The heart of an electric car is the motor. If you are a serious racer or just racing with friends, a clean motor is a cheap way to maintain your motor's performance. This how to will cover all the basic things you can do to maintain motor performance.

Things you will need:
- Small Philips screw driver
- Motor Spray
- Q-Tip’s
- Liquid Soap
- Toothbrush
- Hobby Knife
- Bearing Oil or Bushing Oil
- Soldering Iron

Breaking the motor down
Detached the motor from your car and remove pinion gear. Next, remove the two springs that hold the two brushes in place. Some motors have colored springs for each polarity, mark them down so you won't forget which is which when you put the motor back together. Next, pull the two brushes out of their brush hoods until you can inspect the face of the brushes. Now you can remove the end bell by unscrewing the two screws at the edge of the endbell. Remove the endbell from the can SLOWLY! There will be shims (washers) flying everywhere if you pull the endbell out quickly. Now remove the armature and store those flying shims in a safe place remembering where the shims used to go on the armature.

Cleaning the can
Simply rinse the can out with fresh water a small amount of liquid soap and a light scrub from a toothbrush. This will get rid of small pieces of dirt that collects in the can. Once the motor dries out, check the magnets for cracks and chippings. If the magnets are damaged, you better replace the entire motor. Some people say to use motor spray to clean there cans, but I have found that the motor spray eats the glue that holds the magnets to the can.

Shiny Armature
Spray the armature with motor spray thoroughly until the fluid comes out clear. Pay special attention to the comm, that's the most sensitive part of the electric motor. Use your hobby knife to drag out dirt inside the comm slots. (This is the 1 mm gap between each face of the shiny comm) Be VERY careful not to scratch the surface of the comm with the hobby knife while at it. This a great time to check to comm and determine whether or not it needs to be cut.

End Bell
The end bell is by far the dirtiest part of the electric motor simply because it is exposed to the forces of nature. Spray it with motor spray and take some Q-tip’s and clean the inside of the two brush hoods thoroughly. Having clean brush hoods is important because it allows the brushes to move in and out smoothly, increasing the amount of time that the brushes touch the comm. Also check the brushes themselves for debris that might get it stuck in the brush hoods The brushes should be replaced if they look damaged, worn, or show signs of bad discoloration from heat. Clean out those soldering joints on the end bell. Simple take your soldering iron and fling out the old and nasty solder towards a garbage can, then solder everything back together with brand new solder.
Check to see if the springs are still good by placing them sided by side. They should look exactly the same, if not replace both. If your springs are of two different colors, compare each to brand new ones of the same color. A worn out spring will slow down your motor.

Clean ball bearings or bushings
Stock motors have bushings and modified motors have expensive ball bearings, each of them should be cleaned to obtain maximum performance. If the ball bearings on your modified motor are anything but smooth, you should remove the shieldings and spray it with motor spray. With luck, your ball bearings (there should be two in each modified motor) should feel smooth, if not, replace them. Add a drop or two of your favorite ball bearing or bushing oil and you are ready to run. Note: Ball bearings use a thinner oil than bushings.