HOTAS Warthog and the o-ring

Lucky · October 19, 2013

A re-grease with some M-kote EM-30L sorted my sticktion problems I keep the o-ring well greased and so far so good, but getting rid of the crap grease they use is the best thing I have done for my warthog.

Same here. Had plenty of stiction. Removed what little original lube there was, and there wasn't very much at all. Lubed with M-kote EM-30L. What a difference. Smooth as butter. Added a 5" extension and it is smooth as glass. I bought one of the o-rings but have not needed it yet. Saving it just in case.

VampireNZ · November 6, 2013

The o-ring is not responsible for the static friction... the four poles and the inner ball joint are responsible for most of the static friction.

As stated above, the 4 poles are mainly responsible..see my post linked below over at the greasing Warthog thread for a simple fix to help remove a LOT of the stiction and also lighten the stick...just by adding a few washers.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=80787&page=9

However the teflon ring will definitely contribute...mine is in the mail right now! Thanks Hempstead :thumbup:

ronin516 · December 31, 2013

Great fix

I Made a video with the BEST fix for the warthog. I have never felt anything smoother now. I have tried a few different things. And this fixes the issues with the hotas warthog. It goes into detail on complete disassembly.

here it is :D --->

Oldsky · February 19, 2014

Mine was too late to find out about this :(

Siq6Six · May 30, 2014

So yesterday I noticed suddenly I had a very ODD feel to my stick. In one direction it'd have Much less resistance than the rest. Its also binding up.. So I open it up with a strong inclination of the cause, and sure enough...

Looks like I need a new o-ring... was hoping it'd just be in need of a good lubing! How are those custom ones you've made comin along? Still have extras?

Edit: Forgot to add -the top of the stock o-ring split off of the rest. It seems like it Was glued or some such - its of a different texture than the rest of the o-ring. I just ripped the rest of it off, its not thick at all tho. Stuffed the rubber ring back in place. I have a feeling it came out of place because after putting the stick back together I still had the same issues as mentioned above. Soft spots, catching. I didnt re-lube because initial tear down was for inspection. Didn't have grease on hand.

Edited May 30, 2014 by Siq6Six

Hempstead · May 30, 2014

I still have them in stock and will make more if necessary (current number of stock is in the 70s... I went hog wild making them one weekend ;-). So, if you wish to buy some, send me a PM.

Although the mailing and material costs have gone up quite a bit since I started making them. I am too lazy to raise the price. I am fine with not losing money on it. So, they are still USD $8 apiece.

So yesterday I noticed suddenly I had a very ODD feel to my stick. In one direction it'd have Much less resistance than the rest. Its also binding up.. So I open it up with a strong inclination of the cause, and sure enough...

Looks like I need a new o-ring... was hoping it'd just be in need of a good lubing! How are those custom ones you've made comin along? Still have extras?

Edit: Forgot to add -the top of the stock o-ring split off of the rest. It seems like it Was glued or some such - its of a different texture than the rest of the o-ring. I just ripped the rest of it off, its not thick at all tho. Stuffed the rubber ring back in place. I have a feeling it came out of place because after putting the stick back together I still had the same issues as mentioned above. Soft spots, catching. I didnt re-lube because initial tear down was for inspection. Didn't have grease on hand.

Siq6Six · May 30, 2014

Wow thanks for the quick response! Didn't expect one that quick lol I'll be sending you a PM about ordering one

hitman · May 31, 2014

Any chance I can order a few as well? And any chance you can produce one that is twice as thick as the original?

xxJohnxx · May 31, 2014

I had a look into my Warthog and as it turned out the o-ring was still in place however there were some plastic chips in that area.

I used some Ballistol (according to the lable used for weapon maintanance and cleaning of dog-ears) to remove the old grease. It worked very good on the metall surfaces, but not so good on plastic surfaces.

Then I used some industrial type grease (apparently produced to be used for greasing gear racks) to grease up all the moving parts, including the very sticky plastic gimbal. On the gimbal I couldn't remove the old grease because I didn't want to pull it apart, because I wasn't to keen on resoldering the ribbon cable. So I just applied the grease from the side. A bit messy but worked pretty well in the end.

After putting it together I could definatelly notice an improvent. I have it for about 2 years now, and it became very sticky. Now it is almost like new again.

I might also consider replacing the o-ring.

Hempstead · May 31, 2014

For ordering stock PTFE rings, just PM me and I will send you the info. for ordering.

As to making thicker PTFE ring twice as thick as the original Warthog ring... the original Warthog O-ring is about 1.56mm thick. The stock PTFE ring is 3.175mm (1/8" thick), slightly more than 2x as thick already.

Or do you mean that you want one that is 1/4" thick? I am not entirely sure if that will fit inside the Warthog without interfering with the upward movement of the spring piston platform. If your purpose is to have more spring force... I'd suggest making some steel rings and put them at the end of the main spring. Don't put it at the platform end. The platform has a groove to center the spring so the spring does not chafe against the platform wall. If machining a steel ring is a problem for you.... A hackish way of doing it is to take a steel wire (or bronze/brass wire you commonly find in HomeDepot for tying brushes in your garden), bend it into a ring of exactly the same diameter of the main spring, hammer it slightly flat, then use some tie wire to attach it to the end of the main spring. But I will not suggest welding/brazing the new ring to the main spring... it's kind of irreversible with welding/brazing, and the welding/brazing heat might affect the tamper of the spring...

Any chance I can order a few as well? And any chance you can produce one that is twice as thick as the original?

hitman · May 31, 2014

For ordering stock PTFE rings, just PM me and I will send you the info. for ordering.

As to making thicker PTFE ring twice as thick as the original Warthog ring... the original Warthog O-ring is about 1.56mm thick. The stock PTFE ring is 3.175mm (1/8" thick), slightly more than 2x as thick already.

Or do you mean that you want one that is 1/4" thick? I am not entirely sure if that will fit inside the Warthog without interfering with the upward movement of the spring piston platform. If your purpose is to have more spring force... I'd suggest making some steel rings and put them at the end of the main spring. Don't put it at the platform end. The platform has a groove to center the spring so the spring does not chafe against the platform wall. If machining a steel ring is a problem for you.... A hackish way of doing it is to take a steel wire (or bronze/brass wire you commonly find in HomeDepot for tying brushes in your garden), bend it into a ring of exactly the same diameter of the main spring, hammer it slightly flat, then use some tie wire to attach it to the end of the main spring. But I will not suggest welding/brazing the new ring to the main spring... it's kind of irreversible with welding/brazing, and the welding/brazing heat might affect the tamper of the spring...

Just the O ring gasket, the rubber seal. Mine came loose one day and from time to time it works itself out. I molykoted the crap out of it and it stays put most of the time now. I realized that this thing should be thicker than it actually is now, it helps tighten up the stick. I like a tight stick...

Hempstead · July 14, 2014

You can now PM me at http://www.hempstick.org/jforum to order the PTFE ring. Does not matter which way you do it, PM here or there, I get an email notification and my computer dings me about it.

Berndt Mangler · July 15, 2014

PM here or there, I get an email notification and my computer dings me about it.

Thank you the process to get them was pretty easy, and they look real good, thank you for your time. your helping to make an awesome product even awsome'er. Its good to know this is still available, some of the links I'd found had some old dates on them.

I don't know that I need them yet, I've not yet torn in to the Hog, waiting still on Grease.

stefaanadriansens · July 16, 2014

broke mine today 2 years old . removed the glu and added few dips of red oil for rc cars on it , works great.

Hempstead · July 16, 2014

Did you put the broken ring back?

broke mine today 2 years old . removed the glu and added few dips of red oil for rc cars on it , works great.

stefaanadriansens · July 16, 2014

Did you put the broken ring back?

NO:)

Hempstead · July 16, 2014

NO:)

Oooh..... plastic rubbing against steel... bad idea.

stefaanadriansens · July 19, 2014

Oooh..... plastic rubbing against steel... bad idea.

yeah , meanwhile im searching a soft plastic ring. does sombody nows the size of the ring? i dont have the tools to measure it.

Hempstead · July 19, 2014

yeah , meanwhile im searching a soft plastic ring. does sombody nows the size of the ring? i dont have the tools to measure it.

The outside diameter is 64mm, inside is 59.5mm nominal. Thickness is 1/8" (3.175mm or about 3mm).

That was on page 2 of this thread.

MattM · July 29, 2014

I can highly recommend the PTFE rings offered by Hempstead. Great fit and finish. I think the Warthog should've been shipped with that kind of ring in the first place instead of the rubber piece.

Boris · April 22, 2017

I had the o-ring on my Warthog fail just as in first post.

I first noticed it when my stick displayed very loose center play.

I ended up finding an excellent replacement here:

https://www.esska-tech.co.uk/esska_eng_s/Replacement_seals_for_Guillemin_couplings_GMKDRX000000_11700.html,hlid=GMKDR20P0000

The item in question is the white PTFE ring with 64mm outer diameter.

It fits as if it were made for the Warthog. Nice and snug. It's thickness and rigidity allow you to just slide it in, with no adhesive required.

Deezle · April 22, 2017

I too had the washer (it's not really an o-ring) pop out after about 15 months of use. I'm luck enough to have some teflon sheet at work and a laser engraver. Really turns the WH into a smooth stick.

bn880 · April 22, 2017

I had the o-ring on my Warthog fail just as in first post.
I first noticed it when my stick displayed very loose center play.

I ended up finding an excellent replacement here:

https://www.esska-tech.co.uk/esska_eng_s/Replacement_seals_for_Guillemin_couplings_GMKDRX000000_11700.html,hlid=GMKDR20P0000

The item in question is the white PTFE ring with 64mm outer diameter.

It fits as if it were made for the Warthog. Nice and snug. It's thickness and rigidity allow you to just slide it in, with no adhesive required.

Great tip, but slight warning: that ring is 5mm high, which will restrict your range of motion on the stick some especially in the corners. The hempstead one is 3.3mm and it also restricts very little already until it wears in a bit.

Still, if you use the calibration tool from TM, you can nullify the range limitation , just that you will have very slightly less precise physical movement.

Ideally you'd want 2.8 to 3mm high.

Boris · April 23, 2017

Great tip, but slight warning: that ring is 5mm high, which will restrict your range of motion on the stick some especially in the corners. The hempstead one is 3.3mm and it also restricts very little already until it wears in a bit.

Still, if you use the calibration tool from TM, you can nullify the range limitation , just that you will have very slightly less precise physical movement.

Ideally you'd want 2.8 to 3mm high.

Thanks for the tip on recalibration. The range of motion was indeed lessened by about half a + length on the windows axis test.

Weegie · April 25, 2017

Thanks for the tip on recalibration. The range of motion was indeed lessened by about half a + length on the windows axis test.

Can you tell me what half a + length means in terms of percent or something?

I don't understand what "half a + length" means

I'd like to get a replacement washer, as I'm currently using the stick without one.

I doubt there will be any wear to the stick, despite warnings otherwise as without the washer there will be a gap.

However I think the purpose of the ring/washer is to help seal the mechanism against contamination so its better if one is installed

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