Gladiator NXT Return Spring Levers

[crimson66]

I have recently disassembled and re-greased my Gladiator NXT Premium, as we all know, there are two sets of spring return levers, or centering levers, 4 in total for each of the 2 axis.

I disassembled and regreased both of the axis rods like in the instructional youtube video because i noticed that these spring return levers on one side would like to stick open about 5% frequently.
As in, there is slack in the return of the stick to the center where it sticks without closing under spring pressure...what we would traditionally call a 'deadzone'. This is not how the stick used to be, this 'deadzone' is a recent issue for me. If i wiggle the stick enough it will usually snap back in with a clicking sound and the spring lever will jump closed completely.

When I remove these spring recentering levers, I notice that the one closest to the center of the stick slides very easily back and forth, however the second one requires very firm pressure to move back and forth.
It is almost like the interior diameter of one of the levers is smaller than the other...however if I flip these around it acts the same way. So that implies that the pivot point on the axis rod is thicker on the end versus on the inside.

I am tempted to use some 2000 grit sandpaper and just smooth out the inside diameter of one of each of the spring return arms so they slide freely around the axis rods, but of course I don't want to destroy these parts or add any unwanted 'grit' or friction on the sliding surfaces of these parts.
I am a jeweler by trade so I am not heavy handed...but I know that I cannot buy replacements for these parts.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?
If needed I can record a video of this happening if more details are needed.

[crimson66]

Here is a better image of my actual assembly.
On the left side of the image you can see that 2-3mm gap in between the return arm and the 'block' center portion. (You can see that the other spring arm below it is completely touching the center 'block' and is fully returned).
The spring arm sticks right there unless i am making very rapid movement, so during fine/slow movements it sticks and i have to jiggle the stick and I will hear and feel a click as it returns all the way.

I AM using the lightest springs that this stick came with as I like to fly helicopters. However I did switch to heavier springs and it still has this sticking problem, but it is obviously less hard to click it back.

[fallout9]

Most probably there's something in the wrong place. Take it apart and use the video guide to put it back together.

[crimson66]

There aren't any detail shots of them removing these or putting them back in place, however they are in fact plastic injected universal clamshell arms. So one mold is used to make a part that will always assemble itself correctly in only one possible orientation....all four spring arms for the 2 axis are identical in every way and only fit together one way. I also photographed every step of my disassembly process.

Additionally, I was having this issue before I ever took apart the stick to regrease, as this is WHY I disassembled the stick...because I could feel this deadzone sticking open after maybe 100 hours of use.
So I'm going to have to disagree on proper improper reassembly being the base cause of this, however I appreciate your response.

[ZERO_Thunder]

What about the spring? Can it fully retract if you take it out?

[crimson66]

Zero, i did notice that in my weakest springs (#10 i think?) that it appeared to be slightly worn and stretched on the very last winding before it comes to the hook area. I replaced the spring with heavier springs and still had a bit of a sticking issue...I wonder if the spring notch itself on the arms has worn in over time.

At this point being tired of being unable to fly i have taken 1000 grit and 2000 grit wet dry sandpaper and made a sanding drum to remove around .001"-.002" of material from the interior diameter of the sticking arms.
I have seemingly remedied the issue (using heavier springs as well) in the X-roll axis, but it looks like i still need to remove a bit more from the Y-pitch axis arm as i'm still seeing some sticking.

I'm still not entirely sure how this happened over time...either the axis rods swelled at the outside ends, the interior diameter of the spring arms on the outer side have worn unevenly or shrunk, or the spring arm notches have gotten bigger. I know people have had issues with a bad batch of springs but this seems like it is a separate issue entirely.

[skarekrow]

Crimson,

In looking at the picture of the inside mechanism you posted, those two rotating parts should each have an arm that rest against the plastic rectangular stop when fully retracted. It may be
my bad eyes or shadowing but all I see is one of those arms on the outside piece. I do not see that on the inner rotating piece. Maybe it was a defect, regardless I would fill out a ticket
to VKB and send them the picture you posted.

Cheers !!

[crimson66]

Yes they do rest against a small rectangular stop, the lighting is so-so in the picture but they are there and they both hit this rectangular stop if I force the 'stuck' one closed all the way. The 'centering blocks' as I call them are what set the 'zero' centered position with the springs de-tensioned as far as they can go. Both of my axis have these stops. If they weren't there I would be able to rotate the spring arms a full 360 degrees.

[crimson66]

For anyone that wants an update, I disassembled the gimbal assembly, and used calipers to check the outer dimensions on the axis rods, the OD closest to the stick on both rods were smaller by approximately 0.13mm on average when compared to the outer edge of the axis rods. I have since checked on the NYOGEL website, and read that some plastics may swell or shrink overtime with the application of nyogel to them. So I am suspecting that this is what happened.

I have since drawn up in CAD and machined out of white DELRIN plastic a set of return spring arms with a larger hole ID in general and put them in place of the original black injection molded plastics. This provides a fix to my problem and an arguably smoother action than stock. Also I used silicone grease instead of nyogel.

[TrueWeevie]

Nice job. You might offer these for sale to people that want them or maybe, if you're feeling very generous, out the CAD files somewhere public.

Interesting find about the Nyogel. Did you pick Delrin due to some 'non-expanding-in-the-presence-of-Nyogel' characteristic or was it just the 'mechanically correct' material for this application?

I guess you're happy without the damping that the Nyogel offers.

[fallout9]

So I am suspecting that this is what happened.

If you think that might have happened, then you might think that a guy from VKB has ordered some Nye grease on eBay, tested the greased device for a few hours and that was how it's been decided to use Nyogel on the NXTs. I can assure you that this is not how it was. A Nye rep has studied the composition of the Gladiator parts and made the proposals regarding the grease that might be used SAFELY - without altering the components, without starting to leak in high temperatures or solidify when cold etc. There've been hundreds of hours of testing different OFFICIALLY RECOMMENDED greases until the winner has been decided. So I can assure you - whatever issues you might have, they came for other reasons than those stated.

[crimson66]

Nice job. You might offer these for sale to people that want them or maybe, if you're feeling very generous, out the CAD files somewhere public.

Interesting find about the Nyogel. Did you pick Delrin due to some 'non-expanding-in-the-presence-of-Nyogel' characteristic or was it just the 'mechanically correct' material for this application?

I guess you're happy without the damping that the Nyogel offers.

I simply use a lot of Delrin at my place of work, i DO NOT know if it will be stable over time, but i suspect it will be. It is just very easy to machine and mimics the rigidity of the injected molded plastic parts with what I suspect is slightly better durability.

[crimson66]

So I am suspecting that this is what happened.

If you think that might have happened, then you might think that a guy from VKB has ordered some Nye grease on eBay, tested the greased device for a few hours and that was how it's been decided to use Nyogel on the NXTs. I can assure you that this is not how it was. A Nye rep has studied the composition of the Gladiator parts and made the proposals regarding the grease that might be used SAFELY - without altering the components, without starting to leak in high temperatures or solidify when cold etc. There've been hundreds of hours of testing different OFFICIALLY RECOMMENDED greases until the winner has been decided. So I can assure you - whatever issues you might have, they came for other reasons than those stated.

I applied a 3rd party nyogel grease that seems to be different from the original grease. The original VKB grease was probably fine, but i applied MORE of my own grease after putting quite a few hours on it to 'maintain' the smoothness. I should have just left it as is.

[TrueWeevie]

Ah that's interesting. Maybe it's possible that the specific product you used may be an issue. Which series did you use?

[crimson66]

NYOGEL 760G from amazon. bought in 2019