Motor bearing upgrade

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Has anyone upgraded the motor bearings? I was wondering it they do make a noticeable difference.
 
fasteddie said:
Has anyone upgraded the motor bearings? I was wondering it they do make a noticeable difference.

I wouldn't say that you'd necessarily notice a difference upgrading a perfectly fine motor to newer bearings.
However, over time, the original bearings in the DJI motors end up losing their lubricant, get hot, start to make nasty sounds,and contribute to jello - at that point, new bearings make a significant difference!
 
Does anyone know what size the bearings are?
Once the correct size is known they can be purchased from a bearing company for the best price available.
 
Did a bit of research and here is the info I found on the DJI Phantom Silver motors, and the red DJI 2212/920KV upgrade motor.

They both use a 3x8x4mm (Inner Diameter x Overall diameter x thickness or width)

Commonly known as a 693 zz bearing.

I am ordering a set of 10 sealed bearings from VXB.com for $30 shipped and of a very high quality.
 
I also have a Y6 with more than 200 flights using the same motors. I fly off the gravel road sometime so I often clean and lubricate my motors. Also I make a habit of feeling all of the motors after landing and see if any has higher temperature than the rest. The preventive and maintenance will go a long way not to mention balancing the motors first.

As for the Phantom, I also bought a set of ceramic coat steel ball bearing which is super cheap to test soon.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261191101250?ss ... 1439.l2649

If you want the best: http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-inv ... 4-SMR693ZZ
 
tanasit said:
I also have a Y6 with more than 200 flights using the same motors. I fly off the gravel road sometime so I often clean and lubricate my motors. Also I make a habit of feeling all of the motors after landing and see if any has higher temperature than the rest. The preventive and maintenance will go a long way not to mention balancing the motors first.

As for the Phantom, I also bought a set of ceramic coat steel ball bearing which is super cheap to test soon.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261191101250?ss ... 1439.l2649

If you want the best: http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-inv ... 4-SMR693ZZ

Where exactly are you lubricationg your motors? What type of lubricant should I be using? I'm totally knew to this flying stuff. I'm usually on the ground running my numerious RC rigs. LOL!!!
 
Aren't the bearings sealed ? I don't know just asking. If I was going to replace, from my experience, I'd go with ceramics if you plan on keeping your machine a long time.
 
FangsCPO said:

Where exactly are you lubricationg your motors? What type of lubricant should I be using? I'm totally knew to this flying stuff. I'm usually on the ground running my numerious RC rigs. LOL!!!

P1240912Small_zps7672d6af.jpg


Oil: http://compare.ebay.com/like/1308836667 ... s&var=sbar

As for the bottom bearing, you need to remove the 3 screws or drill a hole underneath like I did below:

P1240591Small_zps5431cd85.jpg


Any RC models with the moving parts need some kind of lubrication to last long and work best.
 
Gary39 said:
Aren't the bearings sealed ? I don't know just asking. If I was going to replace, from my experience, I'd go with ceramics if you plan on keeping your machine a long time.

Yes they are either sealed with steel ring or double rings or rubber sealed all of which to protect the dirt from going inside. As for the sealed lubricant or grease inside, for the high speed motors require low viscosity lubricant so if you use grease (high viscosity) the speed will suffer. Car wheel bearings may be packed with thick grease but not the tiny BB in the brushless motor than can spin more than 30K rpm. That is why they have the bearing cleaning kit to remove the dirt, gunk and gum inside the seal like below:

bearing_cleaner1_b_000_zpsb8e696a0.jpg

bearing_cleaner2_b_000_zpsfdee5576.jpg


Or you can DIY as below too:
LSP-bearing-cleaner-F_zps45ac85c1.jpg
 
I replaced my bearings after about the third flight. I noticed one motor was a good bit looser than the others and after replacement things where alot smoother all around.
 
Gizmo3000 said:
fasteddie said:
Has anyone upgraded the motor bearings? I was wondering it they do make a noticeable difference.

I wouldn't say that you'd necessarily notice a difference upgrading a perfectly fine motor to newer bearings.
However, over time, the original bearings in the DJI motors end up losing their lubricant, get hot, start to make nasty sounds,and contribute to jello - at that point, new bearings make a significant difference!

I just don't understand why you just don't keep the bearings lubricated? On RC Helicopters you do it often, so why not quads? Had a Blade 450 RC helicopter, and every 6-10 flights used to lubricate it.
 
denodan said:
Gizmo3000 said:
fasteddie said:
Has anyone upgraded the motor bearings? I was wondering it they do make a noticeable difference.

I wouldn't say that you'd necessarily notice a difference upgrading a perfectly fine motor to newer bearings.
However, over time, the original bearings in the DJI motors end up losing their lubricant, get hot, start to make nasty sounds,and contribute to jello - at that point, new bearings make a significant difference!

I just don't understand why you just don't keep the bearings lubricated? On RC Helicopters you do it often, so why not quads? Had a Blade 450 RC helicopter, and every 6-10 flights used to lubricate it.

You will be surprised at how many didn't even realize that we have to lubricate and clean the bearings. More often depending on how and where you fly. 6-10 flights sound reasonable.
I also run RC boat and after EVERY session, I have to remove the drive shaft, clean and dry then grease it, then I lube the bearings.
Note, for easier lubrication of the bottom bearing on Phantom motor, I drilled a hole underneath as seen below:

P1240591Small_zps5431cd85.jpg
 
I'm somewhat disappointed at the lack of maintenance information from DJI for such a "consumer" "RTF" product... I'm guessing that a lot of folks who buy the phantom and similar RTF quads just take to the air without thinking about maintenance.

On that note. I ordered Lightning Lube High Speed Oil from Boca Bearings http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-inventory/13931/highspeedoil-lbt-lightning-lube. I think this will work well for bearing lubrication.

I'm on my 12th flight, no crashes, always take off and land from a clean surface. I really take care of my stuff, however, after only 12 flights out of the box one of my motors is not spinning like the rest. Slow to spin up, and very quick to spin down. There is no grinding or other indication that there is something wrong with the motor. So I assume that it just needs lube.

I just noticed this and hope that the bearings are still good... I have a Syma X1 cheap little practice quad with at least 50 flights and I haven't done anything to it but balance the props and it flies like a champ. So a $700 flying machine doesn't come with adequate lube out of the box?

Just a bit frustrating.
 
Mr. Lucid said:
I'm somewhat disappointed at the lack of maintenance information from DJI for such a "consumer" "RTF" product... I'm guessing that a lot of folks who buy the phantom and similar RTF quads just take to the air without thinking about maintenance.

On that note. I ordered Lightning Lube High Speed Oil from Boca Bearings http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-inventory/13931/highspeedoil-lbt-lightning-lube. I think this will work well for bearing lubrication.

I'm on my 12th flight, no crashes, always take off and land from a clean surface. I really take care of my stuff, however, after only 12 flights out of the box one of my motors is not spinning like the rest. Slow to spin up, and very quick to spin down. There is no grinding or other indication that there is something wrong with the motor. So I assume that it just needs lube.

I just noticed this and hope that the bearings are still good... I have a Syma X1 cheap little practice quad with at least 50 flights and I haven't done anything to it but balance the props and it flies like a champ. So a $700 flying machine doesn't come with adequate lube out of the box?

Just a bit frustrating.

Why not just lub your bearings? cheapest solution and will last much longer. There is some lub on ebay for Dji Phantom, but can buy it from your RC Hobby shop. every 10 flights or so, undo the motors and just give both bearings a lub on all motors. Only when bearings are stuffed change them, else just keep them lubricated, would not change them unless I had to.
 
After reading this thread, I went to my local hobby shop to purchase some lube. The guy behind the counter looked at me like I was nuts! He said they were sealed bearings and do not need to be lubed. He said the oil would just attract dirt and cause premature failure.

What to believe?? :|
 
That guy from the hobby shop needs to loose his job because he doesn't know squat. The seal or shield on the bearings helps keep dirt particles out but dust and moisture can get in which contaminates it. If the bearing was a high speed bearing it most likely had lite weight bearing oil and it doesn't take much. Oil/lubricant heats up and gets used up in the process. With years and years of offroad buggy and SC truck history and buying many different brands of bearings I know a lot about them and you have to clean, flush and re-lube them all the time depending on the conditions you run in. Even though a bearing is sealed oil will easily find it way past the seals. I've got Tri-Flow which works great and I also have a bottle of Trinity bearing oil (had it for 15 years since my nitro buggy days) with a needle dispenser like seen in one of the previous images. I've been lubing my phantom bearing since the beginning because I wanted them to last. Bearings aren't really expensive but its just the point to take care of your stuff. Remember to much oil can attract unwanted dust so just use two small drops per motor bearing. If you pulled the bearing out try and wipe down the exterior of the bearing after the oil has had a few minutes to soak in. Helps avoid a sticky surface for dust and grime to re-settle.
 
The bearings in this are 3x8x4 we also carry individual brushless motor kits with high performance stainless steel bearings in them ABEC 5 and higher #bmk-110. I also have a standard version of all chrome bearings for all 6 motors which is $13.99 with free shipping
 

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