savage 4.6 starting problem

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cougar390

Member
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29
i just finally got my savage back on the road and everything went well for about 2 tanks. then on the third it seemed as if when i stick my roto start into the back to start it nothing happens you can only haer rotor start spinning. How can i tell if the piece that the roto start goes inoto is broken or not
 
how many gallons have you had on the one way bearing (OWB)? what kind of fuel do you run?

if its just spinning and the engine isnt turning over, then something is wrong with the OWB
 
Yeppers, dread is absolutely right.

The way this works:

A one way bearing is simply a bearing that locks up in one direction and moves freely in the opposite direction.

Now, the rotostart is attached to this one way bearing with a gear drive inside the small housing on the back of the motor. The OWB sits on a shaft that is mechanically able to spin the crankshaft/piston assembly. Now, when the motor is running the one way spins in the free direction. During starting the bearing locks up and causes the gears to actually spin the crank in turn starting the engine.

Why these go bad?

Well, oils can actually hurt the OWB's ability to lock up in the direction that it's needed. Some problems like this have been where people have actually taken the rotostart housing off and cleaned it with putting the OWB back on the shaft backwards. Make sure the direction is correct before putting the housing back together.

Also, certain amounts of oil that actually contaminate the OWB can cause it to slip (yeah, the same way as a clutch). So under stress (such as starting) the OWB actually slips on the shaft causing it not to spin the crank shaft and resulting in an inability to start the engine.

You can take the housing off of the motor (which requires pulling the motor off of the chassis plate). Then take the OWB and soak it in a little denatured alcohol. This sometimes can clean the bearing enough to where it will work correctly. The best bet usually is to just replace the bearing in the first place. When you do however, clean the starting shaft before replacing the OWB. Clean all the parts in the rotostart housing and then put it back together.

Dirt and Oil can hurt the OWB and cause this problem; so make sure to keep things clean in there. I recommend going to autozone and picking up some high heat RTV/Silicon to make a gasket for the housing before putting it back together as it will help keep such contaminates out of the housing and in turn helping lengthen the life of your OWB.

If there's anything else I can help with, please reply bud. :) And since I haven't seen you on the forums before; Welcome to HPISF!
 
thanks brothers i new you guys would know exactly what the prob was . Ill be back on the road in no time thanks again
 
If you prime the engine too much than it will make the OWB slip like that. Try heating the engine with a hair drier and loosening the plug 1/2 turn from now on and they will last much longer for you.
 
I hate to say it, but RTV silicone on the rotostart housing will do nothing to help your problem...oil from the fuel leaks past the O-ring that the starting shaft runs through, in the center of the backplate. As mentioned above, the amount of oil in the fuel you use can affect how much comes in through there. Replacing the O-ring in the backplate, and using some Team Associated "Green Slime" on it helps quite a bit as far as keeping it from leaking.

Also, the safest way to clean your OWB is with WD-40, believe it or not. I don't like to use denatured alcohol or brake cleaner on them because they can, and eventually will, weaken the plastic cage that holds the rollers. Very light oils like WD-40 are actually GOOD for the rollers in the OWB, and no, it wont make it slip.

All this being said, the rotostart unit is very hard on OWB's regardless of oil contamination. From what I've seen and experienced, the only real long-term solution is to switch to a pull-start and/or replace your OWB and shaft with the OWB elimination kits on Ebay.
 
Exactly judge. I use denatured then oil everything with the WD. It's the best stuff on the planet. I just forgot to mention it LOL!

And the RTV will help keep some contaminates out through the housing. That's why I recommend it. One badly placed particle can cause the OWB to have problems as I've seen before! :)
 
Here is a pic of the OWB(One Way Bearing)

92B39621-5003-412F-919F-8BBDB366D7D5.jpg

Which is located in here:

41070D18-2CA8-493B-B743-D61ED5471DC8.jpg


Here is a link to what The Judge was referring to about the OWB replacement kit.

http://cgi.ebay.com/hpi-savage-one-...ryZ44028QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hope this helps you out
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Which part are you looking for, the OWB or the OWB replacement kit? I just want to make sure I give you the right info.
 
turn the flywheel over and see if it has pressure, I had the same thing happen, thought it was the OWB, come to find out it was much worse, the wristpin on the crank snapped off.

Although could be OWB, I have only had that problem once on an STS
 
one way

I had the same problem with my 4.1 so i pulled the roto start off and found that the one way bearing had split. So I went to lhs today and picked up one and now it works like a champ.
 
You can also for a quick fix drill a small hole on top of the backplate and also on the bottom and spray some break parts cleaner in it. The OWB gets oil and grease on it so the break parts cleaner will clean it without the residue. Just a quick fix but not permanent.
 
ok i gots a question about this. I have the K4.6 which has a diffrent owb then pictured above and I'm planning on changing the the axial .32 which I THINK has the same kind of owb. Is there a owb repacement kit for that kind of owb or is there a way to change to a "bump start" or starter box?
 

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