Loose motor in notorious

Welcome to RCTalk

Come join other RC enthusiasts! You'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Dread Pirate Notty

RCTalk Member
Messages
25
Reaction score
15
E3B27B55-0A78-4AAF-9F60-9445BDFBF570.jpeg

Was full throttling through wet grass, came to a stop and had a grinding noise. First thought mesh wasn’t proper. Never adjusted it since I got it figure they know better than I do. Didn’t think the pinion was damaged but looking at the pic looks like it got ground a bit. Worse part is behind the pinion it ground a bit and there’s some metal shavings then noticed the whole motor is loose and can be wiggled as in the video hope you can see. So I have to do more than set the mesh proper but not 100% sure how to get the motor secured too. Have to watch a few videos but hoping I can get some quick advice before I do that. Thanks. Sorry if rushed and bad explanation.
 
2 screws hold the motor to the motor mount then the other 2 screws hold the motor in the sliding plate. Be sure to use blue thread lock on the screws.
Thanks for the quick reply. Guess I’ll have to open it up to see if a screw broke or pulled out and find the other 2 besides the 2 on the top I can see. The pinion doesn’t look horrible could it still be good and should I worry about those metal shavings getting in the motor?
 
Your pinion is toast. The spur on the other hand looks OK, but to be safe, I would replace it as well. If it has worn unnoticeably, it can transfer that wear to a new pinion. Odds are, just from looking at it, it is ok, but I would at least pull it and look it over very closely.

When installing the new gear(s), get some blue Loctite #242 or #243 and put a small drop on each screw holding the motor in. Do the same on the grub screw of the new pinion. I let that setup a bit before inserting the screws, but most people will install them right away. If you let it setup a bit, try not to get Loctite on the first couple threads of the screws because it will make it a tad hard to start them in the holes.

Get the motor screws snug, but JUST loose enough you can slide the motor. Line the pinion up with the spur gear and snug it down. Put a sheet of notebook paper in between the pinion and spur and slide the motor, pinching the paper between the gears. Tighten the motor screws, a little at a time until both are tight.

Once those are tight, tighten your grub screw in the pinion, making sure it is still aligned with the spur. Pull the paper out - you will likely have to rotate the gears to remove it. From there, you should notice ever so slightly a bit of slop in the gears when you rotate the spur back and forth. Just slightly noticeable.

Looking closer, your spur is toast too.

Also, look at the motor plate where the motor rocked back and forth for any gouges from the motor digging into the metal. Look for burrs, or raised metal. If it is bad, it will throw off the angle of the gear mesh and wear the gears prematurely.

Oh, the pinion is held on with a C-Clip on the end. Sorry, on my phone and hard to see everything.
 
Last edited:
19F1D48C-C151-4EE0-BA4C-2DA029D97050.jpeg

Think I found the culprit. Top screws weren’t super tight but this one backed itself out. Motor plate is plenty torn up. 🤕
 
It's just poopy, because obviously there was no loctite put in by the factory.

Is this a new RC? Did you buy it with a warranty? Contact Horizon if so. Send them the pics and vid when asked.
 
It's just poopy, because obviously there was no loctite put in by the factory.

Is this a new RC? Did you buy it with a warranty? Contact Horizon if so. Send them the pics and vid when asked.
Not used much but think I’ve had it almost 2 years
 
Not used much but think I’ve had it almost 2 years
Oh, ok. Well, this stuff happens. We learn from it and move on 😉

In the future, pre-flight checks should include wiggling your motor just to catch things like this before it can do too much damage. I am guilty of not doing it myself. Been bit a few times 😉

Holla if you need any more help. And good luck! And keep us posted. Great pics and vid btw.
 
Always go over RCs when first bought weather it's new or used. All screws oils fluids gears... then every few runs should do a check up as well. Or after a hard day of driven.. all screws metal to metal use blue loctite. DONT USE on any into plastic unless you don't want them to ever come out.🤣🤣loctite can be your best friend with these RC cars..👍👍
 
If you can't warranty it use Jenny's RC for kit parts the have the pinions for pretty cheap. Also this goes to show that you always want to tear your band new rig down and make sure everything is good to go. I see a lot of people on the Arrma forum with issues like these that unfortunately could have been prevented. It's mainly because horizon hobby has garbage QC. If there was a lot of metal shavings around at the front of the motor I'd say maybe look into replacing the front motor bearing because they can get crap built up inside and seize.
 
Always go over RCs when first bought weather it's new or used. All screws oils fluids gears... then every few runs should do a check up as well. Or after a hard day of driven.. all screws metal to metal use blue loctite. DONT USE on any into plastic unless you don't want them to ever come out.🤣🤣loctite can be your best friend with these RC cars..👍👍
Exactly! Always check diff shining and gear mesh, fluid levels, ect.
I personally would get new pinon and spur gear
I'd probably just get one off Jenny's RC because you can get the whole center diff for a few bucks more.
 
If you can't warranty it use Jenny's RC for kit parts the have the pinions for pretty cheap. Also this goes to show that you always want to tear your band new rig down and make sure everything is good to go. I see a lot of people on the Arrma forum with issues like these that unfortunately could have been prevented. It's mainly because horizon hobby has garbage QC. If there was a lot of metal shavings around at the front of the motor I'd say maybe look into replacing the front motor bearing because they can get crap built up inside and seize.
Horizon hobby is garbage period. They don't care about anything except putting money in their pockets..Plus all companies have horrible Quality Control. They just want to get the sh*t out and on shelf...
 
Exactly! Always check diff shining and gear mesh, fluid levels, ect.

I'd probably just get one off Jenny's RC because you can get the whole center diff for a few bucks more.
I love jennys they are awesome.. very good cool people. And very good prices on quality parts. Well new parts from break downs of new RC. They are like a RC chop shop.🤣🤣Wish they had a brick and mortar store. As they are a couple towns over from me in jersey..👍👍
 
Back
Top