Sherman Max: missing motor axle sealant - all affected wheels require rework

[WattsWheelhouse]

4 hours ago, supercurio said:

Got a quick reply from @Linnea Veteran!

The motor you've seen in the pictures has the motor serial of 220101XX
Another local rider has the motor serial 220100XX, so it likely has the axle hole open as well.

My own unit has the serial 220500XX, I might be in luck.

For now, we can assume that 20220101XX and all older motors have no axle sealant.
So what's your Max serial number? Check now!

I've got 220502XX. I'm hoping I'm in luck as well. 

[Mochaboy]

Quote

I recommend using an alkoxy silicone which won't corrode metal to avoid damage to the bearing and motor.

Can you scan this list and possibly recommend an appropriate adhesive?

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/glue-adhesives-applicators/909?s=N4IgjCBcpgHAzFUBjKAzAhgGwM4FMAaEAeygG0QAWABgCZZqIBdIgBwBcoQBldgJwCWAOwDmIAL6SgA

I googled alkoxy silicone and the results that came back were for products ranging from $150 usd and higher.

 

Thank you

FYI - My max is shipping in a couple of days and the first thing I'm going to do is drop the motor to see if I have one of the affected batches.

[Michael Robert Ryan]

On 8/1/2022 at 4:58 AM, supercurio said:

Got a quick reply from @Linnea Veteran!

The motor you've seen in the pictures has the motor serial of 220101XX
Another local rider has the motor serial 220100XX, so it likely has the axle hole open as well.

My own unit has the serial 220500XX, I might be in luck.

I asked just now Linnea at what exact date / serial number they implemented the fix, for 100% of the production. Although to be really confident, I would like to see this sealant application after the fix to confirm how well it turned out.

 

For now, we can assume that 20220101XX and all older motors have no axle sealant.
So what's your Max serial number? Check now!

Unfortunately, I have an earlier model where this will probably have to be fixed (050XX). Not so unfortunately, I live in a desert climate where it practically never rains and I only do pavement riding. Though I have about a thousand miles on mine, I think there's little chance that any appreciable water or debris has gotten in it (or will get in it) while I wait for ewheels to respond to my email about how I should proceed, so it should be safe for me to continue to ride in the meantime.

[Eucner]

On 8/2/2022 at 2:55 PM, Mochaboy said:

Can you scan this list and possibly recommend an appropriate adhesive?

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/glue-adhesives-applicators/909?s=N4IgjCBcpgHAzFUBjKAzAhgGwM4FMAaEAeygG0QAWABgCZZqIBdIgBwBcoQBldgJwCWAOwDmIAL6SgA

I googled alkoxy silicone and the results that came back were for products ranging from $150 usd and higher.

There are many typed of silicones. You should avoid acetoxy silicone, which releases corrosive acetic acid when drying. You can recognize it from vinegar smell. From your link, look features column and text "Non-corrosive". I would also want my silicone to be protected from moulding. PU and hybrid adhesives are also good for the job.

[Michael Robert Ryan]

Have anyone heard back from Jason, yet? I heard back from Leaperkim--they said it was eWheels' responsibility to fix it--but haven't heard back from eWheels even though I emailed him three days ago Sunday (LK got back to me on the same day.) Edited August 4, 2022 by Michael Robert Ryan

[supercurio]

@Michael Robert Ryan things seemed to be stalled for now.

But I can confirm that the original statement of "January production is fixed" is way off.
An owner found that his 2203 (so March 2022) motor axle was not sealed either. Inside was already dirty, despite got the wheel only 2 weeks ago.

My friend re-assembled his motor with the sealant in the necessary place after cleaning up everything. For him and to do a good job (including getting a suitable sealant for the side covers, he opted for plastidip) that was a lot of work.

On the plus side, he now has the street tire he wanted on his motor, which was the original idea 😁

[Tawpie]

1 hour ago, Michael Robert Ryan said:

Have anyone heard back from Jason, yet?

eWheels is spinning up new customer support reps (turnover), expect them to be way behind on responses for a while.

[slowen.low]

I confirmed that my SherMax 21120100 is effected, and have gone through the process of cleaning and resealing. I did hear from Jason that there were no issues reported from the latest batches of the Max. He's dealing both with LeaperKim, and as @Tawpie mentioned, onboarding additional support reps. So expect some slower response times than usual.  

I have 3,100 miles on my SherMax and the debris wasn't as bad as I expected.

Photos of the disassembly

[Rawnei]

Mine is from January (Serial 22010XXX), just took it apart to check (Damn that was so much work! But Impact wrench made removal of bolts easy at least), there was a little bit of silicone there but not enough, LeaperKim did a really poor job with it and some dirt got in there but hopefully not enough to damage the motor, the bearings sound good (no noise) so I'm just gonna clean, put silicone and assemble and pray to jesus.

Edited August 5, 2022 by Rawnei

[Michael Robert Ryan]

19 hours ago, slowen.low said:

I have 3,100 miles on my SherMax and the debris wasn't as bad as I expected.

I am relieved to hear that. I have less than half that mileage and rarely encounter debris or water in the road because I live in a desert and never ride off-road. I should be alright until I get service from eWheels. *fingers crossed*

[slowen.low]

28 minutes ago, Michael Robert Ryan said:

I am relieved to hear that. I have less than half that mileage and rarely encounter debris or water in the road because I live in a desert and never ride off-road. I should be alright until I get service from eWheels. *fingers crossed*

We’re in the same boat. <5% of my riding is offroad. I do long (100 miles +) rides regularly and try to avoid riding in the rain. The condition of mine didn’t make me feel like it was about to fail. But I’m glad I cleaned it t up and resealed it. Gave me a chance to add Statorade anyway. 

Based on your riding, I think you’ll be good until an official response comes. 

[APGSDL]

My face when I opened it up to check the seal today...

[quickbot]

On 7/31/2022 at 3:49 AM, techyiam said:

Wow, you learned on a Sherman Max. You must be a very determined learner.

Since that is all you know, when you try lighter wheels, you will complain that those wheels are to tippy, unstable.

I guess the plus side is that there are not many reasons for you to upgrade. But that won't stop you from wanting. 🙂

Im to shmax owner as very first wheel. Only 45km on clock and already doing 5 10km rides. As other guy, when i got out on grass, just struggled like 5mins till i manage to kickstart and after that just time issue. At like 15km ridden i learned turning, very unsure turns, but managed turning both sides.   But that aside, ill prolly go to store and ask them to recheck my wheel just to be sure.

[techyiam]

4 minutes ago, quickbot said:

Im to shmax owner as very first wheel. Only 45km on clock and already doing 5 10km rides. As other guy, when i got out on grass, just struggled like 5mins till i manage to kickstart and after that just time issue. At like 15km ridden i learned turning, very unsure turns, but managed turning both sides.   But that aside, ill prolly go to store and ask them to recheck my wheel just to be sure.

Congrats. That is something. That is super fast learning, even on a learner's wheel. Amazing that you are able to balance something so heavy so quickly.

[quickbot]

2 minutes ago, techyiam said:

Congrats. That is something. That is super fast learning, even on a learner's wheel. Amazing that you are able to balance something so heavy so quickly.

Thanks. It really does feel like an achievement for me as im a bit unsure guy by nature, dont take riscs and things like that 😁                 my motorcode is 220101470 but ill ride to store and make sure that all is good and gonna kill three birds with one stone. Practice riding in city, gonna buy spiked pedals as they are bigger than stock and talk with mechanic at store about this problem. 

[techyiam]

2 minutes ago, quickbot said:

talk with mechanic at store about this problem.

I didn't quite understand your problem, can you explain more in details?

[quickbot]

7 minutes ago, techyiam said:

I didn't quite understand your problem, can you explain more in details?

About smax sealant problem.

[techyiam]

Oh that. I see.

[Mochaboy]

Just wanted to chime in with our progress.  Local rider and I got our Sherman Maxes from Freemotion - took delivery of them August 9th.  Serial numbers 22050043 and 22050044.

Both had sealant - but in our opinion neither had enough.  There were still gaps and holes as the coverage wasn't complete so it was worth dropping the motor hub to verify.  We also found 3 hex bolts that weren't completely screwed in to the motor cover housing so that was a bit of an eye opener.

We used ASI 388 electronics grade sealant to seal the wire and reapplied it to all the connectors that we removed when tearing it down.

https://www.americansealantsinc.com/388-electronic-grade-silicone/

Still putting it back together so will update with pics.  I also used this tear down opportunity to swap out the knobby tire for a pilot street pro 2  80/90-14.  I don't think I've ever cursed so much in my life, but got the job done (eventually).

[Paul g]

On 8/5/2022 at 1:08 PM, Rawnei said:

Mine is from January (Serial 22010XXX), just took it apart to check (Damn that was so much work! But Impact wrench made removal of bolts easy at least), there was a little bit of silicone there but not enough, LeaperKim did a really poor job with it and some dirt got in there but hopefully not enough to damage the motor, the bearings sound good (no noise) so I'm just gonna clean, put silicone and assemble and pray to jesus.

I used fire resistant silicone on my v12 and had to wait several days for it to harden. After finishing siliconing the holes I also put a blob of silicone on a piece of paper. I checked every day the blob to see when it got hard, so that I knew for sure when the one from the wheel also got hard. Apparently the noncorrosive silicone needs more time to set.

[brockj]

On 8/16/2022 at 5:30 AM, Mochaboy said:

used ASI 388 electronics grade sealant to seal the wire and reapplied it to all the connectors that we removed when tearing it down.

Here I was, literally holding a bottle of 388, while looking for confirmation that it would work. 

On 8/16/2022 at 5:30 AM, Mochaboy said:

 I also used this tear down opportunity to swap out the knobby tire for a pilot street pro 2  80/90-14.  I don't think I've ever cursed so much in my life, but got the job done (eventually).

That was my experience putting on that same tire. It made me question my life's choices for a bit there...

[APGSDL]

I’ve done a video of my strip down and sealing of the motor.  Mine was affected and had loads of crap inside after just a couple of hundred miles from new.

 

 

 

[That Guy]

Hi Guys, anyone checked how well the most recent Shermax is sealed? I am about to purchase one that was manufactured in September - can I trust the problem was fixed?

[supercurio]

To my knowledge, newer Sherman Max have sealant but it's not applied correctly, so water / salt / dirt / grime can still get in the motor.
I've not been riding mine for a while until I find the time to seal it properly 😔

[techyiam]

1 hour ago, supercurio said:

I've not been riding mine for a while until I find the time to seal it properly

Wait a minute, you don't ride your V12, your S22 is down, and you have not been riding your Sherman Max for a while, if I may ask, then which wheel are you riding? If I may say, this is not looking good for new wheel purchases.