More repair woes, this time the engine.

Looks like the forward crankshaft bearing (foreground left of leatherman) was leaking. The rubber seal peeled off, the engine was losing compression from there. That would also explain why i was going through fuel so fast. It also explains why no matter how lean i ran the carb it never got hot. Thankfully the piston and sleeve are still good and the bearing is only a 12 dollar fix. Hopefully be fixed up by saturday if the shipping gods are merciful.
Otherwise the truck performed beautifully on the track, though the engine was lacking in off the line acceleration. Anthony's was doing wheelstands and donuts it had so much kick. Too bad he wrecked it a few times and blew a shock, and the gears in his reverse module stripped out. I cant wait to see how the new transmission works when it is actually getting all the power the truck has to give, so far I have yet to get it into third gear.

SPAMALOT!

Ka-ching! 8 seats, second row center. Happy birthday to me. Thanks mom!

Preliminary track test results are in

Well I spent about 4 hours at the track today, tuning and practicing. Took a while to get my motor dialed in and within its temp range, but once I did it ran great. Too bad Anthony didn't make it up with the rest of the fuel.
When I first got there the truck just wanted to take off and run on its own, after a lot of tuning and a new glow plug I got it to run smooth. The new tires and heavier shock oil made a difference I noticed from the first turn in the track. I still have to adjust the ride height and get the front wheels aligned better, but it drove better than ever before.

The first two turns were much more manageable under power, as were the large jumps in the rear stretch. Now when I come down from some airtime, instead of bouncing around, she just sticks to the track like a wet towel. Final inspection after cleaning at the house reveals no broken, bent or missing parts (yay!). Only problem I am still having is that it wont idle low enough to not creep away from me when I let off the brakes.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow, Anthony and I are going to head to the bashing spot by his house. Hopefully I can get the rest of the issues worked out then, too bad it will be two more weeks before we can hit the track again.

EDIT:
Well I found out why the truck kept creeping, one of my clutch shoes was broken so it was constantly dragging the inside of the clutch bell, putting me 'partly' in gear at all times. Got it fixed for $8.

Gentlemen, we have the technology...

It's all bolted back together, and better than ever.
Had a day off of work yesterday so I waited on the mail and spent the day putting the Savage back together.








My second package of parts came in yesterday, right as I was finishing putting together the first shipment. I got an entire set of screws out of a kit, so besides replacing the bent, stripped or missing ones, I have mor for later. Got 8 new shocks, but had to re-use my old springs. I filled them with 45 weight oil to slow down the travel and reduce bounce. Put on the adjustable upper arms and adjustable turnbuckles. This will allow me to adjust the alignment, toe-in and camber/caster of the front wheels and the camber/caster on the rear. Put in the new radio box from the Savage X, what an improvement this is. The new box is much simpler to get in and out of when changing batteries, etc. My favorite update is the new wheels and tires, the black dish rims with Nubz tires look great, I cant wait to see how they lock op on the track.

What a great week on eBay!

I scored so much for the Savage on eBay this week. The old RS4 went up for sale at B&B Hobbies on consignment for $200, which is $180 for me after commission. Details after the link... Here's where the money is going.


Now the truck is even more of a BMF than the BMF it already was.

3-speed transmission upgrade with reverse gear.
Upgraded steering servo and cam type servo saver.
Nubz racing tires on upgrade 17mm hubs.
Dual disk brakes.
Home fabricated cold air intake.
Adjustable turnbuckles and upper control arms.
New rebuilt shocks with heavier oil (45 weight)
Upgrade to Savage X radio box for easier access.
A pinch of krag's secret seasoning.

HPI Savage complete tear-down

Got the entire beast torn down and washed for convenient handling today.



Here the truck is completely disassembled. What you see here is the ENTIRE truck, the only things that are left together are the bearings in the steering uprights, differentials and the transmission. The differentials are getting torn down and rebuilt also. The transmission gets taken apart when I get a 3 speed kit.





Now thats a KLEEEN engine! The steam bullet and some greased lightning did the job nicely. No more grimy fingernails.