k&b 3.5 help

[CapnCrunch83]

i bought a k&b 3.5 engine from e-bay for 40 bucks about 3 years ago. It's been very finicky from day one, but recently, it refuses to run for longer than 3-5 minutes at a time (i've mastered the fishing pole retrieval method). I think i've adjusted the needle to about every possible postition, nothing seems to help.

Last year my reciever batteries died while running, and hull#1 went full throttle into a rock on the opposite shore, split in 2, and landed on the bank with the engine still running until it overheated. Do you guys think it needs new parts, or is the fuel bad? can you even find parts for these anymore?
thanks, lowell.

[Ron Olson]

You might have had a bad fuel tank pick-up line in it. If the brass tube sits too long, like 3 years it may have gotten a hole in it. Nitro is rough on brass.
Yes, there still are plenty of parts around, you have to know where to look for them. I call Gary Preusse at 630-279-2451 for everything that I need that the LHS's can't or won't get for me.
Jim Irwin of Irwin's pipes has a big stash of K&B parts also.
The fuel could have gone bad, usually it'll change colors when it does. Getting it in sunlight for a long time or keeping it on a cement floor kills it quickly.