Weekly Engine Cleaning

K

kenshin151

New member
I race weekly at a dirt track, so every week the engine needs to be cleaned, what do you use to clean your engines? Is it bad to use brake parts cleaner like you do for the Clutch? or is that not a big deal, I'm a little worried that I might be hurting the engine using that.
 
it sometimes washes the paint off, you must be okay there though.
besides that I know of no issues beyond its a harsh chemical.
 
Cover carb and exhaust pressure wash it with kart then crank it let it get good and hot change oil take clutch off dry check it relube put back on everything is clean ready to go racing
 
50/50 water and simple green. wipe it down and dry it off.

If it gets real bad I'll pull the covers, cover the carb,pipe and spray it with simple green then hose it off. Never had an issue getting water inside motor.
 
Kj26 said:
50/50 water and simple green. wipe it down and dry it off.

If it gets real bad I'll pull the covers, cover the carb,pipe and spray it with simple green then hose it off. Never had an issue getting water inside motor.
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Not concerened about the water getting into motor...however I would be concerned about getting the electronics and wiring connections wet...I would also be concerned about it getting into bearings, frame rails, ect. I guess I do not have to worry about it anyway as I use WD-40 to clean everything on the kart accept tires and clutch of course.
 
I pressure wash with wd40, works great, no corrosion, just a little smokey when you fire the engine next.
 
I have always pressure washed with the exhaust and carb openings covered and clutch removed, I do put a paper towel inside the carb between my carb cover and the slide. The carb cover is hose clamed on as well. I am careful not to spray directly at the crank seal behind where the clutch sits. After I am done I spray the carb, head, fuel pump area and crank area with brake clean and then spray down everything down with WD-40 before firing it back up to flush it out with gas and marvel mystery oil mix, I will also lightly fog the carb and motor with WD-40 just before I run my gas mix dry in the lines/carb. Then I drain remaining gas out of the bowl and spray a small amount of WD-40 into the fuel inlet of carb. I religiously do this the next morning after race night and have not had any issue's witht his procedure.
Engine builders have also thanked me for sending them a clean engine at rebuild time.
 
As stated above by a few, make sure to cover carb openings and to not spray in the exhaust. I use simple green and a water hose and has worked fine for my kart and motor for years. After spraying with simple green I spray off the kart and motor with a water hose and then blow dry with an air compressor and then towel dry any excess water. I then WD-40 the whole kart and wipe off with a rag. I then start the motor and let it idle for a few minutes to let any excess water burn off the motor, if there is any. I'm not saying this is the best way, or the only way, just what has worked for me for years with no problems
 
Anybody try mud off? I used to use it on my dirt modified car and it seems to make it a lot easier to clean. You spray it on before going on track and it makes stuff kind of slippery so mud comes of easier.
 
Dryslick13 said:
Anybody try mud off? I used to use it on my dirt modified car and it seems to make it a lot easier to clean. You spray it on before going on track and it makes stuff kind of slippery so mud comes of easier.
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I have used Mud-X on my 270 micro and it worked great! I have never tried it on a kart..I am sure the results would be similar but it is kind of pricey for the amount you get albiet it is a concentrate though. I just spray my kart and engine with Wd-40 and wipe clean takes a bit longer but it gives you a chance to inspect for worn or broken parts.
 
Good thread guys. Never heard of mud off. We started off using a splash of simple green , filled the bucket with water. Washed with sponge & brush. Then dry with a towel. This past year switched to Dawn dish soap with same method. Thinking of trying the WD-40 method. I have a gallon of it in the garage. You guys above. You just spray it on & wiped off with shop rags ?
 
cbuch said:
Good thread guys. Never heard of mud off. We started off using a splash of simple green , filled the bucket with water. Washed with sponge & brush. Then dry with a towel. This past year switched to Dawn dish soap with same method. Thinking of trying the WD-40 method. I have a gallon of it in the garage. You guys above. You just spray it on & wiped off with shop rags ?
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Yes That is what I do and works great! If you have a gallon of it just get a spraybottle and put some in it will work great! If there is some heavy stuff just spray a little more and let sit for a couple mins and comes right off...After you do it once the next time is easier due to having already been coated.
 
Dryslick13 said:
Anybody try mud off? I used to use it on my dirt modified car and it seems to make it a lot easier to clean. You spray it on before going on track and it makes stuff kind of slippery so mud comes of easier.
Click to expand...

Spraying wd-40 all over the body will do the same thing If you spray each time before hitting the track
 
SKHMotorsports71 said:
Not concerened about the water getting into motor...however I would be concerned about getting the electronics and wiring connections wet...I would also be concerned about it getting into bearings, frame rails, ect. I guess I do not have to worry about it anyway as I use WD-40 to clean everything on the kart accept tires and clutch of course.
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I guess I shoulda went into more detail.
If I'm washing the kart I pull the body, motor, axle, chain and front hubs. I use an ultrasonic cleaner with wd-40 for the chain and bearings.
When washing the frame, baggy over mychron, spray and wipe down with simple green, hose off and dry with blow gun from air compressor. I'll do the same with the motor.
The axle and hubs are done by hand.
What electronics to get wet ? The coil ?
The only open holes on the frame is where PRC decided to run the brake line on the Triton, but I don't use plastic lines so those holes are plugged along with the rear tube behind the motor.
Takes me a couple hours to clean both karts, but when I'm done you can barely tell they were raced.
 
Oven cleaner never thought of that one. Back to the WD-40. That's what I was thinking. Dump some in the spray bottle & give it a try.
 
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