Pilot_Guy

Do any of you lube your helis..gears, bearings, pivots?

I never lubed my Dauphin since I had it(over 50 flights) but it seems fine..not noisy or anything.

I'm thinking the Ball bearings and gears deserve a little lube lol

So...is it really necessary to lube them up?

pgroom_68

Hey again Pilot_Guy,

I don't think it is necessary per se - but it is a good thing to do with "whatever", so I lube my birds every 200 or so flights......
The main points that I lube on small coaxials are the inner shaft (before I reassembly it - if I take the bird apart for any reason) by spraying it with silicon-spray (available from Kmart here in Australia for $10 per can) and the small motor shafts by putting a drop of 3in1 ("light" also known as sewing machine) oil on the join of shaft & bushes/bearings - below the pinion will do

It seems to make the bird run smoother, queiter and for longer overall, and oiling the motors prolongs their life also.....I don't have any fancy charts to show you - just gut feelings really...........

Peter[sm=shades_smile.gif]

aircrash

Do not ever lube the gears.
Grease, oil, silicone or anything else holds the dust & dirt and becomes like grinding paste.
Your pinions will wear out in no time.

You can lube the motor`s shafts as Peter said.

Normally a sealed ball bearing use and should only use its grease for its whole longevity. It needs no extra lubing.
But if you lube it with oil then oil dilutes the grease. So do not use oil.
If you hear it screaming or has a slop then it`s time to replace. You can only save some more hours by lubing it after it has used all of its grease cause it has overheated through its wear.
I mean as long it has no wear its grease is enough to lube it, by the time wears out a little then the heat removes the grease and then it starts to wear out sooner.
So do not lube the bearings either.
You could only put some (special bearing use) grease to them, on the top side, so in case their grease goes off then they can use the extra. But it is not guaranteed to work as first the bearing has to be overheated so the grease melts ans gets inside.

Now to some points that there is friction but there is no ball bearing then you can use a little Wurth HS2000, or grease, or vaseline. Such in the swashplate`s shaft guide, or to the metal upgrade kit between the blade grips and the rotor head.
Those points need lubing.

If you feel your ball bearings have many hours and they are close to the end of their longevity then use only the Wurth HS2000 but after you have sprayed them once then they need an often lube again.
But then again it is a lot cheaper to replace those bearings than buy a good lubricant that can lube bearings. Only that is more easier to keep lubricating than replace, till they have nothing left and should be replaced for good.

You can find the ball bearings in a pack of two or four pieces from an R/C make. Usually the 4x pack has a better price per piece.
Example you dauphin use 2*6*3 ball bearing (and 4*8*4). You can find them in the EK1-0218 part number which is a 2x pack but in the EK1-0508 also, which is a 4x pack. You can do the same for the other size.
Of course you can see in another R/C make, like Align, Copter-X or just find them in a bearings store.

Pilot_Guy

Thanks, Peter and Aircrash, always informative as usual.

I agree about the lubing on gears specially if in a dust climate like my garage

A little bit of oil on the bearings seems good...just a little and as Peter says on the inner shaft when apart...all makes sense.


See I crashed my Dauphin and I'm going to tear it down and put the CNC upgrade on it along with a set of new stock motors and Xtreme blades(I'm curious to see how different the Xtreme blades are)

I wasn't going to spend anymore money on this Dauphin, but it's broken and I don't want to leave it that way..It's a good heli for rainy days when I'm stuck inside, it's my first heli, taught me the basics and it's to much fun to leave broken on the shelf. Sooo I guess a few bucks won't hurt anything to get her back up and flying.

One question....Would you think I am dillusional if I said I found the complete CNC upgrade kit for 17 dollars U.S? I think it's a mis-print on a certain vendor's website, but I emailed them to make sure it's true and exactly what is included... It showed both hubs, blade grips, swash and holder plate all CNC and 17 dollars.... I don't think it's true, but you never know.

I'll let you know the site after I know the facts and I placed my order I'd hate to have them bought from under me...you understand right? lol.

aircrash

Hi Pilot_Guy,

Better do not oil the bearings too. Only if they are worn enough and you try to save some flying hours more on them.

The price must be right. Not a typo or something.
In fact it must include shipping cost at this price (or be a free shipping item). Or a low cost shipping, for a total cost of about $25 max.
You can find cheap (or at a logical price I would better say) items in ebay also.

And I understand about the feeling you have for your first heli.

Pilot_Guy

Oh ok, so that price is normal then?.... I saw the same thing on Xheli and they wanted 60 USD vrs 17 on the other site(thinkRC.com)

Just seems odd, because just the CNC swash plate to buy just it, cost 12 dollars...

hmmmm

aircrash

I see at Xheli they have it out of stock. Maybe when they get back in stock they`ll have a new price.
OK, Ifound the cause for the difference.
According to the photo from Xheli the kit is aparted from esky parts. Not aftermarket. If it stands true then the price difference is logical.

You can find it even cheaper the aftermarket , like here. He`s a reliable seller and usually ship the items by registered air mail with tracking number.

I had bought a metal kit for my Big Lama. It`s good but only the swashplate`s bearing is poor quality.
You can see if the V4/Dauphin kit has a good bearing to the kit, else buy an esky metal swashplate. This one. (ask if it is indeed the esky part).
Anyway most sets, if not all, are not esky products but aftermarket.
You can see the difference to the swashplate ball links, esky part has aluminum ones, the kits have brass ones.

So better take the cheap kit, as it is the same with the other, and if it is needed then go for an esky swashplate.

pgroom_68

Hey again Pilot_Guy,

I have bought and installed approx 15 of the "cheap" [link=http://cgi.ebay.com.au/RC-Esky-LAMA-v3-v4-ESKY-300-Upgrade-FULL-Metal-Head-SR-/250468592177?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a51176a31#ht_2664wt_893]Metal Upgrade Sets[/link] - I got them from my fav HongKong seller via ebay - "Seemmy999" (If you want another colour click "back to search results" top left corner of linked ebay screen[sm=wink_smile.gif])
I would advise against installing the blade grips though - I have had a personal experience of them "shredding" at high rpms and throwing shrapnel at me and the dog....[:@] We both were not happy when that happened - in fact, Charlie ran out of the house and I didn't see him for the next few hours The small screws that are supposed to hold together the "square" part of the blade grips just isn't up to it - even though I used copeous amounts of threadlock red.......

Peter[sm=shades_smile.gif]
P.S. If you can buy the lower head part also from thinkRC.com - I would only buy the swashplate & lower rotor-head from them - saves on shipping and time from HongKong.........[sm=49_49.gif]

Pilot_Guy

Thank you, Peter and Aircrash.

Now I understand the 17 dollars is for the cheap kit after market.

The swash bearing in them and blade grips suck then...hmmmm

I dunno...I think I'll go with a stock replacement upper blade and flybar mount. I AM getting a set of Xtreme blades though...I heard it takes lower RPM and they don't flex.

aircrash

Well, for $8 shipped you should not care much.
Take it and see by yourself if it`s any good at the bearing. I have got the Big Lama kit, that has a different swashplate and different blade grips.
In the Big Lama kit the blade grips are awesome, but it`s a two piece design. A lot different than those.
Now the kit for the Dauphin may have bad blade grips and good swashplate.

So take any stock spare part you need to make it flying well and maybe take the cheap kit than give the double for it.

PS. Ask any international seller about the estimation of the delivery to your country, as there may be still a problem to the volcanic ash (due to old items in post office`s waiting list) or not.
So go better go for a domestic seller/shop.

Pilot_Guy

I bought the Cheaper CNC upgrade kit, A-B Xtreme motors, Xtreme blades(blue) and another battery[&:]

My curiousness to the improvement of flight got the best of me and my wallet

I'm hoping the new Xtreme BB motors will help get rid of that annoying out of trim problem that even proportion won't fix. I think the original motors are just worn out and not matched the same or something.

aircrash

This sounds cool.
After some maintenance I hope you get it as new.

After all it`s a cheap to maintain heli and a lot of fun, especially indoors.