Octane Fun then Octane Pain...

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paulnewman

paulnewman

Active Member
Messages
104
Location
London, United Kingdom
It all started so well, got the gearbox tuned and it was shifting into top without an issue and had it running nicely with plenty of wheelies:

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Then it stopped running so gave the starter a couple o pulls and noticed zero compression so took it home to investigate........

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Looks like one of the clips that holds the wrist pin in decided it did not want to stay where it was supposed to so has destroyed the piston, sleeve and head. One order from Dollar Hobbyz is now on its way from the USA to the UK (approx £120 for a piston set, head & full crankcase rather than around £350 in the UK) so it should be back to full health in a few weeks.
 
Been there, done that. I ordered one from Dollar Hobbyz but the piston was not in the sleeve and in fact would not fit. I finally broke the ring trying to get it to go. The first set I used the piston would go right in with no problems.
 
I had a horrible feeling I knew what was wrong before I started stripping the engine down. Looks like this little clip is a real weak point in the engine so I might see if there are any stronger ones around before I put it back together.

I had read so many bad things about the Octane but was really happy with mine until it broke. I am going to have to think long and hard on whether I keep it when it is fixed or get rid of it and go back to nitro. If I do decide to sell, I will make all my money back by breaking it down for parts as Octane spares in the UK are crazily expensive!!!
 
I am waiting. Parts seem to be scarce right now. This has driven the prices way up. My original engine only made it through 2 tanks with 2 sleeve sets. I have most parts for a new one now. I got a genuine HPI set for $120 US plus shipping the first time. I have ordered a set of long nose micro snap ring pliers to put the rings in. That is the hardest part.
 
Well, all the parts arrived today so I spent an hour building up the new engine. Thankfully the HPI manual is pretty clear on which way round the piston and connecting rod need to be so it went together nice and easily. I triple checked the front clip to make sure 300% that it was seated and secure (I slightly opened it up before fitting to make it seat nice & tight) and used plenty of the 2-stroke oil when putting it together just to be safe (I also put some into the crank case and over the bearings and spun the engine over a couple of times to ensure it got everywhere).

I now have a nice shiny new engine with awesome compression and will give the truck a good clean before installing it as you cannot put something new into a dirty truck.............

Sadly ran out of time so it will have to wait until next week to install and try to start it but it might have to wait until Christmas is over as I am running out of weekends.

I am so thankful that parts are so cheap in the USA and even with shipping & taxes I got what is essentially a complete engine for less than the price of piston here in the UK!
 
Glad ya got it back together, hopefully it stays together and runs well for you this time....
 
It is back together and IT LIVES :woot::woot::woot::woot::woot::woot:

It is now nice & clean and put away for when I can get some time to break it in. Sadly, something called Christmas is getting in the way of me going out and getting it dirty again.
 
When you look at the price, remember that in the UK you will be liable for VAT and and an administration charge from Royal Mail (it could also be a company called Customs Clearance Ltd) if the cost of the items being imported is over £15. Once your item has cleared UK Customs you will get a communication and the goods will not be released until the charge has been paid. If the value is over £135 you will be hit with an import duty as well as the VAT charge!!!
 
That is great news:), fingers crossed this one lasts a tiny bit longer than the last one!!!

I have decided that if mine fails again I will either turn it into a standard XL or see if there is any interest in starting up the UK's first Savage Octane throwing competition. :wideeyed::wideeyed:
 
I ran it properly for the first time today, it started right up, ran nicely, changed gear and did front flips when I applied the brakes. This is not usual for an Octane so I will enjoy this trouble free running while I can.
 
Ran tanks 9-10 today. 1 gallon down. It's still putting along. If I tweek the mixture a little leaner (1/24th) is starts surging off idle. If I lean it another 1/24th is starts dying.
 
I have had some serious issues trying to get my Octane to brake in and run. It was after a lot of trouble starting to come along when it just ran worse and worse and finally wouldn't start at all. I had tried everything mentioned in different places. Changing plugs, different ignition system. Teardown and rebuild of carburettor etc etc etc. In the end I began to realise there was no compression. Got a compression measurement tool and yupp, very low compression. I have also talked directly with HPI but not much help from them or my local store. It should be a warranty thing, but nop. In the end I got a new piston, sleeve and ring from Dollar Hobbyz. The stuff has been lying around for some time as I lost all motivation with this piece of shait. But today I finally got around to it and put it together. Started up quite good and ran for half a tank, then the battery wore out. Will try more tomorrow, and hope it will work ok now.

I did notice that the piston ring on my original was steel-colored, while the new one from dollar hobbyz was black in color. So clearly they have made som changes. No wonder....

They would not tell me the correct compression values for the engine. Anyone of you who have any info on that?
The old one was at 4 kg as best, while as I understand normal is around 15-20 kg.
 
This is a muffler from a Baja and HPI sell a conversion spacer that bolts onto the block. I would say slightly down on power but way quieter! I have changed back to stock as I really like the sound it makes:):)
 
F-Type said:
Ok. Once I get mine to run properly, I'll get that muffler then so I can run it around the neighborhood without too much fuzz :)
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IF I get mine to run properly. I am not half way through the second tank, and it is working just as bad as with the first set of piston and sleeve. Utter piece of HPI crap.
No wonder the new version comes broken in from factory, I wonder what yield they have on that production line.
 
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