jlkonn

My Feedback: (1)

I have heard that the idler pulley for the drive belt back at the tail rotor
end of the boom can cause belt failure and it should be removed.
Experiences?
Opinions?
Thanks!
JLK

Missileman

I lost a belt on my V2 due to wear and followed the recommendations from others here to remove the pully.
The wear was caused from the belt working its way out of the pully and riding against the outside.
I can't swear that the idle pully caused this but I can say that the heli flys just fine without it.

J-MICHAEL

I removed mine also awhile ago with no problems... I noticed less friction, and it made it a little quieter....

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

You can get rid of it.

ace22459

I never had any problems with the pully on mine but removed it after hearing that other people were having problems and I can't say for sure if it runs better but I know it hasn't caused any problems.

pawraith

i have not removed mine and have no problems out of 9 months of flying my v2 or my SA. maybe i am lucky or maybe people just need to learn to properly maintain their helis. i did however, give it a good spray of silicon to reduce the friction. i would like to hear what Danny Szabo would say about this pulley issue. after all, he is sponsered by Align. i think he might have a little better insight then others. i have heard many people saying that Align recomends removing the pulley, but hmm.... there is no mention on their website. if you so choose to remove your pulley, than do so. personally i believe the difference to be negligable and therefor not worth my effort. just remember, proper belt tension and it wont hurt to put some silicon or WD-40 on the belt. good luck and happy landings.

PaulG-RC

Same here I just logged 177 flights since last may on my 450 SeV2 and I did use a silicon base lubricant and always check the belt tension, no problem as of yet, no sign of wear.
Winter is approaching fast [] and I will be taking the Rex completely appart for a major inspection and maybe I will replace the belt for the next summer season.

rzarikian

My belt almost failed after only about 10 flights but I found out it was way to tight and had no lubrication. Under THOSE conditions the idler pully can harm your belt. but its mostly because the original belt is crap. So I switched to a Maverikk belt and adjusted the belt tension so its on the loose side (if I press where the belt goes into the boom it can just touch the other side of the belt without a lot of force) and sprayed some silicon spray and its silky smooth, no need to remove the idler pully. I've had no problems since. If I'm not mistaken the idler pully can actually prevent the belt from skipping.

rzarikian

your just building yours right? then don't bother installing the stock belt, get a heavy duty belt and don't worry about belt failure. Oh and remember to spay silicon on it once in a while (not too much though)

Skarn

Those that have no problems with the pulley are simply lucky. Even of you are one that has no problems, it's better to remove the idler pulley...the heli will be more smooth and there simply is no need for it.

I removed mine after 12 flights because the belt was riding up the side of the tail case and have never had an issue since....and I don't lube my belt.

Someone at helifreak called Align about tail problems and the Align rep told him to remove the pulley and his belt/tail issue would go away....he did and the problem cleared itself.

Bottom line: Remove it and never look back.

Skarn

RobBeach

Ok... I am a noobie here in the Trex arena... but usually if your belt is riding up one side or another than you don't have
the tail perpendicular to the boom correctly.
There are numerous posts here about the belt riding up to one side or the other and the mystery is simply the tail
is not aligned properly....

Proper belt tension is a lot of the problems... as a noobie.... yup... I cranked that sucker down tight because I thought
the belt riding up to one side on the tail was because of the tension (after a crash rebuild).
As mentioned with this heli I am still a noobie... but ya learn.
Properly aligned tail is a must... a tight belt... or a tooooooo tight belt will make it jump off the tail and shred fast and crash.
As compared to a loose or proper belt tension.

It may very well be that with the idler belt pulley on... and a too tight or close to tight belt the pulley exasperates the problem
causing the belt to ride up on one side or the other. Too tight a belt seems a common problem with noobies.

Any way... this rear belt idler pulley issue... I still have mine on... and no problems. But that discussion has had so
many questions about it it's like... what came first.. the chicken or the egg.
From what I have read... the Trex 450 was a build "down" version of a larger Trex... and thusly the design of the 450
tail was left the same from the larger version with the idler pulley on.
(don't shoot me if I got this statement wrong.... just what I read.. and you know the internet is always "reight".)

And total consensus is to leave it off or take it off on the 450 size.

Belt tension is much more of an issue and I just say this here because of any noobies reading the info.
I think for a noobie... your first thought is to make it too tight..
The manual shows the basic tightness principal... but definitely don't tighten down like a tennis racquet.

Lubrication of the belt... well... the belt rubs against itself in the boom... and once again... here we go with that darn
chicken and egg problem...
I lubricate after every flight with really good silicone spray... it drys and doesn't leave the belt wet.. it will be shiny
for a while.
The point here is if you are going to lubricate... use a silicone spray... or some other derivative that that is not going
to rot out the belt. ie: rubber compatible if that is what your belt is made of..

Well... I just make these notes for the noobies reading so they can learn.. and if I am wrong I am sure I will be corrected
and make the adjustments here...

But my question of the day... ISzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ?

What came first..... Pasadena, California... or Pasadena, Maryland....
and are there any movie stars in Hollywood, Maryland ????

Missileman

OK, there is a 90 degree twist in the belt so it would normally want to pull to one side.
Some would suggest the idle pully may tend to amplify this effect as it is smooth, only in the center of the belt so if the belt starts to work it ways to the side the idle pully can help it along.

crimsonrain22

I have had the belt snag on the pulley and cause a loose belt. Almost cost me a heli. I have removed it and had no problems since. Its a easy one for me had problems with it have had no problems without it. One less moving part in the mix is always good.