N5C Maintenance

[craig1980]

It is winter for a lot of us and since there will be a LITTLE less flying I thought it may be a good time to look over the N5c and get her in top notch shape to eliminate downtime when it warms up.

I know there a lot of veterans on here and figured you guys could maybe provide some advice on some good preventative maintenance and or tips on checking the heli over in critical areas.

Also, I guys please share how you are sealing your muffler.  I have a new 55 hzr coming and could use some input.

Thanks in advance to all who share their ideas here!

[Brandon Bartolomucci]

Hey Craig,

A good once over the whole helicopter is never a bad idea but to me some key points would be check over the tail belt (since this is an N5c) and see if you notice any signs of wear and tear. Remove the main blades and slowly turn the head by hand, see if you feel any notches in the bearings of the main shaft blocks. If the belt needs replaced, do it but whether you need a new belt or not, coat it down with silicone spray just like you would during the flying season to keep it from drying or cracking.

Look over your main gear for wear and tear and especially all servo wires; In particular any place they come in contact with the frame, where they come out of the servos, and where they go into the plug ends. Pull the motor and check the clutch for life left and to make sure it's still seating and solid in the clutch bell. Finally, make sure to check all your plastic links for any cracking or stress marks. A light coat of tri-flow or other light oil on the main shaft and tail shaft for maintenance and storage is never a bad idea. You can always wait until next season but it's advisable to replace your fuel tubing every season or at least check it over with a fine tooth comb if you didn't put a ton of flights on the tubing the previous season.

If you really want to dive in deep, you can disassemble the main and tail grips and pull everything apart around the shafts there and with your fingers check for notches in the bearings, this would give you a more certain and in depth look at the health of your bearings. Grease up the thrust bearings again as well.

In regards to muffler sealing, I don't do anything special except put one of those metal end caps with the o-ring gasket in the exhaust deflector and clamp the carb inlet fuel tube closed. Now granted I store my N5c in the main part of my house with controlled temperatures but I have yet to have rust in my motor doing it this way.

Hope this helps!


Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
Sent from my iPhone

[Matt Botos]

Hello Craig,

On top of what Brandon said.....

There is not much to maintain on the N5c as it's a very tough heli but... there are a few things I check every once in a while.

1. Belt - Make sure the belt is sprayed with Silicone spray every 50 flights or as needed. I don't like to see a dry belt. A dry belt can dry rot and cause problems.

2. Top Main Shaft Bearing - Check these at least once a year or every crash. The bottom main shaft bearing rarely wears out.

3. OS Engine related - The best thing you can do for the motor is change the rear bearing regularly. If you see the piston ring is shiny, it's time to change the ring. The front bearing rarely needs changed. If you do not plan on flying much over the winter months, open the back plate and wash the rear bearing with transmission fluid. The transmission fluid will keep the bearing from rusting.

Muffler sealing - I've had very good luck with two different methods. See Below

Muffler Sealing Method 1 - The Copper shim! Mating surfaces need to be flat. If not the muffler will leak. Generally speaking a new muffler and new pipe will mate perfectly. After a crash, the muffler header may need to be ground flat again.

Muffler Sealing Method 2 - Black High Temp RTV! If you use black RTV, make sure the layer of RTV is paper thin! If it is not paper thin, the RTV can get sucked into the combustion chamber and cause problems with the glow plug. I use a razor blade to spread the RTV evenly and then a Q-Tip to clean the exhaust port.

Another key factor in muffler sealing is engine temperature. If the engine ever overheats you can ruin the seal that you created. Keep the temps reasonable and keep that smoke pumping out of the muffler.

Hope that helps!

Thanks,

Matt

[Kevin Dalrymple]

I would do everything the previous post said. I would like to add check the following just as good measure.

Check the elevator arm and make sure there is no slop on the shaft. A bad auto could knock it loose.

The other thing I would check would be the boom supports. Make sure the glue is still holding. These go bad on many helis.

[Ross Lawton]

+1 On Brandon an Matts Suggestions

On the muffler sealing side, i have had great success with a product from loctite called 548 Flange Sealant. It is a semi solid product and is available in stick form similiar to the Pritt Glue Sticks.

Cheers,
Ross

[beans07]

I have just done a service on mine after 110 flights. I have had about 4 tip overs and one minor crash that did little damage.

I changed the tail offset bellcrank bearings, dampeners, main grip bearings, main thusts, fuel tank rubber edge grommit, and clunk line. I regreased most of the bearings which all felt pretty well like new. I have changed engines to a new one which is only about 40 flights old now after some issues with a faulty regulator (OS55HZR)

It has been pretty well a maintenance free heli. The main grips and thrusts were notchy and have had some issues which is most likely came from initial build when I had a bad bottle of loctite that didn't go off and bots backed out everywhere on the first flight causing a crash about 1 minute into the maiden.

For my engine I use Loctite 596 superflex red high temp silicon sealant (I am in Australia don't know if available in the US but I assume so ) and have never had a sealing issue. I use just a smear otherwise you can shoot a plug as it gets sucked back into the engine.

[craig1980]

Thanks for all the input guys.  Hope this thread helps others as well as myself to keep our n5c in the air and flying safe.

Another thing is has anyone tried the centerglide bearing?  I was thinking of doing this to my new motor.

[Brandon Bartolomucci]

Don't get me started about how AWESOME that center glide system from Magnum is. I had it done to my 55 last season and I still get hyper talking about it. Get it done and let your worries fade away about rear bearings.


Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
Sent from my iPhone

[Kevin Dalrymple]

I passes Buzzes booth at IRCHA and look at getting it done.  I should send it off now so I will be ready for spring. I have not heard a bad thing about it. And it is the same price as 2 rear bearings.

[Chris McClard]

Could I get some more info on this center glide system. What does it do? Where do you get it done?
Thanks

[Brandon Bartolomucci]

The center glide system replaces the rear bearing with a proprietary bushing of sorts for lack of better words. You will never have to replace your rear bearing again. Buzz at Magnum fuels and his team have tested multiple helicopters and have 500+ flights with no signs of wear.

Go here: http://www.magnumfuels.com/store/bearings.php

And then give that number a call or shoot an email off. One of the team will contact you and give you a mailing address. You ship your motor and a check for the cost (mine was around 50 bucks or so for a OS 55) and you will have your motor back usually within a week or 2. In my case it was a full 7 days from time I dropped it at the post office to when it arrived back at my door, Saturday to Saturday.

You don't have to send in anything but the motor case. You disassemble everything before you ship it. They measure your specific case and custom make their glide for your motor case and you will be good to go. My motor runs cooler and quieter with it. I am in love with it.


Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
Sent from my iPhone