I have cracks in motors bad ones apparently I bought my drone used 15 months ago off eBay. Always wanted one but wasn't sure about specifics. Either way I have been flying it with no issues but noticed the cracks. So I downed the craft and done some research. I'm out of warranty for sure. I saw in eBay I can purchase a shell to replace. My question is does the silicon cover that is being sold online protect the drone from further cracks? If not what is the best solution to avoiding cracks in the future with this new case. Thanks in advance.

Hi, thanks for the inquiry. Hope that you could get the best feedback from our valued customers who manage to use this silicon on their drone. Please be cautious about using third-party accessories as this may affect the performance of the drone. You may also check our recommended service center if you want to fix the shell of your drone. Thank you for understanding.

www.dji.com/service/repair/centers

Those are pretty bad cracks on that one wing.  I think I'd go ahead and replace the shell.  Might be kinda fun.  

As far as preventing cracks in the future, there are a lot of strategies and a lot of opinions.  

Some people think the cracks come from bad plastic due to a poor curing process.  

Some people think the cracks come because the motor mount screws were torqued too tight.

Some people think the cracks come due to the hard braking action of the Phantom 3 and above.

I am in the third group.  

You could get one of those reinforced pieces that fit underneath the motor to give it more strength.  The down side is it adds weight.  And it might not look good.  

You could build up the inside of the wing tip shell with plast-aid, which would make it thicker, stronger.  It dries harder than the original plastic.  And it's the exact color of the original plastic, not that it would matter since your work would be inside the shell.

What I would do and have done is go into your Go app and back off on the braking action percentage so that it does not brake so abruptly.  I think I backed mine down around 50% or so...?  This means it'll slide further horizontally when you put your sticks to the center while the AC is moving.  You can counter that by moving your right stick in the other direction in a given situation if you need to.  

Anyway, I don't have any cracks in my P3 and it's been a couple years.  

MHO

Good luck

Mark The Droner Posted at 2-25 14:49
Those are pretty bad cracks on that one wing.  I think I'd go ahead and replace the shell.  Might be kinda fun.  

As far as preventing cracks in the future, there are a lot of strategies and a lot of opinions.  

thanx a lot i will definitely look into those options

John953 Posted at 2-26 06:50
thanx a lot i will definitely look into those options

The shell replacement is not hard. Give yourself some space though, so you can lay everything out. Take pictures as you go along, and view some You-tube videos. You will find it rewarding if all goes well. Take your time and don't hurry. Keep the screws separated as you remove them so they go back in the right places. That is probably the most important thing as there are several different types of screws used on these phantoms. You will get new screws with the shell, but most kits won't label where they go, so you can match them up with your original ones if you want to use them.
Mark had some good suggestions too about how to try and avoid them from coming back. Not that you have to do anything though. A new shell might last you just fine. But I for one do like the reinforcements that bolt on. They are cheap and weigh practically nothing. I have replaced around 7-shells for myself and friends,  and I always put these on and have had very good results, but to each their own choice. I also change my settings in my app to soften the braking, etc., and do believe this helps a lot too.
Good luck.