How To: Clean An RC Baja
How To Clean An RC Baja 5B, 5T or 5SC
Cleaning is an essential part of maintaining any remote-control vehicle and will help to ensure you get the most out of your RC model.
At the time of writing this article, no Bajas will come with waterproof electronics out of the box. It is for this reason that it is crucial not to get any water near your electronics.
There are multiple ways to clean an RC Baja, and after many years of cleaning and running hundreds of customer's Bajas, along with our own HPI Baja 5B, we find this is the best method if your Baja is dirty/muddy. If on the other hand, your Baja just has some fine dry dust on it, you can probably get away with just cleaning your air filter and blowing the buggy down with an air compressor without the need for following the rest of this guide.
What You’ll Need:
- Pressure washer (or garden hose)
- Air Compressor (or cloth)
- Hair dryer or heat gun
- Engine degreaser
- Cloths or rags
- Air filter cap (or a plastic bag/cloth)
- 24mm socket or wheel wrench (to remove wheel nuts)
Summary
- Remove electronics and bulky parts.
- Seal exhaust and air filter port.
- Soak buggy in degreaser and clean the previously removed parts.
- Wash the buggy with either a pressure washer or a garden hose.
- Dry the buggy with an air compressor and heat gun/hair dryer.
- Done!
Step One
Remove body shell, rear chassis under tray, wheels, the two pins and washers holding the front roll cage and the four pins holding the radio box in place. Then, use a 3mm hex driver to remove the pivot ball. Once the radio box is loose, you can remove it by lifting it up and out while sliding the throttle linkage of the servo arm. Once removed, place the battery on charge and wipe the radio box down with a cloth.
Step Two
Remove the air filter, insert an air filter cap and block the exhaust to ensure no water or dirt enters the engine while cleaning. If you don’t have an air filter cap, you can use a plastic bag or cloth.
Step Three
Soak the buggy in your preferred cleaning solution (we use degreaser for oily parts like the engine, and car wash soap/shampoo for the rest of the buggy. Depending on the condition of your buggy you may want to scrub it with a hand brush. Let your Baja soak for the recommended time for your cleaning solution; normally, this is about 5-10 minutes.
You can take this opportunity to clean the air filter by following our guide found here - (how to clean an RC Baja’s air filter). Now, clean the parts removed in step one (the body shell, rear chassis under tray, and wheels) with water and a cloth.
Step Four
Rinse off with either a garden hose or pressure washer. It’s important to not blast water into the exhaust, air filter or metal hardware components such as bearings and shocks as this may cause the metal parts to rust or corrode and potentially seize.
Step Five
Drying - This is a vital step as failure to properly do so will allow water to pool on the Baja and may lead to damage and failure of components such as bearings and metal suspension parts.
If you have an air compressor: Blow down the Baja until all parts are dry to the touch. Make sure you don’t blow directly into delicate parts such as bearings, shocks, drive boots, etc. as this can remove important greases which aid lubrication and longevity of the parts.
If you don’t have an air compressor: Use a cloth to wipe down the buggy, this can still have the same result as using an air compressor, it just takes little longer.
Use a hair dryer or heat gun to finish the drying process, make sure you keep your distance and if you’re using a heat gun, put it on a low temp setting.
Repeat steps 1 & 2 in reverse to install the wheels, radio box, roll cage, body shell, air filter, and unblock the exhaust.
Your RC Baja Is Now Clean!
By now, your Baja should be looking like new! Once you have done this a few times it should only take about 30 minutes if you have the right tools.
Bonus Tips!
Cleaning is a good time to inspect for worn, broken and bent parts.
Pay particular attention to the rubber boots on the rear drive shafts and the shock boots, if they’re cracked, replace them before your next run.
Inspect the Baja to make sure there are no loose screws caused by the previous run. Any bolts that go into a metal component near the engine is a good place to start as the engine vibrations can cause them to come loose. If you notice a bolt loose it might be a good idea to remove it completely and apply some thread lock before reinstalling (unless it screws into a plastic part).
Now, there are a couple of theories behind whether or not to lubricate parts such as suspension pivot balls, steering linkages, external gears, throttle linkages, etc. Our thoughts on this are, as Bajas are designed to go off-road and get driven in dirty/dusty environments, most lubricants (like the popular ‘WD40’) will attract dirt and grit and essentially have the reverse effect. So personally, I choose to run these parts dry. Of course, what you decide to do is up to you!
