AboutMatt Coia Expertise I can answer questions about r/c cars and trucks including on-road and off-road vehicles. I am knowledgeable in both nitro and electric powered vehicles. I can also handle questions about repair and maintenance of any wheeled vehicle.
Experience I have owned and raced many different kinds of vehicles. I also help administer a busy website devoted to the r/c hobby. I have done repair work for hobbyshops in the past and have helped many beginners get started in the hobby. I also operate a middle school r/c club.
Organizations ROAR, Mensa, NSTA
Publications www.wnyrcinfo.com
Education/Credentials I am a certified Physics teacher now teaching middle school science and Physics in New York State.
Question hi matt i have a nitro rc all i know about it is it has the 15 nitro star on it and its like 5 years old it was given to me from my friend last year. i had it running but i pretty much had to flood it and it ran for a wile then it stalled and the clutch ceased i got the clutch loose and i cant get it to run i have a full igniter and new glow plug and it wont even pop. i even wormed the block with a heat gun, can you help me?
Answer Hi Ricky,
There could be a lot of different things wrong, some of them simple and others not so simple. It soulds like you have a handle on adjusting the fuel mixture. It could be that the engine is just worn out or really gummed up. If it is worn out, that means the piston is not creating a good seal with the cylinder and thus the enignine compression is to low to start the engine. I assume your are using the pull start that came with the car to start the engine (and your arms are really tired from pulling the cord for hours!). If you know anyone with a starter box (the box has a rubber wheel that spins the flywheel directly, much faster than you can pull the cord) it can make starting much easier. You can sometimes pick up starter boxes from hobbyshops for about $60 or check ebay. Spinning the engine faster makes it easier to hear whats going on in the engine and make adjustments on the fly. If the engine is just plain worn out, there's not much you can do. That Nitro Star 15 was one of the most basic, inexpensive engines out there when it was made and it really was not known for its reliability. You may want to look into a new engine or at least have a hobbyshop check it out to see if they can see anything wrong. It may mean that the engine needs to be disassembled. You'll have to weigh the cost of repair vs buying new (or used).
