I am new to drones, and the P3A is my first. I've watched countless videos and I felt like a pro when I first got it. I used the "spin and tighten" method to put the propellers on, and it worked flawlessly for 3 of the propellers. The fourth one, however, would not freely spin like the rest, and needed some minor force to get it into position. I assumed it was some poor threading on the plastic threads of the propeller, so I opened up one of the spare black propellers to use. Same problem, it doesn't freely screw on with a spin and I have to apply minor force to get it on.

No big deal, I can get it on and have had 5 successful flights over the past week. Today when I tried to put that propeller on, it would not tighten. Upon inspection, one of the plastic threads has been ripped, causing it not to tighten. Obviously this concerned me, as I did not want that happening during a flight. Further inspection revealed that that motor's metal threads have a slight inconsistency at the top, and it not parallel with the thread beneath it. The other 3 look flawless.



What are my options here? I've seen the motor replacements, and that looks a bit too intense for my comfort. The drone is only a week old, but I have no desire to send it back and wait months for a repair. The whole thing is really ruining my experience into this hobby.

The plastic threads in your props is what holds your Phantom in the air so you don't want to be chewing them out every time you put a prop on.
I'd start at the dealer you bought from and see if they will give you a replacement.
Otherwise, you shouldn't have to wait months for repair or replacement.
DJI is pretty good at service turnaround these days.

Has the aircraft been dropped onto a hard floor, striking the threaded shaft?  That could deform the thread.  The thread can look a bit odd where it tapers off at the end, but you have obviously compared it to the others and noticed it looks odd.  Normally in engineering you would just retap the thread with an appropriate die, but it's probably not ideal in this case, dropping in iron pieces into the motor, or having the wrong twist etc.  You could carefully file off the deformed portion of the thread, taking care not to let filings fall in to the motor.  The rest of the thread would grip the prop normally from then on.  One of the "tricks of the trade" is to just find a steel nut which fits this shaft and use that as a poor-mans die (thread cutter).  Screwing that up and down the thread a few times can often "straighten" out the offending section, as the steel nut is harder than the plastic prop and probably harder than the shaft.   It will be easier to find if it was a normal clockwise thread, but your photo suggests it is anti-clockwise/counter-clockwise (a.k.a. left-hand thread).    Of course if the motor arrived damaged or not machined properly, you would have good grounds for a warranty return and replacement, if that suits you better.  I don't know whether they would just swap the whole machine over as that seems easier than waiting to replace the motor.

Another option is to have someone local do the repair for you.
Here in Canada Kijiji is a place to look for such peeps, but make sure they're not getting their first experience on your drone.

"I'd start at the dealer you bought from and see if they will give you a replacement."
The only problem with that is that I got it from Amazon, and I got a killer lightning deal ($599). They will refund me and I would have to order again, meaning I'd pay an extra $200.

I never dropped the P3, in fact I treat it like a delicate newborn. I think my best bet is to file off the tiny part that is obstructing. I plan on taping up the whole motor and the rest of the threads so that nothing can fall inside or I don't accidentally file off more threads than I intend. I'm sure I will treat it like open heart surgery.

Just get a thread DIE to fit and clean it up.

First, my props were exactly the same when I got it.  Three spun on and one didn't.  Others have posted the same comment.  I have found no problem with the props, but I almost never take them off.  Why wear the threads so much by constantly installing, uninstalling them?  That thread looks like the end of any threaded bolt I've ever seen.

Sgt_Throatpunch Posted at 2016-7-24 09:21
"I'd start at the dealer you bought from and see if they will give you a replacement."
The only prob ...

Hi, you should try contacting Amazon. They may do a replacement for you instead of a refund.

Otherwise, you can send it to DJI for repair, it takes less then two weeks.

I think its a standard 1/4 20 thread.
I'd make sure of that and get a die and chase the thread. BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET THE THREAD DEBRIS IN THE MOTOR.

icmalz@gmail.co Posted at 2016-7-25 13:38
I think its a standard 1/4 20 thread.
I'd make sure of that and get a die and chase the thread. BE C ...

They're metric threads & that one is a left-hand metric thread.  M6.
I'd just file the first part of the thread.

nigelw Posted at 2016-7-25 05:58
They're metric threads & that one is a left-hand metric thread.  M6.
I'd just file the first part o ...

I stand corrected...
Thanks for the info.

nigelw Posted at 2016-7-25 22:58
They're metric threads & that one is a left-hand metric thread.  M6.
I'd just file the first part o ...

Any idea what the pitch of the threads are?   I'm astonished that you can actually get a M6 L/H die for literally a couple of dollars.  Of course you will be waiting months for it to come from China.   Locally they are 2000% more.  Personally I'd be attacking it with a file and save the money.

It's not easy to get threads files correctly by hand.  In fact, I wouldn't try that.  They could end up much worse.

A DIE is the best way to go.   You don't have to go all the way on....just to the 2nd or 3rd thread to clean up the top thread

Make sure of the thread pitch before you order.   Could be 1.00 or 0.75

What will happen to your warranty if you try to mess around with the thread yourself? Personally I would send it to DJI for repairs. I'd rather have a new perfect part than try to fix the thread myself.

endotherm Posted at 2016-7-25 15:46
Any idea what the pitch of the threads are?   I'm astonished that you can actually get a M6 L/H di ...

M6 x 1.0, standard coarse thread.  Die costs about GBP8 in the UK on eBay.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-7-24 00:50
The plastic threads in your props is what holds your Phantom in the air so you don't want to be chew ...

"DJI is pretty good at service turnaround these days." Faster is not better. I wish they would have taken their time on my P3P when i sent it in. It came back a mess. They did offer to fix their screw ups but i just did it myself.