Rust!

[CH3-NO2]

I've been bashing my buggy about on wet fields lately and after one bashing session, I didn't clean the car until the next day.
Cleaned all the crap off it today, and I've noticed that all the joins at the driveshafts where the little pins are that lock the shaft into the cup have rusted.
I've blasted them with WD40 to drive out any remaining moisture and dripped a bit of 3 in 1 oil into the joints.
Are they ok like this, or will they need to be replaced now?

[pissant]

i would prob replace them. what kind of car is it?

[olds97_lss]

Mine get rust all the time. A little drop of oil and your fine. I've been using a wax based lube though lately, white lightning.

[RatzoRC]

In the future, use wd40 before and after a wet bash.
I use it before and after running in the snow. WD40 stands for water displacement 40. It works.
As for using the truck with rusty parts, you will be fine if you used the wd40. It will loosen it up and keep it that way.

[CH3-NO2]

pissant, it's a Hyper 7.

The WD40 has freed things up nicely. I've put a blob of 3 in 1 on all the external bearings as well.

Is it ok to use the 3 in 1 to lube the parts or should I forget about that and just use WD40?

[olds97_lss]

3-in-1 is fine during the winter. WD-40 is just easier to apply. You don't want to be smearing oil or wd-40 on these things in the non-snowy months. The oil attracts dirt, but in the winter, it keeps away snow/water.

[CH3-NO2]

Yeah, that's what was putting me off using oil really. Dirt just loves it, but I suppose if you clean everything with DA, then re-apply a small blob of oil, it should be good to apply all year round.

I've heard that spraying the whole buggy with WD40 is good for keeping dirt off, as it prevents it from sticking, but I'm not too sure how well this would work, so haven't tried it. Anyone know if this works well, as if it does, then dirt shouldn't stick too well to bearings/UJs covered in WD40.

Just trying to decypher what's the best lubricant to use, as an all-rounder.

[RatzoRC]

I use wd 40 all the time. Snow and rain, I just spray the hell out of it and leave it.
Summer months I spray it, then blow it off with an air compressor.
It will attract dust, but I clean it well, relube it and blow it off.

[Revo Rancher]

Ditto what Ratzo recommends. Clean the rig good with your favorite method (I use the canned stuff as I like the pressure spray) and then WD40 it all over for protection and dirt slides off the next time. Plus, you lube all the little pieces you can't see or forgot that way.

[CH3-NO2]

Cool, well I'll just use WD40 for everything next time then. I suppose the 3 in 1 is still handy to have. It's good because here in the UK, I can get a large bottle of WD40 from the £1 shop, as I seem to use a hell of a lot of it on my 1:1 cars as well!

[Mondo]

My local track in Swindon, Wiltshire (UK) is a combination of clay, Astro turf, soil and has a concrete main straight. When we have rain it causes the clay to cling to the cars - I race two classes: RallyX (Buggies) and Truggies.
After a muddy race meeting I remove the radio tray and radio box, cover the air filter with a plastic bag (secured with a rubber band) spray the cars with MucOff and blast them with a pressure cleaner.
Contrary to belief the water from the pressure cleaner will not contaminate or kill the bearings as I am using metal shielded bearings (as 99% of nitros do) and I do not spray the pressure cleaner directly at the bearings.
After I've cleaned the cars I dry them off with compressed air and then I blast some WD40 into the bearing areas and coat the drivetrain with WD40. This works a treat. I've been doing this all season and it beats the tedious teardown and clean regime I used to do after a meeting or practise session.

I also bought a rolling buggy chassis from Ebay and this buggy had a coating of light rust on the mild steel parts like the drive cups, CVDs and dogbones.
I removed the rust with a Dremel copper wire brush attachment and gave them a light coat of WD40. This worked very well, removed the rust and although I haven't used this chassis (yet) it hasn't developed any more rust on the drivetrain.

[CH3-NO2]

Yeah, sounds pretty similar to my cleaning regime, except I find a regular garden hose is powerful enough to get mud off. I can see why you would need a pressure hose if you're racing in wet clay!

I'm going to start giving it a light coat of WD40 before and after bashes. I've heard you're meant to keep the main spur dry though. Is this true?

[Mondo]

The clay only gets hectic after excess rain, if the ground is dry and rain is a light shower, the clay makes for awesome traction and eventful tire choices, I've chaged from Crimefighters to Angled Spikes to Badlands in a single day as the conditions change.

Back on topic...

I leave the spur dry as any lubricant usually collects grit and that's what we want to avoid
Here's a photo of my buggy with the dirt from a race meeting prior to cleaning. Taken from the official buggy photo Thread although it now sports an RB S7-II powerplant (for the 2K6 season)