Replacing the Motor on an Electric RC

While you have the motor and gears exposed, take a few extra minutes to do some preventative maintenance. To make sure you don't put too much stress on the spur gear in your drive train, use a piece of standard bond printer or copy paper to set the gap between the motor's pinion gear and the spur gear — pressing the gears together to insure proper gapping (space between the gears). Remove the piece of paper once you have the proper spacing.

This technique gives just the right amount of gapping to provide proper slack between the pinion and spur gears. This can help you down the road by reducing the wear and tear on the spur gear that might result in a need for costly replacements.