Recently I noticed that a couple of my motors look like they have slightly bent axles. I noticed this when I was at minimal throttle with the props. Looking straight down on the spinners, the two rear ones (x configuration) looked a little wobbly. One more than the other. Everything else about the motors look perfectly fine and actually if you just look at them at rest without the props you can't really perceive anything damaged. Not sure if they came like that or if a recent crash I had caused it. The recent crash was from about 10 feet up, upside down on grass. I wouldn't suspect that kind of crash could cause that. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if anyone has any tips short of just replacing the motors. Also, is anyone flying like that? I may have been flying like this recently and maybe I didn't notice until now; maybe this doesn't affect flight but I would think it would since the prop must be oscillating up and down while spinning. I am trying bending them back with pliers but they seem to be pretty strong. I have a 3DR stock frame with 850 kv motors.
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Hi David,
I hope following video might help you. He is using a cordless drill. Seems working pretty well. Yeah, I too have a bent axle motor, but yet to use this method to fix it.
Being lazy, to avoid soldering, I just replaced the rotating portion from a new motor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6GCyLm7mIw
regards,
Ruwan
Just try spinning them up and looking at them from above - you should se if they spin off-center.
If they are really bent they can be replaced - it's fairly easy. Replacements are also not that expensive for most motors (and if you know the size you can often use different axle with similiar length, some people use 3mm axles from cdrom drives...).
You should NOT fly with a bent axle, it will destroy the bearing in the motor and cause serious vibrations.
If it's worth the hassle depends on the price of the motors - if they cost $10 then just change them (it's possible the bearings took a hit too and new is new, you can keep it for spare parts)...