the motor is one that i took from my few months old rc10b4.1 and has the power to keep up with most other tlr's down the straight and seems reliable and sounded quite smooth as i drove it full throttle at walking speed.
i took it apart and cleaned it all up yes to see if i could find and problems but as i cannot its abit confusing. if i were to get the alum nut mentioned above and the rebuild kit (
http://www.apexmodels.com/gbu0-prodshow/TLR232001.html) presumably that should get it going again!?. if not i will post up again but thanks for all the help!