Do I need to clean the car?
 

I have quite a bit of grime build up around the engine. I guess first of all is it normal for the engine to leak some out around itself or is it maybe spray off from the muffler? The muffler seems too far away for this.

Also - Do I need to clean it up? Will it hurt anything if I leave it?

And can a newbie like me easily take it apart and put it back? I've already taken the fuel tank off, shocks and a few small things like this.

Oh - and the pull start doesn't seem to be "grabbing" like it first was. Someone mentioned something about cleaning or resetting the bearing in there. Will that fix it?

That's 4 questions for anyone counting :)

It always helps to clean the car once in a while, as dirt likes to build up all over the place.

As for the pullstart, just remove it and spray the inner metal bearing with WD40 and let it dry. You probably have a lot of dirt built up in there.

yes you should clean your car!!! I clean my car after every run at the track. Any newbie can clean the car and assemble right back together as long as you have the manual. :D

To prolong the time in between rebuilds and tear downs, go to a hardware store and pick up a 2" stiff bristle paint brush. For abour $1, they are a great investment. We have a couple in the shop, and they are a great thing to have for removing dust and grimes. For hard to reach places we have several PVC bristle brushes, and for head, block, and other hard to get places we use either toothbrushes or pipe cleaners.

The starter issue has already been addressed, so I don't think I need to go over that again.

A clean and well maintained car will give u many hours of problem free running.
I clean my car with the air compressor at the track and once of a month a complete strip and clean and rebuild

pull start
 

I couldn't find a post giving advice on what to do for the pull start. I'm not good with this search tool I guess.

Sorry for the lack of knowledge. I'm trying

I started a huge ass post, got almost to the end of it, then accidently refreshed the page with a keystroke. It's 1:15 AM on a Friday, and I am going to bed. If you want me to tell you the rest of the procedure on how to repair your starter PM me and I'll finish my novel tomorrow. Right now I'm pissed at myself...I'm going to sulk... :flaming: :flaming:

i clean my car with air compressor too
but it seems some part of the car, exhaust and engine
starting to have black spot.
is there any special way to remove the black spot?

:lol: It's a very frequent thing for me.

trp7 - I clean my cars after each run. I use Methylated Spirits in a squirt bottle and a hard-bristled brush - Gets the job done well.

for that dirt in between the fins, use a toothbrush ( not the one you use... )
and gntly brush that gum off! be careful on those colored engine headers, they can get scratched, and look ugly. feel free to take your car apart, but always clean the engineparts before putting it back together. your hand might have a little dirt of it, which could get on the sleeve or piston, and grind away! also, dont tighten the screws too tight. i stripped a screw on the crankcase while working on my 2.5, which results in me having to tighten the remaining 3 screws once every , about 5 runs.

have fun, merry Christmahonicaquanzica, i think i spelt them wrong, oh well!