Slash Nitro: Tuition Paid to School Hard Knocks
I wanted to hear the BRAAAAP! Instead, I heard the sad trombone played at a bombed joke. As far as I can tell, it looks like I may have had my ego slashed!
The motor is so broken that JB Weld probably won’t even bring it back from the dead. Now, in my defense, when I was on the phone with A Main hobbies, the tech on the phone said, “Man, that thing sounds like it is about to fire.” I said, “Yeah, that is how it has been, and sometimes it will sputter. It runs a little bit only to die.” The tech told me to pour nitro in the carb, nitro was running down the chassis. I figured the O-ring was shot in the carb. It was when I pulled out the motor that I saw the insides that should always be on the insides were showing through the window that Traxxas did not intend to be there.
You might think that I’m a bit of an idiot for missing the hole in the block. You would be right, but for more reasons than failing to diagnose the holy block! I just figured the car was very special and pious, which is why it is holy! However, it is simply broken beyond repair. I feel bad because I called A Main a lot…. I give them kudos for their help! They are a great place! I called them so much that the person on the other end of the phone was like, “Hey Paul, you still didn’t get it running? We’re having a BBQ this weekend. You coming?” This is where that subtitle appears under Joe Isuzu in the classic Isuzu ads.
I figure that there are two ways to look at this. I could get all angry because I probably got scammed. Honestly, I do not know how intentional this was or if something happened in shipping. I can post the normal internet rant against the seller even though I don’t even know if the seller intended to stick it to me. I was told that the car ran when shut off, stored, and has not run in a while. I took a chance, and I lost. I choose not to rant anymore, but to move forward.
This brings me to the second view. I bought this truck to see if I like nitro, and I want to learn about the nitro side of the hobby.
I have already diagnosed a problem with the truck. I have learned that generally, when nitro is spilling all over the back of the vehicle, it indicates that something is severely wrong. Hey, I never said I was a bright light or a sharp tool. A tool, yes, but not a very sharp one. So, I have learned how to pull the motor. I learned how to dissemble the clutch, I learned how to assemble the clutch in the bell housing, and I learned how to pull the flywheel without the correct tools. I am not endorsing this procedure, but just disclosing my advertised 60 watt shining dimly at maybe 15 watts on a good day.
In my interaction with A Main, I asked them about different motors to run the car. They reminded me that Traxxas has the power-up program. They gave me Traxxas’s number, and I was on my way to a solution. I was like, “Seriously? They stand behind their product?” YouTube has some rants on Traxxas customer service, so my expectations were low.
My Interaction with Traxxas
I called the Traxxas support line after giving the tech at A Main an update on my family and politely declining his invitation to the BBQ (remember that Joe Isuzu subtitle… it’s showing again). When I went through the quick phone menu on Traxxas message options, I got a person in under 30 seconds. The shocking part is that I started interacting with a human, and a competent human at that! This human, not humanoid, got my name right, e-mail right, and did this all the first time. It was nice to talk to a competent representative. Traxxas gets many kudos for customer service!
I explained to customer service that I was trying to get my Traxxas to fire but then discovered there was nitro leaking out of the motor. I pulled the motor only to discover the custom drain hole on the back of the block. I don’t think that was original to Traxxas’s design, and it is generally better to have the nitro go through the motor and exit the exhaust as vapor. The rep agreed, and we were moving toward a resolution. I want to emphasize that it was GREAT. It was almost Tony the Tiger GREAAAAAT! experience.
The Traxxas rep told me about their power-up, which is an old motor plus about 50% the price of a new one. If you use this program to turn in your nitro motor, you will most likely need a flywheel wrench and a flywheel puller at Amazon (I get kickback $$$) or A Main (excellent support). I was able to jam a soft piece of metal in the crankshaft and GENTLY turn a ratchet to get the bolt loose because I did not know about these nifty nitro tools. I watched the metal to make sure that nothing was getting compromised. Thankfully, my patience paid off, and I found success. However, this is not the proper way to do things. I have ordered the correct tools for reassembly. See, I have learned something in the process, and I did not have to pay more tuition to the SOHK. Man, that is a painful tuition bill to pay. I got the parts off, reassembled the clutch in the bell housing so I remember how it goes… remember that 15watt light glow…, and put the removed parts in a ziplock bag. I also loosened the carb and turned the fuel inlet towards the cylinder to prevent further damage during shipping. I wrapped up the old motor, put it in a box, and dropped it by the Post Office. Did I put a label on it? Channeling Tommy Boy…. Son of a…. Just kidding. I ordered shipping online and put a label on the outside of the box. I even taped it to be safe! That would SOHK if I forgot the label!
This means for now, the Slash is set aside until Traxxas sends the new motor. I learned to be very careful what I wish for…. wait a minute…. I wish for a Kyosho Inferno buggy….I wish for a GR 86 …… that probably won’t come to pass, but I got my wish to learn more about nitro engines. I also got to advance my education at SOHK. SOHK is sort of like Xavier’s school for the gifted in X Men, minus the cool superpowers. On a serious note, I am still a few dollars short of buying new. I know that things could be a lot worse, and I can already joke about it, so no need to fret.
I will keep you posted on how Traxxas performs. My motor is scheduled to arrive at their headquarters by Friday, and they are supposed to drop a new one in the mail after they receive the old one.
The images are below. Hover over the image to read the description. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Until we meet again, may the Lord’s blessing and peace be upon you!
You can see the hole that hides nicely on the back of the motor. The shaft on the right goes is the drive side. The shaft on the left is where you connect the EZ start or the pull start.
I left the exhaust pipe attached. It just looks so sad and saying, “I just want to do donuts so badly!” I am waiting for the smaller Spectrum receiver to come in the mail. This one will not fit in the receiver box for the Slash. So, I have some things to do before the new motor arrives.
The motor sits in here. It looks like a great opportunity to clean the chassis. When I put the motor together I will mark where it mounts. The fuel line is covering one of the mounting holes.
The Traxxas Easy Start system lays nicely on the rear bumper. I keep having trouble with the grey wire disconnecting from the motor. I plan to solder the wires to the motor so I am sure that the motor will have power when I want to start it.