How do you clean your axle?

[MO Predator Racer]

I was just curious as to some other methods. We have our own every week and we try to put water anywhere near bearings. We do clean the chain in gas and leave it submerged in oil for a few days.

I dont like gas on the chain as they say it dries out o rings if it is an o ring chain. Just be sure to keep it cleaned and lubricated. I like a maxxima chain care kit that degreases and then restores lubrication and gets rid of water then a final chain lube. Works great for me!

 

[mike97760]

Why do you sand the axle ?

Remove light rust. Its a very light sanding. And gives me something to do while stuff is in the cleaner.

 

[KKania17]

Y’all over think this entirely too much. Power wash, blow dry, spray with wd40 and wipe down. Clean bearings separate in parts cleaner and triflo. Ready for next weekend. Some of people’s cleaning methods are absurd.

Hasn’t let me down yet, when my $18 bearings are junk I throw them out and start over

 

[Kj26]

Remove light rust. Its a very light sanding. And gives me something to do while stuff is in the cleaner.

Gotcha, we run zinc axles, they don’t rust.

 

[ShialaBEEF]

It's just a piece of steel or aluminum pipe. It don't matter how you clean it, so long as the bearings are tended too. Worry bout what matters to be fast, not what's pretty. If you want pretty go race with what's pretty not fast.

I’m not disagreeing but I find that cleaning up the whole kart so it looks brand spanking new each time helps prevent problems before they start. I am a clean freak through and through

 

[ShialaBEEF]

Hasn’t let me down yet, when my $18 bearings are junk I throw them out and start over

The problem is finding out your bearings are junk and having lost roll speed every time around the track for a whole day and possibly giving away a race. My kiddo runs JR3 and the competition is stiff. Even at a local event on a Saturday night the top 5 karts usually qualify within hundredths of a second of the pole. So when my boy sets the pole by 0.008 I don’t regret the extra cleaning and attention to detail. I’m all for keeping my equipment squeaky clean.

 

[JanGaLanG]

Y’all over think this entirely too much. Power wash, blow dry, spray with wd40 and wipe down. Clean bearings separate in parts cleaner and triflo. Ready for next weekend. Some of people’s cleaning methods are absurd.

I'm the same way man. I don't have the time to clean my stuff like that. Pressure wash it then leaf blow it dry. Give it a good once over, drain gas and wd40 for the next week.

 

[mike97760]

@mike97760 Any recommendations on a Sonic Cleaner?

I bought mine on Amazon after seeing a friend had one. Not very big but very nice to use. Seems like it cost about $70.

 

[mike97760]

We always have new spare chains and bearings and have no problem changing if needed but it just isnt needed very often. In the course of a season we will change 1 or 2 chains and maybe 3 bearings total, running 2 karts. Quality of lube plays a big part too.

 

[KKania17]

The problem is finding out your bearings are junk and having lost roll speed every time around the track for a whole day and possibly giving away a race. My kiddo runs JR3 and the competition is stiff. Even at a local event on a Saturday night the top 5 karts usually qualify within hundredths of a second of the pole. So when my boy sets the pole by 0.008 I don’t regret the extra cleaning and attention to detail. I’m all for keeping my equipment squeaky clean.

Totally understand! I run a lot of short tracks or smaller speedways so it’s not as noticeable just check for play in axle at home. Took a stab at a big 1/2 mile last summer 10th to 2nd around the top with no draft think I fell back to 7th though… went about finding speed the wrong way, worked for 2 laps lol

 

[1fasttiller]

Ours are bright zinc plated (PMI Slack) so we just wipe the axle itself down with a rag... now the bearings and cassettes get pulled off and cleaned/lubed after every race.

 

[ShialaBEEF]

Totally understand! I run a lot of short tracks or smaller speedways so it’s not as noticeable just check for play in axle at home. Took a stab at a big 1/2 mile last summer 10th to 2nd around the top with no draft think I fell back to 7th though… went about finding speed the wrong way, worked for 2 laps lol

For sure. Any shifting or play in the axle could set you up for a wild ride In addition to lock collars to hold things in place I also put a piece of electrical tape around the axle on both sides of the hubs, bearings, brake rotor and chain guard. If anything shifts the electrical tape will be crumpled on one side and have a gap on the other side.

The roll speed is really more of a concern for my two JR drivers racing on a 1/6 mile track since they don't have all that HP pushing them down the straights. Maximizing roll speed necessitates supreme maintenance of bearings, chains, basically all moving parts. Also, I've got two karts that stay looking brand new which I presume will help the resale value one day. I've got a buddy looking to start his kid in karting and my simple advice to him was don't buy anything that looks dirty no matter how good of a deal it seems to be.