Salt water bath!

[Steve Macdonald]

Just could not resist taking the truck to the beach this summer. Our beach has huge expanses of sand when the tide is out, along with some small dunes. It was an absolute blast until I went a bit too far (literally, probably 100 yards away) and ended up in 6 inches of seawater in a tide pool.

Motor died and wouldn't restart. Cleaned her off as best I could. Now to start the process of disassembly to see how bad the damage is. I expect to replace all the bearings at minimum, maybe the motor.

Just completed installing OBR motor + pipe in my Losi 5T so at least I still have something to bash with

 

[Whoduh]

You are not having too much luck....
1st engine swallowed dirt
2nd engine swallowed seawater...
whats next?

 

[Steve Macdonald]

You are not having too much luck....
1st engine swallowed dirt
2nd engine swallowed seawater...
whats next?

LOL - you are certainly right!

To be honest I don't mind that much. I find the wrenching part of this hobby to be the best part

Still, I plan to be a little less "experimental" in the future -- at least when it comes to things that are known to ruin these vehicles, like salt water.

When it got soaked I rinsed it off as thoroughly as I could and then sprayed it all over with WD40. It seems like the places where the WD40 managed to penetrate were spared serious damage. Two wheel bearings seized (one front, one back) while the other two had more WD40 in them and seem to be OK. I'm replacing all bearings with the Fast Eddy kit in any case.

The worst damage was the receiver/battery box. I had mopped it out, but didn't have time to properly disassemble and clean that day. The receiver is dead, and most of the wires are corroded around the area where the plugs are joined to the wires. Ordered new receiver, on/off switch, battery. Also ordered the upgraded servos from KM (metal gears). I'm not actually sure yet whether my original servos were destroyed -- will get them tested next week. If they're still good they can become backups in the parts bin. I considered getting better servos -- Hitec or Savox -- but that can wait for a later project. For now I'm just trying to raise her from the dead

The dogbone on one side is severely corroded so I ordered a new set, along with new boots.



The rest of the drivetrain *appears* to be OK (rotates freely) but I haven't stripped it all down yet. Next step is to check the Zenoah to see if it's OK. I have to remove the super bee kill switch and put the old one back (an extra good one I have). I may put a new carb on just in case the old one got some damage I can't see. I actually suspect the motor stopped and wouldn't start again because of the electronics (kill switch), but won't know until I test it tomorrow.

Bottom line: never expose these vehicles to salt water!

 

[Steve Macdonald]

Here's what happens when salt water gets into your Baja:

 

[oskygt]

Wow, take it all apart and clean everything, check the tranny

 

[Phill2]

Here's what happens when salt water gets into your Baja:

View attachment 44418

Grease inside the boots is a good idea running on the beach

 

[voo2doo]

I wouldn't put grease in the boots.If there is a split in the boot or sand manages to get in it will act like grinding paste and wear the CVD and dogbones down, trust me,I know.
J

 

[Phill2]

I wouldn't put grease in the boots.If there is a split in the boot or sand manages to get in it will act like grinding paste and wear the CVD and dogbones down, trust me,I know.
J

Luckily I haven't had that problem

 

[Ghibbert]

You're not the only one Steve - I've done the exact same thing on Talacre beach here in Wales! Luckily was quick on the killswitch so no water through the engine, ran like hell to switch it off and extricate - Gave it a freshwater wash, then completely stripped it, clean, dry, oil, reassemble - Good to go! Not been back on the beach yet though...