Simple Green, MAF cleaner, carb cleaner, soap and water, WD-40, silicone spray? I done messed up...

[Warby]

Yeeeep, after a nice long run in the wet, all you need is a nice thorough blow job, and call her a night.

Or just drive it hard and put it away wet.

 

[Yazman]

Yeeeep, after a nice long run in the wet, all you need is a nice thorough blow job, and call her a night.

Or just drive it hard and put it away wet.

Me: *sad, married 10 years and 2 children noises*

https://c.tenor.com/2jOc_rjmd10AAAAM/titanic-longtime.gif

 

[Supermoto]

Just to add to the pile of opinions, whenever I run my truck anywhere messy (mud, beach, snow, etc) I come home and use my hose to thoroughly rinse it all off. Once thats done and its clean I use my shop vac on blower mode to dry it all off. Never had a problem with rust, dirt attraction, etc.

 

[RCbuzz]

If its a 3S you might find water in your diff housings and hinge pins start to turn

 

[Yazman]

You fellers were right about not too much grease in the bearings. I thought I packed them like 25% full, but after a run, grease had spun out and oozed everywhere . Now to tear it all down again to clean up.......

 

[Yazman]

Anyone ever use wax on their rig to keep it clean? I have some old turtle wax and mother's wax sitting around. Much cheaper than ceramic

 

[RCbuzz]

You fellers were right about not too much grease in the bearings. I thought I packed them like 25% full, but after a run, grease had spun out and oozed everywhere . Now to tear it all down again to clean up.......

So far I have been okay with my overgreased bearings I actually like it when they ooze out a bit (keeps dirt out). I will have to check them out again though just in case. So far the superlube synthetic has been great.

 

[Tex Koder]

You fellers were right about not too much grease in the bearings. I thought I packed them like 25% full, but after a run, grease had spun out and oozed everywhere . Now to tear it all down again to clean up.......

Just curious.. How are you able to pack grease into those tiny bearings when they are supposed to be sealed?

 

[RCbuzz]

I pull the seals out with a hobby knife, then clean them out with some wd40 (I know there are better ways but it works in a pinch), then pack in the grease with a small flat head screwdriver and put the seals back.

I do have trouble getting the seals out and wish there was a better way or a tool to make it easier.

 

[SrC]

Y

I've been snow bashing my Xmaxx, Noto, and Maxx, and I've been trying to take really good care of them. I have a dust cover for all of them, and I spray down the entire rig (minus electronics) before bashing with silicone spray. Afterward, I dry the whole truck with a towel and hair dryer, then spray a very liberal coat of WD-40 all over everything (minus electronics) and let it dry.

I thought everything was cool, until I broke the front upper bulkhead on my Xmaxx. When I opened the rig up, I found that every single space was invaded by WD-40 and dirt. A bunch of bearings were scratchy and the outside diff housing had water and junk in them. I ended up tearing apart the entire Xmaxx and soaking all the bearings in alcohol/simplegreen mix. I'm also working on spraying and wiping down everything with simplegreen. I've bought some marine grease for the outside of the diffs.

I read so much conflicting information--don't use WD-40, use WD-40 but only after running, use carb cleaner, don't use carb cleaner, use water to wash your rig, don't use water. You get the idea.

I'm a noob trying to take good care of my stuff. My Xmaxx is in a million pieces on the floor, and I'd like to avoid this again for as long as possible. Advice is much appreciated.

You are trying. I get it. But perhaps just spinning your wheels. Frustration and all.
WD-40 becomes a varnish of sorts. It is marketed as a Do IT ALL product. But Best at nothing, IMHO. Far from being a lubricant. It is a solvent only. Keep it away from your Rig! Don't let the nice but stinky shine fool you. Trashes the BB's in a heatbeat, Pure Silicone spray is way better, if anything.
Just that anything you use to prevent water damage will ultimately attract dust and dirt. Rusted screws and hingepins and all. Just a fact. Is what it is. Keep running in the wet and have fun. That fun will cost more $$. Govern yourself accordingly. Your call.
My Crawlers only get wet. Cheaper and easier to replace electrics etc. I use SS BB's throughout also. Run it into streams mud snow and Blizzards etc. My fast expensive bashers never get wet. Been there many years ago.
So, I don't run in the wet. Too time consuming. Hours to rebuild it, only to get wet again in minutes makes no sense. There is no short cut to maintenance when you run in the wet. A complete disassembly is required IMO. Skip maintenance just one time and neglect it. Your rig will go to crap. Ruins all the BB's. screws and electrics. Corrosion cannot be stopped. The whole rig will go to crap sooner than keeping it in dry terrain.
The only answer to wet running is more time, patience and money. Your call.
I have less fun when I abuse my my rigs. More fun when i respect them and their limits. No RC is WP, no matter what they say.
But many like the wet stuff. A personal choice.

WD-40 is marketted very hard . Is found everywhere and very cheap. Every home has a can floating around. Purchased like toilet paper 99% of the time. So everyone has a can floating around. But is only a band-aid fix for squeaking door hinges and window tracks at best . It is only a cleaning solvent with a light mineral oil that frees things up that are seized up. It breaks down oil, dirt and grease in place already.
It is just a Placebo effect most of the time, if you think it works as a lube.

https://lifehacker.com/when-should-i-not-use-wd-40-5891936

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-some-p...D40-website-claims-the-exact-opposite?share=1

https://www.rd.com/list/when-not-to-use-wd-40/


Edited.

 

[SrC]

Stainless Steel is typically stronger than Mild Steel due to the alloy (chromium) it contains. That's why it is used to create objects that should withstand impactful force or frequent usage. Mild steel tensile strength is relatively lower but can undergo strengthening by adding carbon

12.9 grade black oxide coated Arrma screws have more tensile strength than commonly sourced equivalent sized SS screws.
From my experience. With My Crawlers, one by one SS screws failed on me. Whether they bent or the hexes stripped out more easily. Usually the high stressed screws will bend. But all of them end up with Stripped hexes at some point.
But many do run SS. And there are Different grades of SS. Chromium content etc. Just hard to source the specs of what you get.

 

[jkflow]

Grease attracts dirt and pulls it into the bearing, plus it's messy. WD40 is evil.

 

[Monster Dork]

You know how I roll.

 

[RCbuzz]

You know how I roll.

Lol noooo

 

[Yazman]

Yes or no? Clearance at Wally world

 

[Finchy]

Heck it might be worth a shot. Try a small area first. I still stand behind the lemon pledge. Spray on leave overnight. New car in the morning.

 

[Tigershark1956]

As Finchy said, try it on a small area first. Might be a worthwhile buy. Says it is safe for plastic, so it probably won't degrade your parts. Just notice if dust sticks to it after you run it. Sometimes these things will attract as opposed to repel dust and light dirt. Let us know how it works..

 

[TimePancake]

As said a few times already, NEVER use wd40. It's a solvent degreaser. If you've ever noticed the nice shine on new plastic parts, a arms, tub chassis etc, that's a type of wax, often mold release wax, from production, or part of the plastic mix to help release from the mold.

So many cleaning products will strip this in seconds.

If you want the rig to stay clean, don't use it or keep it dry imho. I run mine at the beach quite often, when I get back I'll spray electrical contact cleaner in the fans, hose off the sand allowing to drain away from the electronics, remove wheels and add a drop of moly gear oil to all the bearings.

Once in a while I'll do tear down (I'll be honest I coat all the plastic with auto glym tyre dressing) leave dry and buff up.

I don't mother my rig to much, but its damn easy to keep clean.

I like the idea of pledge BTW

 

[Yazman]

If anyone is curious, I tried that Dupont Showroom Motorcycle Detailing spray. It smells super strong, like Pledge mixed with Citronella. It should definitely be used outdoors. It does have a nice foam that gives everything that "wet" look. I wiped the whole rig down, and it doesn't seem greasy or sticky. I haven't tested how hydrophobic it is, since I used it on a rig I'm selling (if anyone is in the market for a Maxx 4s, hit me up--it's the one I bought from McClain210)

 

[Av642]

If anyone is curious, I tried that Dupont Showroom Motorcycle Detailing spray. It smells super strong, like Pledge mixed with Citronella. It should definitely be used outdoors. It does have a nice foam that gives everything that "wet" look. I wiped the whole rig down, and it doesn't seem greasy or sticky. I haven't tested how hydrophobic it is, since I used it on a rig I'm selling (if anyone is in the market for a Maxx 4s, hit me up--it's the one I bought from McClain210)

Thanks for reporting back. I was planning on using some auto detailing stuff this summer. Good to know what products are good to use. I wonder if some sort of liquid wax would be good to spray on.