Motor Cleaning 101

 

Forget what you think you know.  I'll show you a race winning method of cleaning your motors quickly and easily.  I've been doing this for over a decade on my many motors.  It's a technique I learned from a fellow racer, who also owned a local hobby shop.  We both won many races with our clean motors.

To do a proper cleaning, remove the motor from your vehicle.  You'll need a standard battery pack, a couple of jumper wires, a small bucket with warm water, motor cleaner spray, and some bearing oil.

Here are the steps to clean the motor:

  • Remove the motor from your vehicle.

  • Attach jumper wires to the motor.

  • Place the motor in a bucket of warm water.

  • While holding the motor to the bottom of the bucket, connect the jumper wires to a 7.2V battery (not a power supply or ESC).

  • Let it run for about 5 seconds, then disconnect the battery.

  • Shake the water from the motor.

  • Go outside, spray the inside of the motor can with a Motor Cleaner spray to displace the water.

  • Apply a drop of bearing oil (such as the one by Trinity) on each bearing/bushing.

  • Re-install the motor.

I've had many people ask about motor damage.  This will not hurt your motor.  If you've ever opened a motor up, you'd see there's nothing water sensitive inside.  The reason you only keep it running underwater for a short burst is because this will cause wear on your brushes.  The good thing is that this is an excellent way of seating them.  I've even cleaned my motor between heats since this is so quick and easy.  We kept this technique a secret for a long time.  Now that I no longer race (all the local tracks are closed), I thought it was time to share this.

 

 

 

Yuk!

That's a grungy motor.  It doesn't take long to get the motor caked with dirt.  Unless you have a fat wallet, you'll want to clean and care for your motors.  It's simple to do.  

 

 

 

 

I start with a bucket of warm water.  You only need about 4" of water.
 

Submerge the motor completely underwater, and while holding it on the bottom of the bucket, connect a battery.  If you aren't careful, it'll shoot a rooster of water in your face!  This is what the water looks like after 1 motor was cleaned.
 

This is what the water looks like after 2 motors were cleaned.  The picture doesn't do this justice.  There's a lot of sand in the bottom of the bucket.
 

After the motor has been cleaned, give it a shot of motor cleaning to displace all the remaining water.
 

Add a drop of oil to the bearings (or bushings) on each end of the motor housing.  Adding more oil only causes the dirt to stick to the motor, making the problem worse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Last updated 03/07/05    All rights reserved.