Top shell crack

[Eduan]

Hi all,
Had an incident and cracked the top shell of my phantom 4. See photos attached. Is it necessary to change the top shell or is this not to serious?

 

[Forgotten_Fox]

It shouldn’t cause any problems, so long as it isn’t vibrating excessively in flight, which could enlarge the crack. If you just cant be bothered to look at it, you can always install a new shell.

 

[ROD PAINTER]

I would remove motor to see if crack went down in any further. Replacing top shell is real pain in neck. I would try a repair. I have had good luck on stress cracks using gorilla glue.

 

[PhantomWetSuits]

I would consider using a little glue but you might consider getting a Phantom Rain Wet Suit which will wrap that drone up nice and tight giving you a bit more security and stop it from gaining any momentum to break further. The Neoprene makes for a good insulator , like a band aid that stays on. Its pricey but will do an excellent job on top of the glue to secure it. Not to mention all the other benefits you might get from it.
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Phantomrain.org
approved vendor.

 

[Droneted]

replacing the top shell is not for those that can't solder. You can't cut and splice the motor leads as this will destroy the motors. Many have tried and few have succeeded. You must un-solder the leads from the ESC boards and resolder them back on when u change the top shell.

 

[ICUFlyin]

How many flights have you taken since the crack appeared? Have you noticed any changes in the performance since you were aware of the crack?

 

[volace]

I would use superglue and monitor the crack size and extension , changing the shell is a very labor intense process and it took me time and effort with a lot of mistakes before succeeding. As Ted said if you decide to replace the shell Do Not Splice the motors ! I learnt this after doing it .

 

[Oliver Collin]

Super glue is not the answer for cracked shells.
The best stuff to use is that epoxy that is hardened by UV light.
I had stress cracks appear on my lower half and applied the above mentioned glue. Months later I noticed a strange vibration before I took off. I inspected the cracks I had repaired and found that a crack had appeared. The glue held great, just that the area is under stressed and a new crack appeared next to the old one.
Additionally to repair the new crack I used the UV glue plus I used a plastic brace to strengthen the area. I also ordered a new lower frame and I am preparing for an 8 hour session of brain surgery.