Kart Maintenance/Cleaning

J

Jaengo77

Member
Just had my first practice this weekend in my nemesis. Got the kart home and unloaded and now the slightly daunting task of cleaning everything. My main worry is something gets wet that shouldn’t and/or rust. I’ve heard many different ways to do it.

What’s everyone cleaning routine after race day and what works best? Hit everything with brake cleaner, wipe it down, then lube bearings etc?

Thanks!!!
 
In MX it was power washer no matter what especially if it had rained. Just always made sure to wrap the electrical in a zip lock same with air filter. Then when it came to where bushings/bearings were I wouldn't blast directly at it to avoid getting any of the dirt in the bearings. A quality cleaner helps a ton too. I've noticed at least on dirt the karts get it caked in certain spots and I do the same thing with a good cleaner as I would washing my MX bike, just stay away from like the intake on the carb etc and you should be good.
 
ephenj93 said:
In MX it was power washer no matter what especially if it had rained. Just always made sure to wrap the electrical in a zip lock same with air filter. Then when it came to where bushings/bearings were I wouldn't blast directly at it to avoid getting any of the dirt in the bearings. A quality cleaner helps a ton too. I've noticed at least on dirt the karts get it caked in certain spots and I do the same thing with a good cleaner as I would washing my MX bike, just stay away from like the intake on the carb etc and you should be good.
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Thank you!
 
Blow it off , spray with
WD/40 wiped down with a rag .
If real bad bucket of soap and water .
Blow dry , oil every moving part .
 
Sure especially hiems, linkages pivot points. Bearings require a different procedure depending on if sealed or not . At minimum some spray lube .
 
I remove the tires, engine and tach and use a small pressure washer and soap bucket with the same sponges and brushes I would use to wash my car. I have dust covers on my axle bearings and I flush with brake cleaner lube and re assemble. Blow off kart WD 40 bare steel bits and lube with a chain wax heims chain etc. the front hubs are disassembled, flushed with brake cleaner and lubed with tri flow. Tires are washed separately and marked. If it’s a big show axle comes out. Body comes off kart completely gone through. Scaled, camber checked and toe done. It ain’t that bad when you get the hang of it. The kart will go south quick if neglected.
 
The Nemesis is tougher to clean than the newer clamshell cassette karts, but it’s not bad. We have 2 Phenoms that we still run a few times in a year. Anyway after each race, we remove the body, motor, axle/chain, tach and front hubs. Spray the kart with simple green, wash the body while that is soaking, hose/wipe it down and blow dry it with air. The chain, hub and axle bearings go in the parts washer, get cleaned then blown dry with air. Bearing get lubed with oil, chain goes in the ultra sonic cleaner (wd40) inside it. Clutch comes off the motor, gets cleaned and motor gets washed. It may seem excessive but it’s less than 2 hours once you do it a few times.
 
Kj26 said:
The Nemesis is tougher to clean than the newer clamshell cassette karts, but it’s not bad. We have 2 Phenoms that we still run a few times in a year. Anyway after each race, we remove the body, motor, axle/chain, tach and front hubs. Spray the kart with simple green, wash the body while that is soaking, hose/wipe it down and blow dry it with air. The chain, hub and axle bearings go in the parts washer, get cleaned then blown dry with air. Bearing get lubed with oil, chain goes in the ultra sonic cleaner (wd40) inside it. Clutch comes off the motor, gets cleaned and motor gets washed. It may seem excessive but it’s less than 2 hours once you do it a few times.
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I appreciate the insight, definitely need to upgrade my maintenance tools!
 
I get a can of gas and a paint brush and scrub it hose it. Then lube it. Ive seensome racers that never wash there engine. The block cracks and they start leaking oil some where. And the rod fails. And they go buy a new engine.
 
Jaengo77 said:
I appreciate the insight, definitely need to upgrade my maintenance tools!
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I’m 16 yrs in lol, it took some time to get everything I wanted. If we’re racing back to back days I’ll cheat sometimes and swap out the axles to save time as we scale before every race.
 
We clean with simple green for the chasis.. then I soak all bearings,cassett, hubs, collars in gasoline.. blow out with airgun and use bearing oil/amsoil works too.reinstall bearing n hubs..clutch is removed and sand down where any dirt would cause friction soak that bearing in gas and use Vaseline on that...carb gets drained after end of feature to help with ethanol gunk buildup in bowl...the tires are washed separate in a bucket of simple green and on the weekend we race I prep tires a few times throughout the week..always check all bolts and set screws..make sure all fuel lines have tight zip ties..when getting gas at local store by track before you start to fuel tank for track use the first dollar in your vehicle to push out old gas from gas pump line so you don't fail tech inspection after races
 
Thirteen Machine said:
One point that gets overlooked a lot is where the nerf bars and bumpers insert into the chassis. They tend to get dirt and water trapped in them and eventually seize. Pulling them apart and cleaning the tubes a few times a season is a good idea.
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i put electrical tape on my nerf bars where they go in the frame, no dirt can get in
 
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