thegrimreaper3

So a little back story may or may not be necessary here but I'm going to give it to you anyway. In 2003 I purchased a Nitro Rustler 2.5 ($330), I was 15 at the time working at Hershey Park spending my summer cash, and needless to say the car was a little more than I was prepared for at the time as it was not my first RC but a very close second and it was my first nitro. After some parts broke, buying expensive replacements, and only being 15 having to forking the bill entirely myself and not even having a proper place to drive the thing, I sold the car for $150 to a friend around 2005. This weekend I saw that friend again and asked about the car, he said he hadn't driven it more than twice since I gave it to him. I asked how much he wanted for it back, and we agreed on $50. The car is, needless to say, in bad shape, but it could be worse! I should have had a camera because the scene at first was pretty sad. The entire car was covered in pollen and/or oil and was sticky to the touch. The corrosion on the battery pack was so horrible I had to sand down the contacts to even get the car to turn on. I charged the starter battery and attempted to just turn the engine over. No go. Either the starter motor, or the actual motor is gummed up. The starter motor SLOWWWLY turns but doesn't even get a full rotation before it cuts out altogether. I know that I need to tear apart the engine and give it a little TLC, so I'm hoping that is all I need to do to get the car running. I want to get back into the scene but I can already tell I DONT want to do it with this RC as it is still too much of a hassle to deal with. I want to find a local track and start driving it there, maybe not race at first, but at least find somewhere nice to drive it. I want to sell this car and buy an electro. So my question(s) to you guys. Do you think this is worth fixing at all. What do you really think I'm going to get if I try to sell this when its fixed. Should I just stick it out with this car? or do you think I'm right in wanting to go electro. and Where can I find a local RC track. Also, any tips on why this engine is not turning over would be great!

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds and reads this. This website seems like the kind of place that I want to be to get into this sport with a good running start!

Here are some pics I took with my phone:

thegrimreaper3

I've noticed the value of this car has defiantly gone wayyyy down since I purchased it. Do you think its possible to get $150 or even $200 for this when up and running. I've torn the entire car apart to clean it and figure out what the problem is. The good news is that its not the starter motor, the bad news is that its the 2.5 motor. The entire piston moves really stiff. I am not sure how to try and remedy this so I think this is going to require a trip to the hobby shop. I am hopeful that maybe it just needs some oil, though I doubt it is that simple. Does a stiff piston mean a shot motor?

Vert1go

A lot of the condition of the motor depends on how it was last put up. It sounds like your friend never used any after-run oil in it, so there might be corrosion and gum inside the engine. Obviously, you need to completely disassemble it and evaluate the parts. The piston should not have a tight fit at the bottom of the sleeve, but it will tighten up as it nears top dead center. Make sure you clean everything carefully and completely. I'm betting the bearings in the engine need a lot of attention too. Don't try to turn the engine over until it's completely evaluated and cleaned. You'll know if something broke in there. If the engine needs a piston and/or sleeve, that's no problem and even those engines themselves are cheap.

As for value, no way it's worth $150. It's just an old RC car and prices have come down quite a bit for nitro kits these days. Just use it, abuse it, and have fun with it.