Truckzilla help!!

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twocows78

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4
Hi I could use sum big help if any1 is willing. My problem is I bought a used savage limited edition off e bay which was in absolute mint condition, but I could not get it tuned right. I took it to my local hobbyshop 5 times and it was still the same. What it was doin is it seemed like it was over heating but the temp was about 230 to 250, I called hpi and they told me to run it a atleast 290 to 320?? I never heard that b4 but it did help a bit. To make a long story short I thought the engine mite be bad so I bought the truckzilla conversion and had the same bogging and not as much power as I should have problem. If any1 has any ideas please help?
 
Lets start off buy saying welcome to the forum glad to have you! Well I think that the 230-250 range is good I have run mine to 280 not a good idea We kinda need a little more info did you take it back to factory settings? What fuel are you running? what climent,temp where you live?Do you or can you take a vid of what it is doing?That would help alot.What did the lhs tell you ?Sorry I cant be of much help not enough info Please reply with more info and I'm sure somebody here will get you going :Xfingers:
 
I did return to factory settings and started the tuning process all over again. I live in upstate NY, the ambient temp was 80 out when I was tuning. I changed air filter, fuel lines,carb, and glow plug. I even changed the engine to the truckzilla conversion. I got the same results: a very good idle and 2 pull starting, very poor low end power but was intermitten a few times I had decient low end power with no changes to settings. top end power just was never there no matter what the setting was at. This problem was with both engines, the only thing I can think of is the fuel tank. I run traxxas topfuel 20% Or me and the hobby shop cant tune for S__t lol Thanx for all the help.
 
When you say you bought the truckzilla conversion did you get the .46 engine too? Has the engine been through break-in?
 
Exactly savageXss. What engine are you running. If its the F4.1 they tend to need/want higher temps. When I was running mine it ran consistantly between 300-320*F. At this temp it had decent smoke trails and I only went threw about 3 plugs the engine ran threw 8 gallons and the only reason it died is because I cranked the block and didn't figgure it was worth putting a new $50 block back on it. the pinch is still good just not worth fixing it.

On another not are you sure your fuel tank is good? Also, have you tried sealing the engine? Another place to look, is there an oily resadue covering the front of the motor or drips below the nose of the engine?

If you try to seal it spend the money and do it right with a sealant that is 1211, These sealants are usually like hondabond, yamahabond and so on. Usually found at a powerstorts dealer. This stuff is Nitro proof where any of the permatex's or anything are not nitro proof. If you don't want to spend the extra few dollars for the then use a permatex copper sealant as its high temp. and a very good sealant to.
 
Yes it is the .46 engine and yes I followed the break in proceedure exactly as stated in the manual. I am leanin towards the tank bein bad since its the only think on the truck that hasent been changed. I have not changed it cause my local hobby shop said they tested it and it was fine.
 
Try this! Take the fuel line off the carb then plug the exhaust tip. Then blow threw the Carb fuel line (don't let air back into your mouth from this line) then pinch line off. Wait a few seconds open the cap of the tank and see if there is any pressure left.

If not get some water and dish soap and mix them and spray a bit all over and fallow the same procedure. Look for air bubbles coming from somewhere on the fuel tubing or on the tank. This will show signs of a leak very quickely.
 
Oops! Man I am off tonight. I apologize. Thanks for keeping me in line Komodo. If it ends up not being the fuel tank, could it be the transmission? Would it change gears good? Bogging seems like it would be too much fuel or there is a strain on the engine. Does everthing spin freely?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
that's me tonight apparently...designated nit-picker :S pissing people off at work with it (but it's my job)
 
Ok I did the fuel tank test and I waited about 5 minutes and it kept pressure, so it must b good. I have checked for anything hung up in the drive line but it is all free. The comment about too much fuel seams to be what is happening. When it idles I get a puddle of fuel from the exhaust about the size of a quarter ever minute and a half of idling. I feel the low speed adjustment is too rich but I have turned it all the way in at 1 point just to see if that fixed the problem it stopped fuel from coming out of the exhaust but the truck didnt wanna idle. It will get upto temp but its not consistant, the temp will go to bot 300 then next pass by it will be 210 then next time 360. The biggest question in my head is why are both engines having the same problem?? I think that I mite just need a better person to tune that big engine and mabe the old f4.1 was over heated during break-in thats why I got it in such good condition on ebay. I cant really test it rite now cuz we got about 5 inches of snow.
 
I've heard that the .46 is a pain to tune/doesn't hold a tune well...unless you have it ported and polished...I haven't run mine yet, but read that somewhere on here...there's a guy that swears by them, once they've been modded...
 
There's only two things I can think of. One would be to check to see if your engine is sealed good. The second would be to check and make sure the gear mesh is good. You can check your engine for leaks by following Jason's video.
https://www.hpisavageforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3746&page=3&highlight=front+bearing
I would check all the way around the engine and not just the front bearing like in the video. Check your spur gear to make sure it turns without drag from the clutchbell.
Other than that I'm about clueless.
 
I did return to factory settings and started the tuning process all over again. I live in upstate NY, the ambient temp was 80 out when I was tuning. I changed air filter, fuel lines,carb, and glow plug. I even changed the engine to the truckzilla conversion. I got the same results: a very good idle and 2 pull starting, very poor low end power but was intermitten a few times I had decient low end power with no changes to settings. top end power just was never there no matter what the setting was at. This problem was with both engines, the only thing I can think of is the fuel tank. I run traxxas topfuel 20% Or me and the hobby shop cant tune for S__t lol Thanx for all the help.

its the fuel use trinity 20% monsta horespower ( i think thats its name)http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXNE22&P=7
i tried the traxxas and it sucked. don't worry about changing it just go back to factory settings wit this fuel and tune from there.
 

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