Maintenance

[Driver127]

After run oil, is just for the engine after running? Is it good for steering knuckle and chassis?

Do I use regular W 40?

 

[MudSlinger33]

Excess oil on the chassis will only attract dirt. I use a silicone spray when lubricating chassis parts.

 

[Driver127]

Excess oil on the chassis will only attract dirt. I use a silicone spray when lubricating chassis parts.

Where do I get this silicon spray, and how much it cost?

By the way, I got the cleaning spray. What parts I can use it on? It's like water...

 

[moe7404]

for me wd-40 is a bit lite weight, for me. i use marvel mystery oil for after run oil, but only for the inside of the engine, for sure dont put it in the fuel. its all so good for your street truck, in the gasoline, 4 oz in 10 gal of gas. will help start the engine. in the winter if the bottle gets cold and gets hit by something it will break.

 

[Greywolf74]

I use some sort of engine degreaser thats safe for electronics like cow rc moo-tor cleaner or some other similar product unless your gonna do a full tear down cleaning then I would use simple green or denatured alcohol to clean each part individually. for lubrication use some type of silicone lube like mud said. Cow RC makes some called moo-slick which is supposed to work good or you can pick up a product at home depot called "Blaster". I prefer Blaster personally the kind that says its for garage doors. Its safe on electronics also so you can coat your whole kit if you want to or just the joints, however you want to do it but make sure you give it a good day to dry completely or you'll end up with a muddy mess. Blaster is about $4.50 a can

 

[Driver127]

Thank you guys, for the info.

I have got: 1) after run oil. I use it for the engine only.
2) filter oil
3) cleaning spray. Where can I use the cleaning spray, and how? (without risking the electricity)

I am new to this...

 

[Greywolf74]

If you use cow RCs moo-tor cleaner its electronic safe so you dont have to worry about it. Its a wee bit pricey but its really good stuff. I have some right now and I really love it. For a cheaper solution you can use denatured alcohol which is also electronics safe...just make sure you give it a several minute to dry before putting any electricty through it.then after you spray on the dentaured alcohol you can hit it with some compressed air to knock the dirt off...it wont come out as clean as a full tear down obviously but it will do fairly well assuming you dont have caked on mud etc.

Theres other ways to do it as well. some folks waterproof all their electronic or remove their electronics and hose it off with a waterhose and then hit anything that might rust with compressed air to blow the water off/out of it and then hit it with some silicone based lube/protectant like the aforementioned moo-slick or Blaster for garage doors.

IMO nothing beats a total tear down and cleaning and for that I use simple green and/or denatured alcohol and again use silicone lube on rustables after I'm done cleaning them and putting the kit back together. This obviously is the most time consuming and doesn't have to be done everytime but Id say every 5-10 sessions you should do a total tear down cleaning not only because some of your bearings will need cleaned by then but also it gives you a chance to look the whole kit over for rust, cracked or broken pieces, leaks, or anything else that maybe wrong with the kit.

Hope that helps.

 

[Driver127]

If you use cow RCs moo-tor cleaner its electronic safe so you dont have to worry about it. Its a wee bit pricey but its really good stuff. I have some right now and I really love it. For a cheaper solution you can use denatured alcohol which is also electronics safe...just make sure you give it a several minute to dry before putting any electricty through it.then after you spray on the dentaured alcohol you can hit it with some compressed air to knock the dirt off...it wont come out as clean as a full tear down obviously but it will do fairly well assuming you dont have caked on mud etc.

Theres other ways to do it as well. some folks waterproof all their electronic or remove their electronics and hose it off with a waterhose and then hit anything that might rust with compressed air to blow the water off/out of it and then hit it with some silicone based lube/protectant like the aforementioned moo-slick or Blaster for garage doors.

IMO nothing beats a total tear down and cleaning and for that I use simple green and/or denatured alcohol and again use silicone lube on rustables after I'm done cleaning them and putting the kit back together. This obviously is the most time consuming and doesn't have to be done everytime but Id say every 5-10 sessions you should do a total tear down cleaning not only because some of your bearings will need cleaned by then but also it gives you a chance to look the whole kit over for rust, cracked or broken pieces, leaks, or anything else that maybe wrong with the kit.

Hope that helps.

Wow a lot of information... Thanks.

 

[Greywolf74]

I should say that when using moo-tor cleaner you want to hit it with compressed air afterward too in order to knock the dirt off just like you would with denatured alcohol. when i reread what i wrote i realized I forgot to mention that

Whether you use moo-tor cleaner or denatured alcohol you may need to hit it with a brush of some kind if you have any dirt that is caked on and then hit it with some more cleaner before hitting it with compressed air.

 

[moe7404]

if you overhaul a engine use permatex ultra slick, engine assembly lube item# 81950. in a 4 oz bottle, get from advanced auto. on the in side parts, will keep the parts lubed while starting the engine. it will smoke some dont worry.

 

[mrbones]

Buddy, you're going to get so many people telling you so many things you probably still won't know what to do. I have a friend who has been doing this since they started making RC stuff and he says he uses castor oil because it contains no additives. I use that, I use wd40. I use Marvel Mystery oil. They say don't use wd40 because it contains silicone. I have no idea why silicone would do damage and need someone to tell me why. (unless it would eat up the seals on you bearings?) For parts and gears I'm using Dupont Teflon Multi-use Lubricant. Its a dry lubricant. Bicycle racers use it on their chains. After it drys, it does not attract dirt but still provides Teflon lubrication.

 

[frickenjoey]

Buddy, you're going to get so many people telling you so many things you probably still won't know what to do. I have a friend who has been doing this since they started making RC stuff and he says he uses castor oil because it contains no additives. I use that, I use wd40. I use Marvel Mystery oil. They say don't use wd40 because it contains silicone. I have no idea why silicone would do damage and need someone to tell me why. (unless it would eat up the seals on you bearings?) For parts and gears I'm using Dupont Teflon Multi-use Lubricant. Its a dry lubricant. Bicycle racers use it on their chains. After it drys, it does not attract dirt but still provides Teflon lubrication.

Just as Bones says you will get a dozen different answers. For chassis lube I use LiquidWrench dry film lube made for chains and locks. Inside the engine I use after-run oil or WD-40. Either one is fine. Marvel Mystery oil is also good and last a little longer than WD-40 for long term storage. I would highly suggest against using castor oil as an after-run because it WILL gum up over time if you store for a while. Then guess what? You have a gummed up engine you will have to tear down.

 

[mrbones]

I'm not really crazy about using castor oil cause that stuff is real goopie. After I used it, before I would start the motor, I would put a little fuel in the carb and cylinder and crank it over (without the plug in) to rinse it out before I tried to start it. Now I'm just pretty much using WD40. I do buy fuel with castor in it though because from what I've read, I don't trust running just synthetic.

 

[Pope]

Run a good fuel like Byron's and you don't need to use ARO. For lube on the car I use a little 30wt silicon if I need it. I will use a little ARO at the end of the season when putting up for the winter and put the piston just above the exsust port on the down stroke to seal off the inside of the motor.

 

[Pope]

For fast cleaning I use diluted simple green and compressed air and Nitro clean where needed between heats or after a bash. At least once a month I try to take them all the way down and clean by hand.

For my 1/12 scale that gets taken completely apart and cleaned each week after a race. You have to clean bearings and blow off after each heat too. Lots of work on that thing.

 

[mrbones]

Pope, I think that info about using the piston to seal off the motor was just excellent information. I would never have thought to do something like that. Sounds logical to me.