Miss Bud Head Leak

[csdawggie]

I just bought a miss bud. I am trying to start it for the first time. The problem is I can't get a good seal on the head. I keep seeing water leaking from it, I figure this is why it won't start. What am I doing wrong?

[csdawggie]

OK I figured that out...the seals inside the head for the screws were messed up. I'm still having trouble getting it started. When I try to start it I have to loosen the glow plug. It's starts up and when you tighten the plug back up it stalls. What's going on?

[riche]

How many turns out is the mixture screw set at?
try at least 3 & 1/2 turns out or more. You might be hyro-locking it with to much nitro in the cyl. and then after it gets running and burns some out it goes lean....

[csdawggie]

Yeah it's still at factory 3.5 turns out. I think the problem is the LHS guy told me the worng OS plug that matched the MC 59. I was using a A3 which is too short. Which OS Plug does match the MC59?

[riche]

maybe someone can help me out with a plug cross reference b\c I am not sure. I read on a site that the mc-59 is a long plug (I could be wrong.) So that would contribute to your problem. If you have the old mc-59 just compare them or if no one helps you out try ordering a mc-59 of the net. It seems kind of funny that it will run with the plug loose but it dies when you tighten it. I would still back the screw out to 4 turns and see what happens. It shouldn't have to go out that far to run out of the water but once you put it in the water it is a whole new game.

[DavidJ]

That's actually pretty common with new engines. I find sometimes the p/s fit is too tight to even turn some new engines over without loosening the plug. Try tightening it up slowly and perhaps leaving it a little bit loose during breakin. If it wiggles itself free you will need to lap the piston in. Take the engine apart:
http://www.rcnitro.com/rn/articles/ht_rebuild.asp
Using some wd40 as a solvent/lubricant rub the piston up and down in the sleeve for about half an hour. Keep pushing it up to where it is very tight and then pull it back down. A dowel shoved in the end of the piston can make things easier. If you want to do it faster then lightly sand the piston with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and some wd40. If you do a crappy sanding job with this method you can really screw things up so I'd recommend just pushing the piston up and down in the sleeve, but we all get lazy.

[csdawggie]

Thanks for the great replies. I figured it had to be that the p/s was too tight but was unsure what to do about it. I will try breaking it in again this weekend. I have to let the blisters heal from yanking on the pull start.

The A3 is shorter. Luckly I have a selection of plus for my S-Maxx which takes the same one that I can use.

[Cat500i]

First R/C boat--Newbie

I just got my new Miss Bud 1/12 yesterday. After about 2 hours last night finally got it started. Doing the same thing. Hydrolocking every time. Finally leaned it way out and got it started. Today, after about an hour to get it started, I ran 2 tanks of gas through it at a high idle at the house with a homemade water line to keep the engine cool.

Took it to the lake and it stalls out everytime on the water. I'm getting tired of swimming out to get it. I finally got it tuned to run a little and got it moving on the water when the waves started coming in. It submarined twice and I lost control, the boat died of course. Now my receiver box is dead, tried drying it out.

2 questions--Do all nitro engines tend to stall out alot and what's a good replacement for the receiver box?

1 more ?--Do the engines tend to stall because of a lean or rich condition?

[MoPower]

Cat500i (are you a "diesel" person? I am)

Sorry to hear that you are having some trouble with the boat. Stick with it, as these learning woes are one time only. It only gets better.

Engine can stall out easily because there is no clutch, and your idle may not be high enough to overcome the "shock" of the prop biting into the water. Yes, too lean or too rich can make your motor stall. I cannot help you much without listening to it. Try opening up the throttle more when you launch it, and try to pitch it in the water, as if you are trying to skip it across the surface. Try bending down low, and moving your body in an arc, circular motion, and swing around to launch the boat into the water. I have found that a rich engine tends to bog down and "load up" with unburned fuel when dropped into the water. You need the engine mixture correct or it will not have enough power to idle.

After getting your engine armed up, tune the hi speed needle first, and then the idle mixture. Your direction should say how, and I think the miss bud engine has a 2 needle carb.

Also, be sure that your tank is pressurized by the exhaust... check the tubing.

keep us posted! -Jace-

[Cat500i]

I can get the boat launched ok and can cruise around at idle without it dying. The trouble starts when I open up her up full throttle. It will die most times after about 2 or 3 sec of WOT. If I just cruise around kind of slow trying to ease into it, it wilrun for a while and then just die at any throttle position.

How do you tune your boats when they are on shore? The manual says not to WOT because there is no load on the engine and it will over-rev.

Manual says to use scotch tape to seal the servo compartment lid on the little miss bud, the nitro shooting out of the carb causes the tape to melt and come off. Any good ideas anyone?

This is enough trouble that I'm thinking of e-baying it and getting a electric vee hull. The lake is always kind of rough.

[MoPower]

Have you broken that engine in? If you are dying out at WOT, then you are either too lean, or you have a fuel delivery problem. Check that your exhaust system is still pressurizing the tank. Be sure the exhaust header is tight onto the engine. Is there a chance that water is getting splashed into the carb? I've never seen one in person, so these are only WAG's.

AS far as the nitro eating up the tape, either try a different tape or try to find a 45 degree silicon rubber exhaust deflector and stick that on the carb.. pointing up.

When your engine quits at WOT, is it a sudden stop, or does the engine sputter for a while then quit? I was thinking that you are too lean, but if you have excess fuel spraying out of the carb, you might be a little rich. It's hard to tell without being right there.

For tuning boats on the shore, I start them and just blip the throttle a few times. I have placed the boat into a big storage tub that you can find at wal-mart. They are made by rubbermaid or sterlite.. anyway, I fill that with water and set the boat in it. I hold the boat with one hand and squeeze the trigger with the other. This will put some load on the engine and you can make some preliminary adjustments before sending it on it's journey. You don't even need a tub, just get in the water 2' deep. Have someone hold your radio while you make adjustments. (this is where my wife comes in handy) It's also a good way to see if the motor is going to die when the prop hits the water. As far as WOT tuning, yes you need to do that in the lake.

Do you notice air bubbles in the fuel line while the engine is running?