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Replace An Engine

Posted on Wed 26 Oct 2005 by nitromonkey (2181 reads)

Ready-to-run (RTR) nitro cars and trucks have advantages and disadvantages. Advantage: an RTR can go from the box to the backyard (or front driveway) in minutes. Disadvantage: since you didn't build the kit yourself, wrenching on your machine for maintenance and upgrades might be a little intimidating. If you feel you're ready to increase the power potential of your RTR machine with a new engine but aren't sure where to begin or what you'll need, this is your "how to." Step by step, we'll remove that tired stock powerplant and replace it with a new aftermarket mill.

Step 1. Remove the engine. Remove the retaining screws from the bottom of the vehicle, pop the throttle linkage off the carburetor, remove the pipe-retaining hardware and disconnect the fuel lines. You may also have to remove a brace to take the engine out. After you’ve done all this, you should easily be able to remove the engine.

Step 2. Remove the engine mounts and manifold. Remove the retaining screws from the bottom of the vehicle, pop the throttle linkage off the carburetor, remove the pipe-retaining hardware and disconnect the fuel lines. You may also have to remove a brace to take the engine out. After you’ve done all this, you should easily be able to remove the engine.

Step 3. Remove the clutch and flywheel. Some flywheels can be transferred from the stock engine to your new mill. Follow the suggestions given in Step 2 to determine whether you need Remove flywheel

a new flywheel. Even if you need a new flywheel, you’ll still have to remove the clutch nut from your RTR’s stock engine.

Start by removing the clutch bell, which is usually retained by a single screw or an E-clip; remove the screw or clip, and slide the clutch bell off the shaft. Next, slide off the clutch shoes. Some shoes have several holes for the flywheel pins; note which holes these flywheel pins fit into so that you’ll be able to reinstall them in the correct holes.

Now it’s time to remove the clutch nut to get the flywheel off. Remove the starting mechanism from the rear of the engine because there’s always a risk that you’ll break it when you wrench on the clutch nut. Using a large pair of pliers, grab the flywheel, and remove the clutch nut with a wrench of the right size to fit the nut; clutch nuts are usually 8mm.

Alternatively, you can remove the clutch nut by removing the glow plug and installing a Remove flywheel

piston-locking tool in the head. These tools are available from a variety of companies such as Dynamite, Kyosho and DuraTrax. Having tightened the tool snugly into the head, simply back off the clutch nut; now remove the flywheel.

The flywheel is compressed on a collet on the engine shaft; we need to free the flywheel. Place the engine on a firm surface with the flywheel on the edge of the surface. Whack the shaft with a hammer, and the flywheel should pop off. You may have to rotate the flywheel several times to work it off. When the flywheel is off, there should be a little brass cone—the taper cone—left on the shaft; slide that off, too. Some engines do not have this cone; if you don’t see one, you probably won’t need one.

Step 4. Install the flywheel. Now that you have disassembled the clutch, you can reassemble it on your new Install flywheel

engine. First, slip the taper cone on, if your engine requires it. Then slip the flywheel (a new one, if you needed it) onto the shaft. Put a generous dab of thread-locking compound onto the engine-shaft threads and screw the clutch nut on. Tighten the clutch nut by following, in reverse order, the steps you used to remove it; tighten it by holding the flywheel with pliers or, if the shaft spins when you’re tightening, use the other method with the piston-locking tool to tighten the nut.

Step 5. Slide the clutch shoes on. This is easy. Just be sure to install them in the same holes. Some shoes have holes on each end and if you install them backwards, they’ll engage too quickly and might stall your engine

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