Brushed Motor Maintenance.
 

After a couple of runs, or after running in a dusty area, I'll use compressed air to get the dust out of the motor, I'll put a couple of drops of bearing oil on the end bearing and couple of drops of commutator oil on the comm and brushes, give the whole mess a couple of spins then blow the excess oil out with air.

Every now and then (and after I have run a motor in water/mud), I will pull the motor out of the rig, air blast all of the gunk out of it, use some electric motor cleaner on it, then oil the bearings and comm, again giving it a good blast of air to get the excess oil out if it...

Now my problem:
I can't find a hobby shop that carries commutator oil any more, what is a good substitute? The guy at my LHS said 3-in-1 oil, but I find that a little dubious.

Thanks!

I wouldn't use "oil" on a comm.
I still have some "motor spray" (works great, can't remember what it is....).
I would rather use nothing than oil on the comm.

I dont oil the comm,I'm also carefull about oil from the bearings.I remove them,clean them and then reoil and wipe off.Dirt and grim sticks to oil,so no good IMO in the motor.

And I have found the grease from my axle cases can make thier way into the motor from the front vent holes.A custom cut washer from lexan placed between motor and axle keeps it out.


I have used 3-1 for yrs on just about everything

For the love of god, there is no such thing as comm oil...........anyone who tried to market that, was an idiot.

There is comm drops, but they are not really an oil (though some can be petro based, but they are designed to burn off)...

CUT the comm after you clean the motor....clean or install new brushes. Break the motor in to seat the brushes.

All oil on the comm will do is attract more dust and make a nice coarse sanding compound for your comm.....

Go back to your local hobby shop and punch the guy in the face for telling you to use 3-1 on the comm.

I do give you a high five though for actually taking the time to take care of your motor....wish more people would do it.

Later EddieO

OR, send them to a motor guy with a good rep and have them clean and tune them back up. My motors are less than a year old, they get blasted with compressed air after every crawl session and the brushed are pulled and cleaned with motor spray on a q-tip (no hanging brushes). Both motors will be pulled and sent back to EddieO for a complete check over and made ready for the next comp season.. If there is one up here..
Just my $.02 worth. I have seen guys pull their motors and when they came back it was a night and day difference. Maintenance is KEY..."thumbsup"

This is the stuff I used on my motors, thought it was an oil base, my bad. I'd put a drop or two on each side, spin the motor and blast the rest out with air. In my move up to the Great North West, I have lost the bottle of Comm drops (I've had this bottle forever), I didn't think it would be that difficult to get more.

I am fairly consistent with my motor cleaning routine for all of my rigs, the only motors I have had to throw away or the Traxxas Titans and Stinkers, but i think I have extended the life of them by doing regular maintenance on them.

I sell comm drops on my site.....and I probably live at most a few hours from ya if you live on the west side of the mountains in WA....

Later EddieO

I still have 1/2 a spray can of Trinity Hole Shot!!:shock: Probably almost twice as old as my son.:roll:
I have comm drops, but the label is worn off, no clue the brand anymore.:cry:

EddieO, I should give you a shout next time I'm out there, I have a customer site in Lynnwood, WA, looks to be ~35 miles from you."thumbsup"8)

I got some called Mach 1. It's old and it's crap. It's petrol based, as it says on the last set of three lines on the bottom. ...that you can't read because the iPod Touch completely stinks at taking pictures. Never liked it, and it did make some smoke, and more of a black mess than the typical copper color of shards.

About 30 actually.....my wife works near lynnwood and can get there in 25 minutes...

Trinity Holeshot, hot stuff.

Later EddieO

Holmes has some

http://holmeshobbies.com/product.php...0&cat=3&page=1

Many thanks to Eddie and JB for restocking me with the comm drops!!!

(sorry about all of the quarters, I spent my 5-spot on getting a park-pass for the day and I couldn't find anyone that had change for a 20)