When to oil or overhaul your motors

[PJA]

Some of you guys on here have stated that you are flying your quads over 100 times already. Question is, when is the best time to oil or grease these motors? Should you completely overhaul them with new bearings after a certain amount of flights?

I am somewhat of a newbie and have had my Phantom since March... Studied the online manuals constantly before I took my first flight in June... I waited until weather conditions here were very favorable for me... Nice, Summer, clear sky's and no wind... I have flown about 15 - 8 minute average flights so far. One non-issue accident because I got a little sloppy trying to land around trees...But I'm getting the hang of it...

So when is the best time to do my first maintenance on the motors, and is it a wise move to upgrade eventually to the Tiger Motor TM MN2214 920KV ... Everyone seems to like them... Any input would be appreciated... Thanks!

 

[Audaciter]

How did you withstand the temptation to fly it for 3 months ? I would have gone crazy !

To answer your question though, There is no hard and fast rules. There seems to be a huge variation in quality of
the DJI motors. I had one go bad with only 1 hour flight time. Not the bearings, but the windings were so loose that
they got caught between the rotating part, and the magnets.

I replaced all 4 with the Tiger Motor Anti-Gravity motors that you mentioned.

Really, I would not lubricate them until you can hear the motors bearings chatter, or kind of squeal, when you spin the
prop by hand.
The lubrication will attract dust, and dirt, which will only wear them out faster.
The bearings themselves are of poor quality also, which combined with tiny thrust washers, E-clips, and shoddy overall
construction, make controlling vibrations more difficult as well.

I hope this didn't sound too disheartening, as some Phantom owners have had great success with their motors.

 

[Roadkilt]

I've had 160 flights, about 8 non fatal big crashes, two dozen or more tip and burns, on fourth set of props, one complete underwater crash, float away and soak (freshwater thankfully), usually hard packed sand or grass take offs, nearly always hand caught to keep dirt out. Still on the original motors no lube, although I'm thinking of ordering a set of T-gravity or Tigers as I'm getting a little concerned. My spot thermometer shows no wide variation in temp after flying and although a little noisier than when new, no worrisome tight squeal sounds. I think that would all be normal for a product of this price and quality control.

 

[bumper]

I drilled a hole in the bottom shell directly below each motor to allow lubricating the bottom bearing without disassembling anything. I use a tiny drop of bearing oil (the stuff sold for in-line skate bearings) every few hours of operation. No sign of dirt on the bearings so far.

I have a set of T-motor anti-gravity sitting on the shelf waiting for some bullet connectors to arrive. Figure I'll install the bullets connectors to allow easier parts swapping.

bumper

 

[Audaciter]

I have a set of T-motor anti-gravity sitting on the shelf waiting for some bullet connectors to arrive. Figure I'll install the bullets connectors to allow easier parts swapping.

I am using the Anti-Gravity motors, and they are really nice. You will definitely like them.

I tried using bullet connectors, when I first put them in, figuring it would make things simpler for maintenance etc.
It didn't work out so well though, because of the screw mount that goes through the ESC. There is just not enough room.

After I removed them, I was holding them to throw them in the trash, and realized just how heavy those little suckers
are when you fill them with solder. 12 little cups filled with lead.

 

[PJA]

Thanks for the tips, guys...

I took the Quad out for three consecutive flights today. Each lasting about 7 to 8 minutes... After the last flight I felt the motors. One felt much warmer than the other three. All turn normally by hand after they cooled down.

I would surmise that the motor that was the warmest was constantly adjusting more than the others to keep it stable in the light wind. I was just hovering the Quad about a 100 ft. up to see how steady it can stay without me adjusting it's position. I was in GPS mode.

The second landing I landed in short grass and it tipped over before the props had a chance to stop... I guess all of this will hasten a motor rebuild or change eventually...

Again, Thanks for the advice!

 

[natscape]

Careful when choosing bearing oil.

I bought the very expensive boca bearings lightning lube, applied 1-2 drops to each bearing.
After a few hours cracks appeared on the motor mounts emanating from the screw holes.

I did not use loctite or overtightened the hex screws.

It seems that the Phantom's shell doesn't like whatever is in the boca bearings oil. I've emailed bocabearings.com and did not get a reply. I am not surprised.

I've used CA glue to temporarily fix them cracks until my new shell arrives.

 

[Gobbler]

I'm new to this issue, so I thought I would check out if I need Oil.
When I hand spin each of my engines slowly, the engines feel like there are mild "detentes" about every 1/10 around the circle, in both directions That's every engine, and the bird flys. Is this normal, or have all my bearing gone on all engines?
This is my first and only Phantom, so I have no point of reference other than a mini quad. I have about 8 hours flying time on it, and it seems to fly well. I

 

[Marlin009]

I'm new to this issue, so I thought I would check out if I need Oil.
When I hand spin each of my engines slowly, the engines feel like there are mild "detentes" about every 1/10 around the circle, in both directions That's every engine, and the bird flys. Is this normal, or have all my bearing gone on all engines?
This is my first and only Phantom, so I have no point of reference other than a mini quad. I have about 8 hours flying time on it, and it seems to fly well. I

I think you're feeling the magnets, normal.

If not, we both have a problem.

 

[N017RW]

The motors are maintenance free and sans any damage from crash, ESC failure, etc. will last hundreds of hours. The bearings are the only moving parts and it's cheaper to replace the motor than repair.

Yes, the bumps you are feeling are due to the magnets and most call it 'cogging'.