Beginner’s Guide to RC – Cleaning Your Bearings
I’m like most of you; I love getting my ride out in the dirt or mud and having some fun! I always say, though, that even though you spend the day getting your car dirty or muddy, you had BETTER spend the day cleaning your car as well!
Clean cars are happy cars; that is my mantra when it comes to my rides. That brings me to one of the most neglected parts of any RC car – the bearings.
Almost the entire bearing is made of metal, which means if you get it wet, it will rust. Since it’s also has moving parts, if you get it dirty, it will just continually grind the dirt into the metal until it finally fails … and then you have to replace it anyway.
A little maintenance now will save you a headache later as well as a few bucks.
CompetitionX has put together a quick and easy method for cleaning your bearings. It requires a can of electric motor spray (I like Performance Plus 4 from T.A. Emerald), RPM’s Bearing Blaster and, of course, your dirty bearings.
1. Get Ready to Blast
First gather up your dirty bearings. You can do them all at once or only a certain few at a time. RPM’s Bearing Blaster will accept most wheel bearings, diff bearings, steering bearings and transmission bearings. If you need a Blaster that will handle larger bearings, check out RPM’s Mega Bearing Blaster.
2. Prep Your Parts
Since you’re about to spray the dirt out of your bearings, I suggest taking a paper towel and folding it over a few times to act as the liquid catcher. This will keep mom (or wife, or girlfriend) from slapping you upside the head when you get dirty spray all over her table.
3. Blast Away
Set your bearing into the lower Blaster half and dtop the other Blaster half on top. Using the tube that came with your RC motor spray, insert it into the hole and blast away. Use short bursts to help loosen the dirt. You may have to do this a few times on each side depending on how dirty the bearings are.
4. Admire Your Work
Pull the bearing out and check its condition. As you can see from this picture, there was only a little dirt in this particular bearing. I’ve had some that look like they’ve been sitting in mud for years.
5. Just Add Oil
Once you’re satisfied with the condition of your bearing, add a single drop of LIGHT bearing oil. This one drop will lube the bearing as well as help protect it from further contamination.
Now re-install your bearings and watch how much faster you car goes! Just don’t tell your friends your speed secret!
