing the proper break in, I started trying to tune it. I spent the next 5 tanks trying to get it to run right. I could only get it to idle at a very high speed. I took it to my LHS the next day. They spent an hour and a half and 4 more tanks of fuel trying to get it right, all the while saying there is something weird about this engine. Finally they thought they had it right. I tried it 2 days later, and once again, it just would not tune. It would be crazy rich off the bottom end and the lean bog 4 seconds later. One pass it would run perfect then I would slow down, turn around, and then it wouldnt even shift into second gear. It would idle very sporadically. It would idle fine a few times, then the next stall. I got frustrated and took it back to the hobby shop. This time they immediately pulled the head. The piston and sleeve were extremely scarred, the piston was rounded put at the edges, the head was puckered, and there was very little pinch. They thought that some dirt had gotten in there, but I have been extremely meticulous about cleaning everything before I take out the glow plug, and always cleaning the air filters. I went home and took the engine off of the truck. At this point I think I found the real problem. The crank shaft had all kinds of play. I called the LHS and they said that it probobly had an air/leak at the mainbearing causing lean conditions. I had constantly checked the temperature, and always had plenty of blue smoke coming out. So I sent it back to Traxxas today. Has anyone had this problem before? I have less than a half gallon through it. I have had several nitro cars over the years, and they all still run just fine. What do you think? Do you think Traxxas will exchange it?
02-26-2009, 05:51 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
if its a manufacture problem, they should replace it... my 3.3 ran good but i got tired of retuned for each day. there picky when it comes to out side temperature and humidity.
02-26-2009, 07:02 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
traxxas has really good customer support i had my 2.5 maxx for 6 months and just recently my motor went and they exchanged it for a new one
02-26-2009, 07:41 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
ORIGINAL: scoobs92
traxxas has really good customer support i had my 2.5 maxx for 6 months and just recently my motor went and they exchanged it for a new one
traxxas has really good customer support i had my 2.5 maxx for 6 months and just recently my motor went and they exchanged it for a new one
02-26-2009, 08:00 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
ORIGINAL: GreenRacer
That depends entirely on who you get on the phone.
ORIGINAL: scoobs92
traxxas has really good customer support i had my 2.5 maxx for 6 months and just recently my motor went and they exchanged it for a new one
traxxas has really good customer support i had my 2.5 maxx for 6 months and just recently my motor went and they exchanged it for a new one
02-26-2009, 08:13 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
ORIGINAL: DaveG55
And how you approch them.
ORIGINAL: GreenRacer
That depends entirely on who you get on the phone.
ORIGINAL: scoobs92
traxxas has really good customer support i had my 2.5 maxx for 6 months and just recently my motor went and they exchanged it for a new one
traxxas has really good customer support i had my 2.5 maxx for 6 months and just recently my motor went and they exchanged it for a new one
02-26-2009, 09:42 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
thank you for your replies, I appreciate that. It has been extremely varying in temperatures here lately, but the engine would lose tune several times during the same tank. I sure hope traxxas lives up to its repution of having good customer service. Honestly I was not impressed with the person I got on the phone though. I explained the situation, and all he said was send it in. Wouldnt take my name or anything. Regardless I will remain optimistic and eager to get back on the gas!
P.S. Has anyone heard of that problem? Will a bad main bearing cause lean enough conditions to burn up a motor that fast? I did try the pressure test, and a very significant amount of air came out of the front of the engine (it exited just as fast as I could blow through the fuel line.) Anyways thanks again for the replies.
P.S. Has anyone heard of that problem? Will a bad main bearing cause lean enough conditions to burn up a motor that fast? I did try the pressure test, and a very significant amount of air came out of the front of the engine (it exited just as fast as I could blow through the fuel line.) Anyways thanks again for the replies.
02-27-2009, 07:57 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
definitely. basically an airleak in the main bearing (or backplate, for that matter) will cause the engine to not be able to create enough suction to pull fuel into the crankcase creating a lean condition.
In your case, if the bearing was defective, or the crankcase was machined too large for the bearing to create a proper seal, there could be an intermittent air leak in/around that bearing. This seems to fit with your engine being hard to tune. You would tune it rich for the times when it was leaking, but then it would seal and the motor would be twice as rich as it needed to be. so, you would lean it out, and then the bearing would lose its seal, stop sucking fuel, and the motor would run crazy lean - causing premature engine wear. The engine would also go through wild temperature swings over the course of a tank, also leading to premature wear because it would inevitably be too cool sometimes.
I know that in a snowmobile engine, if one of the crankshaft bearings has an airleak, the piston(s) will actually melt due to the lean condition causing overheating. I know - it happened to mine.
In your case, if the bearing was defective, or the crankcase was machined too large for the bearing to create a proper seal, there could be an intermittent air leak in/around that bearing. This seems to fit with your engine being hard to tune. You would tune it rich for the times when it was leaking, but then it would seal and the motor would be twice as rich as it needed to be. so, you would lean it out, and then the bearing would lose its seal, stop sucking fuel, and the motor would run crazy lean - causing premature engine wear. The engine would also go through wild temperature swings over the course of a tank, also leading to premature wear because it would inevitably be too cool sometimes.
I know that in a snowmobile engine, if one of the crankshaft bearings has an airleak, the piston(s) will actually melt due to the lean condition causing overheating. I know - it happened to mine.
02-27-2009, 09:20 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
****, I had my TRX 3.3 for a month before it burnt up. It has nearly no compression right now. It still runs but for how long? I can't blame traxxas though, it was most likely my fault.
02-27-2009, 09:50 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
Well, as with anything nitro, live and learn. You can rebuild that puppy or buy an aftermarket engine, an OS TM for example would sit very nicely in any Traxxas RC. Or if you please and dont care about box starting your RCs, the OS .18TZ is also a great engine. Lots of power for a small block, definitely a step up from any other RTR .18ci engine.
As far as TRX engines, they can be hit or miss. They are kind of tune picky, and there are some lemons that fall through the cracks and into RTRs. But if you catch the problem form the git-go, Traxxas CS will definitely make it right every time. Alot of TRX engines run great and last a long time giveing their owners no problems whatsoever, but then sometimes a bad apple coomes up too. (actually, I guess teh frequency of even HPI's Kingstar engins probably have the same occurance of bad engines coming up. Such is the game of buying Taiwan RTR engine.)
As far as TRX engines, they can be hit or miss. They are kind of tune picky, and there are some lemons that fall through the cracks and into RTRs. But if you catch the problem form the git-go, Traxxas CS will definitely make it right every time. Alot of TRX engines run great and last a long time giveing their owners no problems whatsoever, but then sometimes a bad apple coomes up too. (actually, I guess teh frequency of even HPI's Kingstar engins probably have the same occurance of bad engines coming up. Such is the game of buying Taiwan RTR engine.)
02-27-2009, 09:57 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
I've posted many times before about the issue of the TRX 3.3. I bought my 4908 T-Maxx when they first came out last year. I broke it in as Traxxas instructed and at tank 4 the One Way Bearing froze onto the Starter Shaft. I called customer support and they sent me a replacement. I think it took about 3 or 4 days. Put it on and I was good to go. Each tank produced more power and speed. As far as tuning. Mine was a pain, sometimes having to retune 3 or 4 times during a tank of Nitro. I liked it for what it was worth. I sold that one and I've kept my 4909 T-Maxx that's powered by a O.S. .21RG Engine. I like the Big Block better. The OS has about 1 1/2 gallon after a complete rebuild. I've got $400 towards the new XXL and i'm still saving. Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll be posting picks of that one.
03-01-2009, 09:18 AM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
ORIGINAL: clifflivs
I recently purchased a T-Maxx 3.3 new version (about 10 days ago). After performing the proper break in, I started trying to tune it. I spent the next 5 tanks trying to get it to run right. I could only get it to idle at a very high speed. I took it to my LHS the next day. They spent an hour and a half and 4 more tanks of fuel trying to get it right, all the while saying there is something weird about this engine. Finally they thought they had it right. I tried it 2 days later, and once again, it just would not tune. It would be crazy rich off the bottom end and the lean bog 4 seconds later. One pass it would run perfect then I would slow down, turn around, and then it wouldnt even shift into second gear. It would idle very sporadically. It would idle fine a few times, then the next stall. I got frustrated and took it back to the hobby shop. This time they immediately pulled the head. The piston and sleeve were extremely scarred, the piston was rounded put at the edges, the head was puckered, and there was very little pinch. They thought that some dirt had gotten in there, but I have been extremely meticulous about cleaning everything before I take out the glow plug, and always cleaning the air filters. I went home and took the engine off of the truck. At this point I think I found the real problem. The crank shaft had all kinds of play. I called the LHS and they said that it probobly had an air/leak at the mainbearing causing lean conditions. I had constantly checked the temperature, and always had plenty of blue smoke coming out. So I sent it back to Traxxas today. Has anyone had this problem before? I have less than a half gallon through it. I have had several nitro cars over the years, and they all still run just fine. What do you think? Do you think Traxxas will exchange it?
I recently purchased a T-Maxx 3.3 new version (about 10 days ago). After performing the proper break in, I started trying to tune it. I spent the next 5 tanks trying to get it to run right. I could only get it to idle at a very high speed. I took it to my LHS the next day. They spent an hour and a half and 4 more tanks of fuel trying to get it right, all the while saying there is something weird about this engine. Finally they thought they had it right. I tried it 2 days later, and once again, it just would not tune. It would be crazy rich off the bottom end and the lean bog 4 seconds later. One pass it would run perfect then I would slow down, turn around, and then it wouldnt even shift into second gear. It would idle very sporadically. It would idle fine a few times, then the next stall. I got frustrated and took it back to the hobby shop. This time they immediately pulled the head. The piston and sleeve were extremely scarred, the piston was rounded put at the edges, the head was puckered, and there was very little pinch. They thought that some dirt had gotten in there, but I have been extremely meticulous about cleaning everything before I take out the glow plug, and always cleaning the air filters. I went home and took the engine off of the truck. At this point I think I found the real problem. The crank shaft had all kinds of play. I called the LHS and they said that it probobly had an air/leak at the mainbearing causing lean conditions. I had constantly checked the temperature, and always had plenty of blue smoke coming out. So I sent it back to Traxxas today. Has anyone had this problem before? I have less than a half gallon through it. I have had several nitro cars over the years, and they all still run just fine. What do you think? Do you think Traxxas will exchange it?
If you run in the dirt it is very hard to get the area around the glow pluge clean before you take it out.
Only remove your plug if it is bad. Clean around the plug then lossen it, turn the truck upside down and remove the plug. leave the truckon its roof.
When you put the new plug in stand the truck up on its nose vertical, and install the new plug.
After- run you do thur the carb. A couple of drops of oil is all you need, and turn the motor over.
Traxxas has great support, but if any dirt got into the engine they can tell. Good luck
03-01-2009, 09:22 AM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
ORIGINAL: bigblock.21
I've posted many times before about the issue of the TRX 3.3. I bought my 4908 T-Maxx when they first came out last year. I broke it in as Traxxas instructed and at tank 4 the One Way Bearing froze onto the Starter Shaft. I called customer support and they sent me a replacement. I think it took about 3 or 4 days. Put it on and I was good to go. Each tank produced more power and speed. As far as tuning. Mine was a pain, sometimes having to retune 3 or 4 times during a tank of Nitro. I liked it for what it was worth. I sold that one and I've kept my 4909 T-Maxx that's powered by a O.S. .21RG Engine. I like the Big Block better. The OS has about 1 1/2 gallon after a complete rebuild. I've got $400 towards the new XXL and i'm still saving. Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll be posting picks of that one.
I've posted many times before about the issue of the TRX 3.3. I bought my 4908 T-Maxx when they first came out last year. I broke it in as Traxxas instructed and at tank 4 the One Way Bearing froze onto the Starter Shaft. I called customer support and they sent me a replacement. I think it took about 3 or 4 days. Put it on and I was good to go. Each tank produced more power and speed. As far as tuning. Mine was a pain, sometimes having to retune 3 or 4 times during a tank of Nitro. I liked it for what it was worth. I sold that one and I've kept my 4909 T-Maxx that's powered by a O.S. .21RG Engine. I like the Big Block better. The OS has about 1 1/2 gallon after a complete rebuild. I've got $400 towards the new XXL and i'm still saving. Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll be posting picks of that one.
Nice truck
03-01-2009, 09:27 AM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
ORIGINAL: scoobs92
traxxas has really good customer support i had my 2.5 maxx for 6 months and just recently my motor went and they exchanged it for a new one
traxxas has really good customer support i had my 2.5 maxx for 6 months and just recently my motor went and they exchanged it for a new one
03-01-2009, 06:57 PM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
First of all, thank you for all of your responses, I appreciate it.
So all you have to do is run the after run through the carb? Traxxas says to do it through the plug too. But if all you need to do is run it through the carb, that would definately un-complicate things.
Otherwise, my engine should get to Traxxas tomorrow so I will let you know what happens!
So all you have to do is run the after run through the carb? Traxxas says to do it through the plug too. But if all you need to do is run it through the carb, that would definately un-complicate things.
Otherwise, my engine should get to Traxxas tomorrow so I will let you know what happens!
03-02-2009, 12:01 AM
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RE: Bad Engine From Traxxas?
Yes it's ok to run your after run oil through the carb. Yuo should turn the engine over 10 times or more when you do this. I use a penetrant fluid I buy at Napa Auto stores. It's called Deep Creep. If you spray it in the carb and forget to disconnect your glow plug wire, the engine will run on this stuff. It displaces water, lubes like WD40, and the can sprays upside down too.
