RC10Talk - The Net's Largest Vintage R/C Community

Hey gents,
First post here. I have an old nitro rc10gt that I'm in the process of getting running. The only thing stopping me up now in the starter. Every couple pulls, the string gets stuck. I've been looking at getting a roto start or drill start but I don't know much about the RC world as I'm just getting back into it. If anyone can point me in a direction for one that will work with the RC10GT RTR that would be great. Thanks y'all.

BITD When I got my first nitro car I also had issues with the stupid stupid pull start. I kept having the one way slip on the start shaft, it annoyed me to the point that I picked up a long 1/4 inch drive socket extension, a 1/4 inch to hex adapted to chuck into my drill, and a 1/4 inch socket that fit over the one way bearing. I then pulled the whole pullstart assembly off of the back of the engine leaving the start shaft and back plate intact, and pulled the one way bearing out of the pull start wheel and inserted it in the socket (I used a bit of electrical tape around the bearing as a shim so the bearing wouldn't fall out) and just chucked it up in the drill and used that to start the engine.

Yeah it was not all fancy like a dedicated rotostart but it worked well.

Chris

More than likely, if your pullstart intermitttently fails to retract, the problem is the one way bearing itself not disengaging. A rotostart typically reuses the existing bearing, so the problem will remain.

Take the PS off (carefully), remove the one-way bearing, and clean it thoroughly with a solvent that removes nitro residue. Dry it, generously lube it with after run oil or light motor oil, put everything back together and see if the problem persists.

Honestly, as annoying as pull starts can be, they're less irritating than getting to the track or bashing playground with your rotostart vehicle, only to discover your starter battery is dead, or you forgot the hex shaft. Trust me. Also, you get very little feedback from a power starter, and it's all to easy to damage a hydrolocked (severely flooded) engine with a power starter-especially using a hand drill, which generates more than enough torque to taco a connecting rod.

There's a very good chance that a good cleaning will get your pull starter working again. Usually it is just a gummed up one wary bearing. You will have to take your pull starter apart, clean it out real good, lube the one way good with wd-40 or similar, and reassemble it. Reassembly can be tricky, especially getting the recoil spring wound back into the assembly, but patience and perseverance will get it done eventually. If your engine has an external one way, which means the one way is inside the starter cover, but outside of the engine back plate (most engines are external one way, but not all), you can drill a small hole in the middle of the starter cover, then the next time It starts to stick, just stick the wd-40 straw in the hole and give it a blast, and it will start working again. Find some kind of plug that will fit in the hole, or just tape over it to keep dirt out. If none of this works, then your one way is just plain worn out, and needs to be replaced.

What engine you have will determine what roto starters you can or can't use. You will have to do a little research to find one that is compatible with your engine. Sullivan makes the tigerdrive series of starters that seem to be very popular. Duratrax and XTM also make them for a variety of engines.

The drill/socket method also works vary well, and is a good option as long your engine has an external one way.

Personally, I like starter boxes, and wouldn't even consider any other options.

Hope this helps, and welcome the forum.

another option is a bump starter. Sullivan makes a handheld 12v. bumpstarter for planes/boats etc and and adaptor so you can put a rubber wheel on it for bumpstarting any flywheel accessible nitromotor.

Just a bit of advice for those taking the pullstart cover off...don't run in dirt. Works well for road cars but at several thousand rpms that little motor is sucking dirt thru your bottom end and bearings won't last very long at that rate.

Welcome to the forum...

Todd

klavy69 wrote:Just a bit of advice for those taking the pullstart cover off...don't run in dirt. Works well for road cars but at several thousand rpms that little motor is sucking dirt thru your bottom end and bearings won't last very long at that rate.

I have to (respectfully ) disagree. While I can't say that has never happened, or couldn't happen under the right circumstances, this has been a common mod for off road nitros for years, and is proven to be reliable. I have done it myself on many engines without issues. The excess oil from the crankcase seeps out of the shaft/bushing (like it always does) and keeps it clean.

justinspeed79 wrote:I have to (respectfully ) disagree.

Thanx for being respectful .

I shouldn't have laid out 'dirt' as a general term since I know every place is different. Up here in my area we have a sugar type clay or river bottom dredge that is mostly silt Both get very hard and very fine. If the track isn't graded regularly, which it isn't, its like running in a dust cloud. At times the offroad track has to wait for the nearby oval track to stop running so we can actually see that side of the track . Most of the time a motor is taken apart after a shortlife up here at the LHS the bottom end is full of mud and 90% of the time its a local who took apart the pullstart and couldn't get it back together or just running without it. Those motors (non ps and still having ps covers intact) that have lived thru gallons of fuels and worn out are mostly still very clean inside. It might just be a coincidence though so couldn't tell you for a fact...just for what my experience has been here .

Todd

klavy69 wrote:

justinspeed79 wrote:I have to (respectfully ) disagree.

Thanx for being respectful .

I shouldn't have laid out 'dirt' as a general term since I know every place is different. Up here in my area we have a sugar type clay or river bottom dredge that is mostly silt Both get very hard and very fine. If the track isn't graded regularly, which it isn't, its like running in a dust cloud. At times the offroad track has to wait for the nearby oval track to stop running so we can actually see that side of the track . Most of the time a motor is taken apart after a shortlife up here at the LHS the bottom end is full of mud and 90% of the time its a local who took apart the pullstart and couldn't get it back together or just running without it. Those motors (non ps and still having ps covers intact) that have lived thru gallons of fuels and worn out are mostly still very clean inside. It might just be a coincidence though so couldn't tell you for a fact...just for what my experience has been here .

Todd

One way bearings can fail for so many different reasons it's senseless to even debate. If you really want to run nitro (and more power to you if you do...), then invest in a good starter box. I'd sworn off nitro, but I do miss the clitter-clatter of a well tuned pipe.