#1
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Get it good and dirty.
Dirt is the most common thing that ruins your engine. At best,
the dirt can clog your carburetor. If it further inside it will act just like
sandpaper and ruin the close fit of the parts that your engine needs to run correctly.
- Use an air filter to keep as much dirt out of the engine as possible.
- Dirt on the outside of the engine acts like an insulating blanket and prevents
proper cooling. Keep your engine clean. Fuel/oil on the engine will hold dirt.
- Use a fuel filter. Dirt in the fuel will clog the fuel passages in the carburetor
and may get further inside. Keep your tank, lines and fuel bottles clean.
- Dirt will damage your engine very quickly and repairs for dirt related damage
are not covered by the engine manufacturer's or any other warranty.
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#2
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Run it too lean.
The high speed needle valve is used to adjust the fuel:air
mixture to get optimum performance from your engine. If the engine is running
too rich you won't have any power. Run it too lean and your engine will get less
fuel than it should and can be damaged.
- Remember that the engine gets its lubrication from the oil content of the
fuel. If you run your engine with too lean a mixture the engine won't get enough
oil for proper lubrication.
- Parts will start to run hot and then seize. The results can include broken
connecting rods or fused piston and liner.
- Keep the engine running a bit on the rich side of the highest RPM setting
to ensure proper lubrication.
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#3
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Run your engine with little or no load.
You should run your engine at high speeds only when you are
driving your car/boat or have the proper propeller on your aircraft engine.
- Do not put your car or boat on a box or stand and then run the engine up from
idle. You'll quickly overspeed your engine and ruin it. Generally the connecting
rod will break from the over-revving.
- Do not remove the engine from your car or boat and try to run it with just
the flywheel. The engine must have the load of the car or boat while operating.
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#4
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Run your engine good and hot.
If you let your engine run too hot you'll have a nice chunk
of useless aluminum in a short time.
- Running the engine hot causes the oil in the fuel to break down and quit working.
The parts will seize. The repairs won't be cheap.
Your engine is equipped with a heat sink head to make sure
it gets enough cooling. Boats require water for their cooling jacket.
- Keep the head clean so that dirt can't act like an insulating blanket.
- Make sure that airflow passes through the fins of the cylinder and head. Make
sure that water can flow through the cooling jacket on your boat motor.
- Make as many cutouts in a car's body as necessary. Don't skrimp on size and
number.
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#5
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Use fuel with a low oil content.
Make sure you're using a fuel from a reputable, name-brand
manufacturer.
- Your fuel should have at least the amount of oil recommended by the engine
manufacturer. If you can't find a specific recommendation on oil content you should
use a fuel with 20%-22% oil at least.
- If you're trying to run a fuel with more than 20% Nitromethane you should
add some oil to your fuel. Klotz Techniplate or Baker "AA" castor oil
work well.
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#6
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Get it rusty or gummy.
If you let your engine sit with nothing done to it after you
last ran it, the internal parts will start to corrode - especially the steel crankshaft
and ball bearings. The alcohol in the fuel will attract moisture. If the fuel
has castor oil in it, and most do, it will begin to dry out and become gummy.
- Rust inside the engine will erode tight clearances and score polished surfaces.
- Gummy fuel residue blocks oil holes in connecting rods and crankshafts.
Here's how to prevent rust:
- At the end of the day's running, pull the fuel line from the engine.
- Drain the tank, and then start the engine.
- Let it run until it's absolutely dry of fuel.
- Add several drops of after run oil.
- After adding the after-run oil, turn the engine over several times to make
sure it's worked into all of the engine's internals. Add more if you are not sure
that you put in enough.
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#7
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Use lots and lots of nitro.
Nitro, or nitromethane is the main power ingredient in model
fuels. Raising the nitro content will make the fuel "hotter" - that
is, allow the engine to develop more power.
- Unless your engine is designed and ported for high-nitro applications you
won't see much gain in performance above 20%-25%. Many engines recommend 15% as
a maximum.
- While some people are running nitro levels as high as 50% they have modified
their engines to handle it. They've also carefully blended their fuel to make
sure they have enough oil.
- The best performance enhancer is a good driver. A driver who can keep the
car on the track will usually beat a less capable driver with a hotter set up.
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#8
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Jam something into the exhaust port when you put on the clutch or propeller.
When you tighten the prop nut or pilot shaft on your flywheel/crankshaft,
it can be hard to keep the engine from turning over. Some people try putting something
in through the exhaust port to stop the piston from moving. This allows you to
get it good and tight, but you'll also put a nice "ding" in the piston
and liner. You've just ruined your nice, new engine. A new piston/cylinder assembly
(the most common kind in R/C engines) will put a nice hole in your pocketbook.
Don't bet on any repair service covering that kind of damage
under warranty.
- If the pilot shaft or prop nut can't be tightened onto the engine without
it trying to turn over grip the drive washer in a pair of large adjustable pliers,
with the washer protected under several layers of cloth. You could also try a
strap wrench.
- If you feel more adventurous, you can remove the engine back plate and insert
a piece of wooden dowel stock or plastic rod to keep the crankshaft from turning.
Don't put anything into the engine that will hit the piston.
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#9
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Seal all joins with silicone sealer and use lots of silicone thread locking
compound.
At first this sounds like a good idea, but wait, silicone sealers
usually have a smell like vinegar when they're curing. That's
acetic acid and that causes corrosion.
- The inside of your R/C engine is primarily two kinds of metals: aluminum for
most parts and steel for the crankshaft and bearings.
- Two different kinds of metal will start to corrode if they have some kind
of electrolyte between them and a tiny bit of acid will serve quite nicely.
- Aluminum corrosion can cause the entire inside of the engine to run a dark
gray or nearly black colour. Corroded steel is rust. See thing #6 for rust.
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#10
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Let the engine get some water in it.
While it sounds obvious, keeping water out of your engine is
harder than it seems. Sure, you can dry it off when you run through some mud or
puddles, but what about condensation?
- Changes in temperature can cause moisture in the air to condense inside the
engine. This can happen all year round, so keep your engine in the house, not
in the garage.
- Keeping it inside the house also gives you another good reason to keep it
clean! Just try to explain oil puddles on the carpet when your engine is dripping
oil from a just-finished running session.
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