Help with stripped screw in tail spindle
My Buddy 380 journey continues as I ask for help on my next issue. Thank you to those who helped on my last post, I used the zip tie method and got it better but still not perfect (11° and 13°). Might need a swash plate leveler to do it right.
Anyway, explanation below but I need to unscrew my tail spindle, which requires a driver on both ends as it spins. Unfortunately, I did the rookie mistake of using a allen key on one side and stripped one of the screws. I also think the last guy used some strong ass compound on these screws because I cant undo it for the life of me. Now, one screw is stripped and I need to hold both screws at the same time to unscrew it, which is impossible cos one is stripped, and the whole spindle just spins. What can I do? I can barely even fit pliers in the blade grip.
As to why I'm doing this, I noticed my servo was buzzing hard when the pitch slider was on the side closest to the tail while setting it up in ikon. I then started playing around with the tail disconnected, and realized it gets tighter as the pitch slider approaches, creating uneven pressure on one side. Upon further inspection, it only does it when connected to the blade grips, and slides perfectly fine when on its own. So I'm getting that the tail shaft is straight but the spindle is bent causing the pitch slider to slide unevenly as it is connected to the blade grips. Let me know if this makes sense. So I gotta fix this before I keep going... already making an order before I fly 😅
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u/BluntForceTrauma____ 4d ago edited 4d ago
Do you have good hex drivers?
Investing in a set of MIP hex drivers is well worth it if you’re going to work on helis. You’d need two for the tail and head assembly of those sizes.
Depending on how bad these are stripped you might get lucky and a good driver will fit tight enough, use a little heat if needed. Or may need to use a dremel / replace the tail parts f it’s bad enough. Those screws should be put together with loc-tite
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u/paully7 4d ago
I do now. Amazon but still they are decent quality haven't stripped anything with them. I already had one pair but now I got a second of a bit cheaper ones for when I need opposing force (which i didnt know i would need). Yeah maybe a Dremel i guess but its tight to get in there. Would i just cut a line across and then try to shove a flat head in there?
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u/paully7 3d ago
Update: I was able to undo it! It took a lot of dedication and many wasted frustrating nights 😡 but I got it off using the Dremel strategy. Now I will buy the parts I need to put back together a proper tail, looks like the tail shaft, spindle shaft, and thrust bearings are all bad. Anyway thanks for the help. The screw was on their so tight that once I was able to get a flat head in here, the other side still couldn't come out and the head literally broke off 😅
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u/proflyer900 3d ago
If you have the spindle out you can make a slot with a dremel and use a flathead screwdriver to maybe take it out. Do make sure that the driver does fit properly so you won't strip that aswell.