Senton Slipper clutch or motor (Senton 3s BLX)

[Mr.Vylan]

When I throttle the hub assembly turns (slow) as if under pressure.

• My motor is spinning fast by itself but sounds a little rough.
• The slipper clutch appears to be functioning <-- newbie, so only assuming

Attached image below just to be clear what does not turn fast when assembled.

QUESTIONS:

PART 1

1. Is a motor either working or not?
   IF NO,
2. If the motor has bad bearings or something internally wrong will it not be able to turn the driveshaft at normal speed?

PART 2

1. If the slipper clutch is bad, how can I test it?
2. If the slipper clutch is binding (bad), will it prevent the motor from optimally turning?

I know, I know too many questions and variables. I simply want to avoid replacing parts since I'm not sure if it is the slipper clutch assembly or the motor.
Again, when the slipper clutch/gear is not attached the motor appears to be spinning fine.

Thanks in advance.

 

[NewSensei]

I've found woth brushless it can be sometimes hard to tell if it's specifically the notor without testing it by spinning the pinion manually (while it's unplugged). If it is at all gritty feeling it's probably the motor. I'd try cleaning it real well first before writing off larts, sometimes dust gets inside and builds up.

Far as the slipper, to be honest, I make mine too tight so it's more connected to the motor, like the wheelies. It's a risk to do this as it can put extra stress on your electronics. That said I believe your supposed to tighten the slipper all the way down and back it off a tiny bit. My senton has the slipper so snug it only slips when I tell it to (jk, it doesn't at all).

So far I did have a bearing go out on one of my motors but I believe that was due to to the metric ton of of fine dirt that built up inside the stupid thing. Second motor is doing great because I put shoe goo over the holes I am not using to remove a couple of ingress points for dirt. This, so far, seems to be keeping the gritties from infecting my motor.

 

[GRC]

Are the bearings on either side slipper spinning freely? Nothing inside the slipper would *keep the motor from turning.

 

[Mr.Vylan]

Are the bearings on either side slipper spinning freely? Nothing inside the slipper would make the motor from turning.

"Nothing inside the slipper would make the motor from turning."

Did you mean... "would KEEP the motor from turning?"

 

[JAM]

Could be a few things.

I’ve gone through a few 3200 motor bearings. I’ve found that there was always slight play in the motor shaft after they exploded.

Is your pinion on tight?

 

[Mr.Vylan]

The pinion is on tight, as a matter of fact, the set screw was on so tight I eventually stripped it. I managed to pull the end cap off and there are crud and sand caked in the end. I blew compresses air through the internal and put it back together. The shaft turns freely now and feels much different. I'm going to put the slipper clutch back on and hope for the best. Already ordered the motor mount, pinion, and a replacement motor in case it does not work.

Thankfully, I received my Kraton EXB and have built it up for a second car. My Senton has been down for 2 weeks.

 

[JAM]

Did you take steps to prevent dirt from getting into the motor housing? That’s how I killed 2 motors in a senton. I think you are taking the right steps in getting a back up motor. If there was enough dirt in there to gum up the shaft that much I wouldn’t trust those bearings for much longer. In both cases I lost the spur gear as well when they went out.

The only other thing to do is swap out the current motor bearings for something sealed. I’ve done just about everything but that on my rc journey. My first attempt didn’t go well so I just took more of a preventative approach for keeping dirt out.

 

[Mr.Vylan]

Yep, learning the hard way. Watched videos about sealing the end with grease and using tape.

 

[NewSensei]

use shoe goo or hot glue; tape wears off too fast and grease makes it worse...any liquid will just gather more dirt and make it harder to clean...i found putting a tiny amount of shoe goo in the extra screw holes works really well, just make sure you don't put too much. Hot glue might work too. Either way, apply a small amount of the filler then clean it up and make sure it's as flat as possible. With shoe goo I use a small flat head screw driver to put just enough in the holes then I attach the motor to the mount and leave it over night cap side facing the ground so the shoe goo fills the top and makes a good flat seal...also helps keep it away from the internal workings of the motor

 

[Mr.Vylan]

SUCCESS!

 

[NewSensei]

SUCCESS!

What was it?

 

[Mr.Vylan]

Learned a ton!
I have a fully functioning bad A S S Senton 3s BLX with my awesome upgrade. WHEW!
I just raced my nephew and against his stock, we were pretty evenly matched. Not to say, my AVC, upgraded suspension, and the lowered body does not make a difference.

What was it?

The slipper clutch screw was locked in place and was not allowing me to tighten/loosen. I pulled everything apart and afterward was able to make adjustments as expected. I now know what the entire assembly looks like.

 

[NewSensei]

It was the motor ultimately?

 

[Mr.Vylan]

It was the motor ultimately?

It was a combination of doing a swamp run and not cleaning it afterward.
Crud got into the slipper clutch and motor and then additional sand was built up, adhering to the moisture.. So, after cleaning both the motor and slipper clutch all is back to normal. (FOR NOW)

 

[NewSensei]

Good job!

 

[JAM]

And your faith in the hobby has been restored!

 

[Mr.Vylan]

And your faith in the hobby has been restored!

Will probably take much more than that to make me give up. But it was 2 weeks, bloody arms, and tons of swearing. Thank god for rye whiskey!

 

[Pat_ranch]

Will probably take much more than that to make me give up. But it was 2 weeks, bloody arms, and tons of swearing. Thank god for rye whiskey!

Mmmmm, whiskey ❤