TRX Pro .15 Start and Idle help....... for a newbie

[DougBlake]

Hi,

 

After some advice and guidance..........as honestly I don't really know what I'm doing 🙂

 

Spent the afternoon trying to see if I could get my VERY old Traxxas Rustler running for a quick spin but could do with some help on making sure I've got all the high speed, low speed and idle adjustments correct. The engine has not been broken in, its probably been driven less than 5 times in its life, and it's probably around 20 years old at a guess. It's the Pro .15 Engine. 

I had another attempt at getting this running about 5 years ago and fitted a Traxxas EZ-Start motor as I'd had so many failures with the pull cord starter. 

I’ve checked against the settings provided for this engine here: https://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/forums/topic/70534-nitro-engine-factory-needle-settings-list/

 

Question - Does adjusting the throttle opening via the Transmitter throttle dial do the same thing as adjusting the Idle screw? 

I tried to turn the Idle screw but couldn’t get it to budge, my screwdriver wasn’t great plus I think being 20 years old it probably needs a bit of a strength. 

 

Today I primed the engine by pressing the fuel pump button and after probably 15/20 minutes did get the engine to start. I’ve included a photo which shows the opening size, increasing the opening using the transmitter dial did increase the number of starts I had.

My problem is once it does start the wheels start spinning, increasing in speed and then it usually cuts out. This behaviour just repeats over and over. Reducing the opening size, I struggled to get any successful starts……couldn’t find a happy medium. The maximum opening size wasn’t much more than 1.5-2mm tops I’d say. 

 

Question - Should I be able to be able to start this unbroken-in engine and get the car to idle, or at least not be moving at what feels like full speed? Or does that only come with breaking in an engine?

 

I need to replace the fuel tube from the tank to the engine as it keeps coming lose / disconnects at the tank end; I was just hoping I could get started today and idle a bit before replacing that part.

Fuel wise, I’m using a 16% nitro blend as advised by a local store, not sure if this is correct or not. I've also somehow managed to lose the Air filter and foam in the past week so need to replace that now also.

 

Any help or pointers would be really appreciated.

Doug

 

 

[Stormbringer]

dont use the throttle trim to set the idle gap cos when you use the brakes the engine will stall , use the idle screw 

if its not willing to budge use some penetrating oil on it

also never run the engine without a filter as any dirt dust etc will really shorten engine life

i would also change all the fuel lines as well because they are old and if loose can cause air leaks