Although you had no response from the OP, I’d like to say thanks for the reply! Useful and really informative post. Bookmarked.I'm fairly certain the manual does not say that light motor oil is mentioned in the manual as most technical writers try to avoid tautologies (unless they are from China or Italy...anyone who has ever read a translated manual from either country will know what I'm on about). According to the manual the light motor oil is intended for the motor bearings in the "Wet Conditions Maintenance" section:
"Motor—clean with an aerosol motor cleaner and re-oil the bearings with lightweight motor oil."
And yes, I bother putting oil on bearings. To my mind it would be unnecessarily daft not to. Oiling your bearings is an important, dare I say vital, component of vehicle maintenance if you want it to last. It's advisable to check your bearings periodically to see if they're still running smoothe or if they have a crunchy feel to them. In the case of the latter, remove any rubber seals with a jeweler's screw driver, precision tipped tweezers or a scalpel and put the bearings in a small mason jar you've filled with enough acetone to cover the bearings and swish them around for a minute or two. Remove them and give them a turn and see how they feel. If it feels like it's seized up, gently work it back and forth as there's probably a little nub of dirt that needs to get broken down. Once the bearing moves freely return it to the acetone and give it another whirl. Repeat as often as necessary until the bearing turns smoothly and appears to be free of dirt and other impurities. Allow the bearing to air dry and then apply your preferred form of lubrication. What kind of lube will depend on whether you're using steel or ceramic balled bearings. This can range from packing them full of bearing grease to low viscosity high speed bearing oil (sewing machine oil and the such like) and everything in between. Which one you choose will again depend on the conditions under which you do most of your driving and, in part, personal preference (if you ask five people what the best bearing lube is, you'll get at least 7 different answers). How often will of course depend a great deal under what sort of conditions you're driving your vehicle. A dry and dust free road will require a great deal less than a slushy winter road that has been treated with salt. In the case of the latter it is advisable to perform your cleaning and maintenance immediately following your return to home base.
As for how to clean, my preferred method was always to removed the electronics (batteries, motor & ESC - the servos I left installed), hose it down in the bath tub, use something like simple green, diluted all-purpose house hold cleaner or dish soap in a spray bottle and give everything a good shot with it. Depending on how filthy the car is, you can opt to use a stiff bristled brush to give everything a good scrubbing before giving it a good rinse. If you're doing a full cleaning, service your bearings after cleaning. I would generally avoid using pressure washers as these might force water into places you really don't want it (diff housings, transmissions, etc.)
What I like to do from time to time is spray a good amount of WD-40 into a small mason jar and brush a light coat over all of the plastic parts. Let sit for 30 minutes and then wipe it down with a soft cloth or paper towel. This helps keeping all of the composite plastics supple which will help with durability during the more intense disagreements your car might have with curbs and other immovable objects. This is optional of course but I do think it helps in some cases so that the part will flex instead of break. I have no empirical evidence to validate the claim, this is just gut feeling and some (possibly sloppy) inductive reasoning. YMMV.
Return all electronics and test functionality and put her in moth balls until you're ready for your next run.
One last tip...bold and italics are there to be used for emphasis of important words or content. There's no point in writing your entire post that way, it just makes it look like you're talking unnecessarily loud.
Hope this helps!
My pleasure. Happy to see that the time spent typing wasn't a complete wasteAlthough you had no response from the OP, I’d like to say thanks for the reply! Useful and really informative post. Bookmarked.
Almost one year later and stil a good read. Thank you!I'm fairly certain the manual does not say that light motor oil is mentioned in the manual as most technical writers try to avoid tautologies (unless they are from China or Italy...anyone who has ever read a translated manual from either country will know what I'm on about). According to the manual the light motor oil is intended for the motor bearings in the "Wet Conditions Maintenance" section:
"Motor—clean with an aerosol motor cleaner and re-oil the bearings with lightweight motor oil."
And yes, I bother putting oil on bearings. To my mind it would be unnecessarily daft not to. Oiling your bearings is an important, dare I say vital, component of vehicle maintenance if you want it to last. It's advisable to check your bearings periodically to see if they're still running smoothe or if they have a crunchy feel to them. In the case of the latter, remove any rubber seals with a jeweler's screw driver, precision tipped tweezers or a scalpel and put the bearings in a small mason jar you've filled with enough acetone to cover the bearings and swish them around for a minute or two. Remove them and give them a turn and see how they feel. If it feels like it's seized up, gently work it back and forth as there's probably a little nub of dirt that needs to get broken down. Once the bearing moves freely return it to the acetone and give it another whirl. Repeat as often as necessary until the bearing turns smoothly and appears to be free of dirt and other impurities. Allow the bearing to air dry and then apply your preferred form of lubrication. What kind of lube will depend on whether you're using steel or ceramic balled bearings. This can range from packing them full of bearing grease to low viscosity high speed bearing oil (sewing machine oil and the such like) and everything in between. Which one you choose will again depend on the conditions under which you do most of your driving and, in part, personal preference (if you ask five people what the best bearing lube is, you'll get at least 7 different answers). How often will of course depend a great deal under what sort of conditions you're driving your vehicle. A dry and dust free road will require a great deal less than a slushy winter road that has been treated with salt. In the case of the latter it is advisable to perform your cleaning and maintenance immediately following your return to home base.
As for how to clean, my preferred method was always to removed the electronics (batteries, motor & ESC - the servos I left installed), hose it down in the bath tub, use something like simple green, diluted all-purpose house hold cleaner or dish soap in a spray bottle and give everything a good shot with it. Depending on how filthy the car is, you can opt to use a stiff bristled brush to give everything a good scrubbing before giving it a good rinse. If you're doing a full cleaning, service your bearings after cleaning. I would generally avoid using pressure washers as these might force water into places you really don't want it (diff housings, transmissions, etc.)
What I like to do from time to time is spray a good amount of WD-40 into a small mason jar and brush a light coat over all of the plastic parts. Let sit for 30 minutes and then wipe it down with a soft cloth or paper towel. This helps keeping all of the composite plastics supple which will help with durability during the more intense disagreements your car might have with curbs and other immovable objects. This is optional of course but I do think it helps in some cases so that the part will flex instead of break. I have no empirical evidence to validate the claim, this is just gut feeling and some (possibly sloppy) inductive reasoning. YMMV.
Return all electronics and test functionality and put her in moth balls until you're ready for your next run.
One last tip...bold and italics are there to be used for emphasis of important words or content. There's no point in writing your entire post that way, it just makes it look like you're talking unnecessarily loud.
Hope this helps!
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