Cox TeeDee .010

Congrats Robert, this lil gem got finally in caring hands! Its internal was terrible with that goo caked on the piston.

Tee dee 010- s came from the factory with no gasket between the crankcase and tank. The plastic tank was considered smooth and even enough to seal well. Of course adding a home made gasket will only make it safer against air leakage.

I saw that devarnisher brush on one of your photos. I have given up using it for fears of unwanted cylinder material loss even if used only by screwing it in with no axial, just tangential motion.

I use cold grease remover spray for kitchen appliances, instead. Put a few drops on a swab or ear bud and loosen up the varnish on the cylinder, then clean it with nail polish remover/acetone I snitch from my wife.

Good luck with this fantastic engine. For the ease and safety of its NV setting I repurposed a medical needle cap; only for setting it then of course I pull it off before launching the plane

Thank you Levent, Andras

Good idea on the needle adjuster… I knew I would need something, Just did not know what yet… I think I even may have some of the needle caps…. Yes, The prop can be a little nippy that close…. I already know LOL!!!

The brushes are a little nylon set I got from Harbor Freight, Mostly used to help clean hard to get to places, fins, etc… They cylinder was actually in pretty good shape internally only cleaned with alcohol and swabs…

The best I can measure the piston/rod has about.005” play so I kept it around 22-23K… You can tell it’s anxious though to spin on up…. Also a little vibration….. Need to balance the prop better….. I’ve been using little drops of CA glue spread on the front of the light blade near the tip….Have any other suggestions on prop balancing?

Well, I typically either remove propeller imbalance by light sanding some material from the heavy blade tip of trailing edge, or, force a small piece of steel wire into the cavity of the prop hub for larger, 5" dia COX props..I know the balancing moment of the wire, with the cavity close the the axis of rotation, is minimal, but I still like it as this will not require any obtrusive action on the nice props.

Regarding the ball joint gap, I can only tell you the no-brainer that you are also surely aware of, that try to exert as much caution as possible when tapping on the reset tool, because the tiny cap and the piston crown are very vulnerable to mechanical impacts, and 010 pistons for replacement are almost non-obtainium nowadays.

I also have the resetting tool, but luckily have never had to use it. The forces acting in a 010 to widen the balljoint gap are much less than in a 049, while the yield stress of the material is the same...so chances are, that if the factory setting of the gap was good, you will never have to adjust it in a 010...at least my humble experience. But some engines may have come with loose gap right from the factory.

Before you assemble the engine, it may be a good tip to apply some silicone oil like WD-40 on the cylinder threads only. The presence of silicone will delay the caking of castor in the threads such that the removal of the cylinder next time may be easier.

balogh wrote:Before you assemble the engine, it may be a good tip to apply some silicone oil like WD-40  on the cylinder threads only. The presence of silicone will delay the caking of castor in the threads such that the removal of the cylinder next time may be easier.

Quite right, I always use silicone grease on all threads of engines. However WD-40 is not pure silicone if I know right

Thanks, Levent,

yes. WD-40 may include more than just silicone, and I make sure it does not get on the piston or inside the cylinder, anyway, this is the easiest available lubricant for me that includes silicon.

balogh wrote:I use cold grease remover spray for kitchen appliances, instead. Put a few drops on a swab or ear bud and loosen up the varnish on the cylinder, then clean it with nail polish remover/acetone I snitch from my wife.

Andras, what brand you use for removing varnish? I searched kitchen grease removers but don't use on aluminum caution on labels. Do you use only on steel parts?

Levent, yes, this only does good on steel, aluminum will be discolored if comes in contact with it. It includes some phosphates (phosphoric acid???) and amphoter substances.

The one I use is a Hungarian brand, but it should be available in any convenience store where cleaning materials and detergents are sold:

Thanks Eric, I think it’s going to bee a winner!

Thanks for the tip on WD-40 on the cylinder threads Andras, Had not heard that one before…. Will do on next disassembly!!

Thanks Mauricio!! The tools were fun to make too….The “teeth” for the glow head wrench were 4-40 hardened machine screws that I ground flat sections on then soldered into the old brass door hardware…It gets a very positive grip on the head…. The Venturi wrench was brass from an old office name plate….. The wood block with the bamboo dowels helped get the front retaining nut off…

Best wishes friends

balogh wrote:
Before you assemble the engine, it may be a good tip to apply some silicone oil like WD-40  on the cylinder threads only. The presence of silicone will delay the caking of castor in the threads such that the removal of the cylinder next time may be easier.

I'm not a fan of WD-40 as a lubricant, however, I am a believer in the use of silicone oil.

I've been using Losi Silicone Shock Oil as a source of pure silicone oil (available from Traxxas as well). I originally picked up a bottle as a lubricant for the seals in my airguns, but have used it wherever rubber is involved -- since it's non-petroleum based, it's rubber safe. Plus, it is available in a number of weights.

I must admit I did not really search for pure silicone oil, because other than WD40 for various other purposes than COX, I do not use silicone containing lubricants at all.

But WD40 came handy to treat the cylinder thread.

For after run oil in my COX engines I also use Bernie's blue oil.

Nice one, reuse, repurpose, recycle.