Hello Fellow Dronerz,

Today I am going to show you how to mod/upgrade your MJX X600 with sealed ball bearings.

Buy Now: $55.64 from Amazon Buy Now: $38.99 from BangGood

Manufacturer’s Site Flight Style: Freestyle Size: 38.5×42.5×6.0cm / 15.1″x16.7″x2.3″ Weight: 175g / 0.38lbs FAA Registration Required: No Range: 150m / 492 feet Flight Time: 10 minutes Battery: 2 Cell 7.4V 700mAh 25C Camera: Optional

Why?

This process is by no means mandatory, but highly recommended to extend the motor life of your X600. Out of the box, the X600 comes with grease lubricated copper coated steel bushings.

First, because of the high RPMs the motor is pushing, the grease eventually ends up splattered all over the inside of the motor pod. Without proper lubrication, you get more friction.

Second, the grease attracts grit, which can also cause additional friction.

Too much friction on a motor will cause it to burn out.

I lost a motor after less that 1 hour total flight time (stock battery, approx. 10 minutes flight time per charge, lost a motor on the 5th flight). I was a noob and was shocked this happened so fast.  So of course I went to order some spare motors, and found it was common for the X600 motors to burn out rather fast.  And that a sealed ball bearing upgrade would help extend motor life.

To compare, I also have a JXD 509G, which came with sealed ball bearings out of the box, and what looks like the exact same size motors. I have over 4 hours flight time with the 509G, and not a single motor lost yet.

Getting Started:

First, you will need a 12 pack of sealed ball bearings, since you will need two for each motor pod.

I found a few places to order bearings, first thing I learned through, make sure you get sealed bearings, you don’t want your balls exposed…  Just another place to collect dirt, sand, and grit.  Plus, depending on the country, law enforcement might frown upon you going to the park with your balls exposed.  Okay, all puns aside, back to business.

I ordered a 12 pack (perfect size for the X600) from MassiveRC:
(If you order here, please mention UltimateDroneMatrix.com in the notes at checkout)
http://www.massiverc.com/Shop/en/399-ball-bearing-upgrade-kit-3x6x2mm-shielded-set-of-12.html

You can also buy them from BangGood, get a 10 Pack for $4.99, and 2 Singles for $1.09 each, $7.17 total!!!
Please Note: Again, you need 12 bearings total, so buy one 10-Pack, and 2 Singles together.

	10 Pack of 6x3x2mm Bearings Buy Now: $4.99 from BangGood Buy one of these.
	Single 6x3x2mm Bearing Buy Now: $1.09 from BangGood And buy two of these.

Here is an example of unsealed bearings (notice you can see the balls are exposed), which should be avoided (just another place to collect dirt/grit):
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/RC-MJX-X600-hexacopter-spare-Parts-motor-base-with-upgraded-bearing-for-MJX-X600-wifi-FPV/32419816095.html

Do you have any other recommendations for where to buy some sealed ball bearings?
Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

Disclaimer: Proceed at your own risk.  I only recommend trying this if you have experience fidgeting and tinkering with small gadgets, parts, electronics, etc…  I will not be held responsible if you somehow damage or destroy your drone during this process.  I will however, be more then happy to provide suggestions should you get stuck.

Here are the tools you will need for this project:

Micro Philips Head Screw Driver (Plus Driver)
Micro Flat Head Screw Driver (Minus Driver)
Large Flat Head Screw Driver (Minus Driver)
Needle Nose Pliers
Tweezers
Tooth Brush (or other small 90° Angle Brush)
Small Straight Brush

Before starting , I would recommend creating a template of the top and bottom halves of the motor pods.  This will help to make sure the screws go back in the correct place when reassembling the motor pod.

First, remove the main screw on the bottom of the motor pod securing it to the main frame.

Then, on the top of the drone, there is a little tab you will need to depress slightly to remove the motor pod.

I then had to grip the arm and use my index finger and thumb to apply force in the directions indicated below.

While applying force with one hand, I used the opposite hand to depress the plastic tab using a flat head screw driver to fully remove the motor pod.

With a little pressure, the motor pod should pop right off.
I highly recommend doing the motor pods one at a time, so as to not mix up props or motors.

Next you will need to remove the prop guard, as it is blocking another screw on the motor pod.  There is only one screw needed to remove the prop guard.

Next you will want to remove the propeller.  Again, just one screw, but be very careful with this one.  When unscrewing, it only goes so far before the screw will not come out any further.  This is where I used the needle nose plyers to grab the screw head, and slowly twist it counter clockwise while pulling the screw out ever so slightly.

Next you need to remove the two screws for the motor cap, center and right side.  Then pop the motor cap off and set it aside.  After that, remove the three screws on the top, left, and bottom of the motor pod and set those aside.

That’s not it yet, there is still one screw located inside the motor pod under the motor cap.  Some people have mentioned it is not necessary to replace this screw when reassembling the motor pod.  I however feel it was put there for a reason, and does contribute to the overall structural integrity of the motor pod.  Let’s be honest, the manufactures try to cut costs as much as possible, so they would not put a screw there if it wasn’t needed.

Now you can remove the bottom cover of the motor pod exposing the gear and pinion.  You can grab the gear and pull straight down to remove the pinion.

Take this opportunity to remove the grit and grime off the gear and pinion using the tooth brush and a napkin.  Also, do not forget to clean the smaller gear on the motor itself.

Take a moment to clean the motor pod itself as well.  Here you can see the base assembly, with the factory applied grease splattered all over the inside.  This is where the straight brush comes in handy.

From here, I used the micro flat head screw driver to push the copper bushing out from behind.

Here you can see the ball bearings vs the copper bushings.
Notice on the ball bearings I got, they have a raised lip in the center on one side, then are beveled in on the other.  Make sure the raised lip is always facing the inside of the motor pod.  The extra millimeters gained from having the raised lips facing out can cause unwanted friction between the bearings, gear, and propeller.  I learned this the hard way after reassembling the motor pod, and testing prop rotation.  I noticed it was now very difficult to rotate the prop.  I was tearing my hair out for a good 15 minutes, and thought I had bad bearings.  I noticed this when inspecting the remaining bearings, and quickly disassembled the offending pod, flipped the bearings, and put it back together.  Problem fixed.

Here is a shot of the bearing installed correctly, with the inner lip facing in.

From here on out, it is simply reassembling and reattaching the motor pod.  Just follow these steps in reverse to put everything back together.

I hope this helps in your quest to obtain aeronautical bliss.  I have to say, the MJX X600 is one of the best budget drones for freestyle flight out there so far.  I really enjoy doing anything I can do to increase its performance and reliability.  With that said, I will have the “Ultimate Transmitter Mod” tutorial coming up soon.

Do you have any questions, suggestions, or comments?  I would really love to hear from you.  Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Thanks,
Chris