Phantom motor bearings

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I ended up plowing my phantom into a tree last weekend bending on of the arms so bad that I need to replace the shell. I was turning one of the motors by hand and it sounded "crunchy". I have heard that Dji uses cheap bearings with plastic races. Can anybody confirm this? Any ways I ordred some bearings from boca bearings. Hopefully this will cure my crunchy motor.
 
It might be as simple as some dirt or something inside of the motor.

if you remove all the motor screws after you take off the top of the craft.
and inspect the E-clip and make sure it is still secure.
it might have gotten broken and the parts of the e-clip got picked up by the permeant magnets of the motor.

My P2V (non plus) that is about 4 months old has E-clips with a brass spring washer on the bottom of the motor.

also you might want to check the set screw on the rotor spindle, after a nasty crash one of mine was loose.
it is a 1.5 mm allen wrench.
 

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Judderman said:
I believe I have exactly the same problem...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhCcmeYeudw

The first two (front) motors are fine. The rear two exhibit a slight 'crunchy' noise. I've ordered two replacement motors. Does this sound tally with yours?

I'm at work at the moment but when I get home I'll watch that video. There are a couple of videos of people changing their bearings out because of inferior bearings and plastic races. Im wonder if i broke a race when i hit the tree and thats why it sounds crunchy.

I had planed on cleaning the motors but i ordered a set of ceramic bearings just to be safe. Hell it could just be dirt.
 
bignick243 said:
I ended up plowing my phantom into a tree last weekend bending on of the arms so bad that I need to replace the shell. I was turning one of the motors by hand and it sounded "crunchy". I have heard that Dji uses cheap bearings with plastic races. Can anybody confirm this? Any ways I ordred some bearings from boca bearings. Hopefully this will cure my crunchy motor.

Which Boca bearings did you get? I believe the stockers do have plastic races. I am debating this as a pre-emptive upgrade. Now that I am not crashing that much these days (knock on wood) I think I can risk the switch to ceramic.
 
ianwood said:
bignick243 said:
I ended up plowing my phantom into a tree last weekend bending on of the arms so bad that I need to replace the shell. I was turning one of the motors by hand and it sounded "crunchy". I have heard that Dji uses cheap bearings with plastic races. Can anybody confirm this? Any ways I ordred some bearings from boca bearings. Hopefully this will cure my crunchy motor.

Which Boca bearings did you get? I believe the stockers do have plastic races. I am debating this as a pre-emptive upgrade. Now that I am not crashing that much these days (knock on wood) I think I can risk the switch to ceramic.

Just got my bearings and shell today. The bearings are #H26-01C-OS and they go for $88.95. Hopefully I can get everything up and running again by tomorrow.
 
I got everything swapped to the new shell. I went to swap my bearings out and I couldn't get them out. Every bearing change out video makes it seem like they just pop out. That is not the case at least for mine.

I finally got one motor done but the e clip went flying. I spent 2 hours looking for it. I finally found it this morning. I'm going to the local hobby shop to see if they have spares that I can stock up on. If your planing on a bearing change out i highly suggest buying extra clips. DONT USE THE 3MM CLIPS SELLING ON AMAZON OR EBAY!!! Apparently these are too big and they will fall off. I believe you need a 2.5 or 2.3 mm clip.

I will be putting together a video when i do the other 3 motors show what tools i used and how I did it. The way I went about it isnt the best way and maybe somebody has some tips or tricks to make it easier.

I also can confirm that the races in the bearing are plastic. /facepalm

On a good note my futaba 14sg should be showing up today!
 
I've heard the bearings can be pretty tough to get out. A wooden dowel is good for punching out the remaining one but the first one is always going to be tough. As for the e-clips, apparently they can weaken if they're over stretched. I've only read that they are 3mm and not smaller so curious where you heard that they're smaller. A clip that is too small could just as easily come off.

Don't know if you've seen this one yet, but it looks useful:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVu8YuC8iE[/youtube]
 
I found a few websites dicussing it. Ill see if i can find the links and I'll post them. From what i understand the shaft is 3 mm and for the clip to have a tight fit in the groove it needs to be smaller.

I do agree it is a good decision to change the clips instead of reusing them. I found some 1/8 e clips at tacoma screw. When I put one together with my original clip they look exactly the same size.

When I stopped by the hobby store the putz sold me a traxxas kit with all sorts of diffrent sized clips.
 
Here is the link

http://www.djiguys.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3606

And there's your problem! You appear to be using the wrong size e-clip. Firstly, I wasn't aware they manufactured 3mm e-clips. I beleive the nominal dimension is 3.2mm. Secondly (from memory) the shaft on the Phantom motors are 3mm but the groove is 2.3mm.
You are using e-clips that are too big!
Additionally, you should be mindful of the thickness of the e-clip together with the thrust washer. Due to different manufacturing tolerances you may well find you need to shave some thickness off the thrust washer before a proper fit is established. If the thrust washer is too thick you will place undue axial stress on the e-clip and it will fail/fall off! Similarly if the washer is too thin, the motor shaft will have play and you will be placing all the thrust on the lower bearing meaning it will be prone to premature failure.

The shaft on the Phantom 2212 920kv motors is steel pressed into aluminum (not a good combination) and you will not really be able to adjust the shaft length in the bell unless you have a press and a LOT of patience! Better to adjust the thrust washer thickness.
 
Well shes back up and running. I updated the firmware to 3.02. Wow it flies like chit. :(

It's all over the the place. I did a a basic calibration and the compass shuffle but that didn't help. I'm going to try a few other calibrations and hopefully give another successful try tomorrow.

On another note one of my antenna wires was pinched between the board and the receiver. I can see the wire where the insulation was pinched. I wonder if this can cause any type of interference issues.
 
Antennas should be OK as long as the tips aren't damaged and there's continuity to them. Recalibrate everything. Advanced calibration on IMU. How do the bearings sound?
 
The bearings sound good. I set up my Futaba 14sg yesterday. It sill flies pretty terrible. I used the phantom profile and I like it except for the throttle. I need to figure out how to adjust it. I was hoping to take it down to the park where I normal fly and test out my fail safe and work out some other kinks but the wind is blowing a billion mph. :evil:
 
The tools I used for the bearing change out:

19mm socket
22 mm Socket
Precision screwdriver set
Hammer
Allen wrench that was the same size as the bearing
Prop wrench for putting the bearing back in straight and level

NOTE!!! Be gentle as possible with the hammer. Don't just start whacking away or you will ruin your motors!

http://youtu.be/D6ZEy1yR6Cg
 
Using freeze spray on the bearings and a sharp tap with a punch to the inner rail will usually pop them right out.


I've installed the ceramics in two phantoms. Flies a lot quieter than with stock bearings.

Up to about 70 flights now with one of the Phantoms. I do pack them with a grease designed for high RPM, high temperature. Holding out quite well so far. No slop in the shafts, still quite snug after 70 flights.

EDIT: If anyone does this for the first time, pack them with grease, make sure to keep the RPM's low on the first few flights while the grease settles in. The motors ran about 6 degrees hotter the first couple of flights, but soon dropped to normal.
 
Yep highly recommend low RPM break in period for at least 5 to 10 min before flight.
for any new bearings.
 
Jdacal said:
EDIT: If anyone does this for the first time, pack them with grease, make sure to keep the RPM's low on the first few flights while the grease settles in. The motors ran about 6 degrees hotter the first couple of flights, but soon dropped to normal.

What kind of grease? And which bearings are you referring to? The ceramics or the steel?
 
Since you guys were doing bearings, and e clips, check this out!

No more loose ( E-Clips ): ( or short circuits caused by loose clips! )

I bought these:
D2815A0F-11F2-4B30-910B-4E129C0E81B6_zpso1nxfh6y.jpg


Here is stock motor ( E-Clip ):
B060D777-4C6D-48E4-9FDB-669C8DBEBFD5_zpscyxth1h5.jpg


I used a very small flat screwdriver to remove ( E-Clip ):
D367BB88-B82E-44D4-8758-87AFA22174B4_zpsld60o4m9.jpg


Here is the motor without ( E-Clip ):
08BF0742-5495-41B6-BBA7-685675F42A6F_zpseor4om7i.jpg


Here is finished motor with new ( Spring-Clip ) installed:
( NO chance of flying off EVER ! )
EB485CEF-28BE-43DB-8A71-619DAC4A2F57_zps26qdf7wf.jpg


Here is a better look at my clips:
737C6C94-5825-4442-A492-5942540C3C7F_zpsgsaypogh.jpg


You will also need a SMALL size spring clip tool! ( I made my own, out of an old set of needle nose pliers, I used my dremmel, to grind down tips to fit, worked perfectly.
Here is a pic of my professionally made tool:
4DA59E8A-0923-4FFF-93E9-2B703FC7EBCA_zpsgbjkzl8r.jpg


OK, not so professional, but they work perfectly, and saved me nearly $10. {:0)

So far so good, with new clips, they are also a bit lighter than stock! Several flights with new hardware, no issues, I took it apart after 15 flights, still holding strong! NO MORE WORRIES!

42EF6CEE-7382-488B-9373-99B7C09E48EC_zpsdeqaceer.jpg


Take care, Fly safe!
 

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