Converting From EZ-Start To Pullstart

Many people choose to shed some weight by removing the EZ-Start assembly and replacing it with a pull start. This reason alone, is a good reason for this modification. In doing so, you can shed around 5 oz. which can make for a nice weight reduction. Another benefit is that you simplify the RC truck itself, as you no longer have the EZ-Start wires dangling around the chassis, which means the engine can be removed much easier.

There are a few drawbacks to this swap however. You will lose the ability for the EZ-Start to diagnose you engine's glow plug and whether the engine is flooded or not. I recommend you get a glow plug igniter such as this Dynamite Metered Glow Igniter and Charger, to help you know when your glow plug is bad. You will also need to physically check for a flooded engine at the first sign that the pullstart is hard to pull. Otherwise you may damage the pull-start or motor.

All you need, to swap the EZ-Start for a pull start, is a Traxxas Pullstart Assembly. Keep in mind that this one is for the Traxxas 2.5 or 2.5R, as they are the same in this regard. Other motors will require a different pullstart.

The first thing you'll need to do is to remove the motor from your truck. While, it's not necessary to remove the exhaust header as well, I've done so for clarity purposes. You'll need to remove the three screws that secure the EZ-Start to the Traxxas 2.5 motor. Use a 2.0 mm hex driver to remove these screws.

After the three screws have been removed, the starter will simply slip off of the starter shaft. If the one way bearing inside the start would happen to remain on the starter shaft, pull it off as well. The rear of your motor should look like the picture below.

Slide the pullstart into place on the starter shaft. The pullstart actually uses four screws to fasten it to the Traxxas 2.5, instead of the three that the EZ-Start used. If the pullstart set is new, the screws should already have thread lock applied to them. If not, make sure to use thread lock on the screws. Once again you will be using a 2.0 mm hex driver.

Sometimes it may be necessary for you to install the one-way bearing into the pullstart. The purpose of the one-way bearing, is to grab when spun in one direction while allow the bearing to freely spin in the other. So inserting the one-way bearing correctly is crucial to the proper operation of the pullstart. When looking at the side of the pullstart that faces the motor, you want the one-way bearing to lock when it's turned counter clockwise.

Once you've tightened the screws down, your motor is ready to be placed back on the truck.