Motor Maintenance

Disassembly

How to maintain your motor is an important task that faces anyone who runs an electric RC vehicle. Maintenance on closed end bell type motors like the stock Stinger, is relatively easy. You have two options, the first is to spray some motor cleaner in it. Anything similar to Trinity's Buggy Blast Spray should work fine. The second is using the motor break-in method found in the RCCA article entitled How To: Supercharge That Stocker, which will work for cleaning it as well.

If you have a rebuildable stock motor or a modified motor, you should get a little more in-depth with the maintenance. While all motors will eventually wear out, proper maintenance will determine the lifespan of a particular motor. Hopefully this article will help you understand the fundamentals of motor maintenance and help you keep your motor healthy and in top-notch condition.

The first thing that needs to be done is to remove the motor from the truck. Then you want to examine the motor for physical damage. In the picture below you should be able to notice a small rock or piece of dirt that has become lodged between the brush hood and the end bell. You'll want to remove this. While something small like this isn't necessarily detrimental in itself, it can lead to the hood becoming warped and causing problems with the brush being able to move easily.

After doing that you'll want to use the appropriate hex wrench for the grub screw in your pinion. Loosen the grub screw and remove the pinion.

Before going any further you'll want to note a few things about the end bell of your motor. Using the label as a guide, relate the positive side of the end bell to something on the label. For instance on a Speed Gem 2 motor, the "+" sign on the end bell is always close to the "S" in Speed. This will help make sure you don't install the end bell on backwards. If you do, the motor will run backwards.

You'll also want to look at the timing marks and note what the timing is set at. After you get the general alignment of the brush hood correct with the label, restoring the timing will set the motor to exactly like it was before you disassembled it. For more information on timing, see my section on Motor Timing.

After noting the items above you're ready to remove the screws that hold the end bell to the can. The two screws are opposite of each other on the end bell.

Now you need to remove the brush springs. You should be able to push back on the straight part of the spring that fits into the notch on the brush hood. Once that section of the spring is pushed back all the way, you should be able to maneuver it around the tab on the brush hood which will relieve the spring tension. At that point you should be able to pull the brushes off easily. You'll do this for both brushes.

Now remove the screw that holds the brush eyelet to the brush hood. After removing this screw you should be able to slide the brush out and set it off to the side for later examination. They'll be one screw for each brush.

Now you should be able to lift up the end bell, and separate it from the motor can.

After removing the end bell you must remove the lock ring before you can remove the armature. Use a small screwdriver or hex wrench to turn the lock ring. You want to line the notches on the ring up with the notches on the can. Once you do that you can use the screwdriver or hex wrench to pry the ring up and then lift it out.

The armature should now pull out of the motor can.

You should have a washer left in the bottom of the motor can. Remove this washer, so it won't get lost, and set it aside before cleaning the can.

There will be a series of washers on the top of the armature as well. You'll want to remove these and set them off to the side with the other one. One of these washers is made of plastic or silicon. It will break if you are not careful. Twist it gently around as you pull it off.

You will want to clean the can and armature well. You can use a combination of a motor spray similar to Trinity's Buggy Blast Spray and compressed air to get into all the hard to reach spots. In the next section I'll show some signs of wear, so you'll know what to look for on your brushes and commuator.

Part One:	Disassembly
Part Two:	Brush and Comm. Examination
Part Three:	Cutting the Comm.
Part Four:	Reassembly
Part Five:	Breaking in the Brushes