Yikes! Hairline Crack Beneath Motor P3A. Out Of Warranty.

[Just Mark]

Hi Everyone:

Two of my motors have hairline cracks in the shell underneath the motor (where all those screws are).

Phantom3-2

• Just Mark
• Oct 29, 2017

Phantom3-1

• Just Mark
• Oct 29, 2017

I bought this refurbished from BandH last August (around the 17th of last year). I just noticed that there are two hairline cracks in the shee (one under two different motors).

Is the only way to fix this is by sending it in to DJI and having them replace the shell??? (that's what all the other threads say but that was a while back). Is there any way they are going to repair it being over a year since I bought it? (And I bought it refurbished from BandH).

How lone does a repair take?

Of course, I have a job tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. and just discovered it. Is there some temporary fix in the meantime? If I do a temporary fix, will DJI still repair it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[J Dot]

Hello
First anything you do will void warrantee, but if warrantee is expired, they will fix anything for a fee! ( new shell ) which you could easily do yourself, with some patience and time!
( tons of YouTube videos on how to CORRECTLY swap shells )
And only the cost of a new shell ( available everywhere ( eBay, amazon, etc )

Next
For now SEARCH ( Plast-Aid ) mod.
This might help you, until you can swap shells, or just use as is! It is AWESOME stuff! But I'll let you check it out! There are posts about it here, with great success.

Hope this helps
J Dot


Ps
I'm sure flying it will be fine, for the time being!
I have a p2v with LOTS of cracks on every arm, been flying it for a year now like that, cracks just getting worse over time, will change it eventually, but kinda want to know how far she will go before breaking!
It's my beater craft!

 

[Just Mark]

Another question:

I just realize that my P3A has the "old motors". Is that bad??? Is that the cause of the cracks?

 

[J Dot]

I doubt that is the cause,
Stress cracks are an ongoing issue, plastic and heat, with added vibration, is not a good mix!
These birds are not light, and only those motor mounts hold the entire weight of the bird, plus as we all know nothing lasts forever!

I have SEVERAL phantoms from p2 to p3p. Some old style versions, and some newer style ( different motors and esc's ) and have seen cracks in all versions regardless the motor and or speed control versions! It is simply the weak point of these crafts! None are exempt!

But luckily precautions can be taken ( from mods ( plast-aid , bracing plates , snap on prop guards, etc ) to simply loosening the bolts a bit, we have tried them all! ) Plast-aid is my favorite, and I place in all my crafts, from new to used! Although my p3p is100% stock, but only use it for work, so it does not see as much air time as my p2, p2v, and p2v+ crafts. But so far so good! Only one of mine has cracks, but I'm going to keep flying until it detonated! Lol, curiosity has the best of me, plus I'll just rebuild it, if it gets crashed good!

I'm weird like that, but enjoy building and fixing them, so I'd just band-aid it back together and just continue enjoying it! Then when you can't take it any longer, do a shell swap ( just take your time, and PLENTY of pictures as you take it apart, these will help with reassembly, and wire placement! ) the good thing is, you can just rip it apart, not worrying about the clips, as new shell has new clips, and old is junk anyway! Lol ( taking it apart trying not to break the clips is a BEAR, just to replace a motor, or wire! )

But all in all, doing the swap,
Will give you a great view on how things are in there, and how things work, are placed, and how to fix things if ever need be, You will get a MORE intimate understanding of your bird! Plus you will have learned something new for the day!
( I try to learn something new everyday , but again I'm weird like that! )

J Dot

 

[Just Mark]

Thank you again!!!

 

[Just Mark]

So I am thinking of adding those motor base plates you see on amazon (along with some prop guards).

How likely is it that those motor base plates will mess up my P3A???

It seems that - as for prop guards - many people have messed up the wires to their motors. Apparently the replacement screws were too long or something happened where the wires to the motors were sliced.

Wondering if installing those base plates might cause the same problems.

Most of them have only a few reviews so I am guessing they are not that popular...