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How to fix a clunky G27 wheel.

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Building Q&A / FAQ' started by Archie, Mar 17, 2015.

  1. Archie

    Archie Eternal tinkerer

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    So there I am, a happy little chap zooming around Monaco on F1 2012 when my wheel just gives up the ghost. It goes from steering well to missing the input when making swift turns. A sharp bend would pretty much send me off into the wall.

    After some research on the Uberweb, it appears that the G27 has some "shock absorbers" on the inside that the motors for FFB slide into. When new, the spring behind these is pretty tough, but over time it will lose it's stiffness. Seems this is what was happening to me, allowing the motors to "slip" under extreme turns.

    Here are the plastic shock absorbers:
    images.jpg

    The picture above is the inside of the housing that covers the steering mechanism and gear, and from the outside it look like this, you can see the protrusion where the motor gears sit in.

    G27_6.jpg

    To fix my wheel, I drilled a 7mm hole into these protrusions, which will then expose the spring and shock absorber, but won't allow the spring to come through the hole.

    I removed the spring and pulled it apart a bit to restore some more tension.

    I then grabbed one of these (No idea what they are called, sorry) that I had lying around from a cabinet I ended up not needing. They take a 6mm metal bolt / screw, but the outside is about 8mm, so I drilled the hole at 7mm.

    IMG_5591.JPG

    Then using a hex driver, I screwed this part into the protrusion for the shock absorber, all the way in and then screwed it back out again to "thread it"

    Once both were screwed in, I placed the springs back in and the shock absorber thingys over the springs and put the gear housing back together.

    I then slowly tightened the Hex screws until I could no longer turn the wheel shaft by hand (no power applied). I then plugged in the wheel and made sure that the tension on these Hex screws was just enough that the wheel could still turn during calibration, but enough tension as to now hold the gears of the motors really firmly. It basically pushes on the motor shaft stopping them from "coming forward" or jumping under extreme FFB / turning.

    IMG_5588.JPG
    IMG_5589.JPG

    The Logitech wheel had a scared / shocked face during the operation!!
    IMG_5590.JPG

    Put the wheel back together again and it's like new now!
    Much firmer when steering and no more slip.

    Huzzzah!
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  2. GIB SimRacing

    GIB SimRacing Active Member

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    Haha, your wheel didn't really look impressed there.

    These wheels have a pretty hard life so a bit of love every now and then is surely not a bad thing.
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  3. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    So you can keep saving those pennies for an upgrade for a little while longer
    [​IMG]
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  4. Archie

    Archie Eternal tinkerer

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    UPDATE: Over 18 months after... this fix is still going strong.
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  5. suka

    suka New Member

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    Hey there. Signed up just to answer. My g27 broke it's encoder, so I bought a new one, and while installing I seem to have noticed the motor shaft where the encoder sits was going inwards. I just thought it was normal and moved on. But I mounted a bit to test, and when the motor is used on strong-ish force (calibrating force too) it pulls the shaft in and the encoder with it, which interferes both in the optical sensor as in that motor looseness. Would stopping this spring from contracting help the motor shaft stay still or do I need to another motor that doesn't has such a wobbly shaft? Please gimme some ideas, I'm desperate cause I just bought the encoder and have no remaining funds
  6. Archie

    Archie Eternal tinkerer

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    Hey @suka - Sorry! I no longer own a G27 and this mod was done so long ago I can't recall what the inside of it looks like, past the part I worked on. I found a super cheap CSR on Ebay so the G27 was palmed off to a friend.

    Are you able to link to any photos of the issue you are having?
  7. suka

    suka New Member

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    I'm even able to do better than that. I made a video. Right after this post I also posted a page on simracing subredit about this issue and I finally got a comment that tells me to do your process.

    A little scared because I never disassembled the large wheel gear and I'm afraid to not being able to put it back on. Even tho, I'm determined to bring my g27 back to life. Photos follow:

    Edit: apparently I cannot upload much after before I post 3 times to prevent spam.

    Attached Files:

  8. suka

    suka New Member

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    These are photos of the little holes with springs behind that white rubber where the motor shaft sits, as long as a photo of the motor shaft itself that moves back and forth a little, ruining my sensor's proper functioning.

    Attached Files:

  9. Archie

    Archie Eternal tinkerer

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    Ahh, I see what you mean now.

    I never had to take the gearing apart as I simply used the screwed bolt things (never did find out their proper name) and inserted them into the back, so that are pushing that white bushing harder onto the motor shaft. Then you just tighten them until the wheel can barely move and then loosen them off a bit so that the wheel can finish it's calibration spin.

    Other than that, I'm not sure what else could be the issue when it comes to the encoder itself. My issue was purely mechanical.
  10. suka

    suka New Member

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    I see. You just drilled a hole in the front without taking apart the gears. Is that safe? I think I'm just gonna use a 6mm drill and an 8mm flat bolt. Did you leave the spring in there?
  11. Archie

    Archie Eternal tinkerer

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    Yeah - I'm pretty sure that once you remove the main motor retaining screws the whole center assembly will just lift out.
    You can then remove the plastic bushings and give the springs a little stretch as well.
    Then just drill a hole (depending on the size of the nut/attachment you have), thread that hole and just reassemable.

    I'm pretty sure I did remove the springs as I thought about upgrading them but could not find a fit, so I don't think it was that hard? I'm like you in that I want to take apart as little as possible when it comes to these things :)

    If you can't get to the springs, just drill on a really slow speed so that the shavings are pulled out of the hole as you drill, then you won't get any "floaters" in the wheel later.

    Keen to see if get this sorted as the fix is crazy simple and gives the wheel another lease of life. It's still going strong for my mate!
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  12. suka

    suka New Member

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    You're amazing really. Now I just need to get 2 bolts, (probably just gonna go ahead and do this in both motors) and find someone that can help me drill the holes. Maybe these will do? They'll certainly stick out but I don't think there's any problem with that.

    [​IMG]


    My only concern is that the bolt and white rubber grind on the wheel's plastic gear itself, but I guess that cant really happen cause the motor shaft wont let the bolt go further. I'll probably just toss the springs aswell, I guess I need to see that.

    I'm both hyped and really scared at the same time. Already waited a month for the encoder itself, I'm really looking forward to have the wheel working again. Bear with me for a little while longer please. I'll be posting my progress or my final work if everything goes according to plan!
  13. Archie

    Archie Eternal tinkerer

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    Before you use those bolts, check the clearance around the outer casing of the wheel. You'll notice the little cabinet maker things I used are almost flush with the plastic, only a few MM pokes out. Just be certain that those screws won't stop you putting the lid back on the wheel.

    If they are suitable, make sure you cover them with Blue Threadlocker, or even better, some super glue. The reason being, those bolts are made for metal so they don't "grab" plastic all that well. If you drill the hole small enough and screw in those bolts they will thread the hole, but the spacing (thread pitch) is too small to offer much "grip" (Notice how wood screws have a massive thread pitch compared to bolts, to allow the screws to grip to the wood better)

    (You can use bolts made for metal, any size will do, but you will need the superglue to help it grip - Just tighten and set the spacing before the glue sets :D )

    If all of the above is OK then you will be fine with it. Good luck and hit me up if you need anything else. :)
  14. Archie

    Archie Eternal tinkerer

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    EDIT: If you have no glue, you can use Electrical / Silicone tape to wrap around the threads to provide further friction to the bolts.
  15. suka

    suka New Member

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    I just bought superglue so I guess that won't be a problem but you got me thinking harder about what screw to use. I'm gonna have to research better, but I believe something like yours would be my best option. I know they're called hollow screws but I can't find any that has such a spaced thread. Anyways, that's my current dilemma, thanks for all the heads up, I'll think about this
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