so anyway this has been bugging me for a while and i finally snapped today. third time this month i've had a motor screw either strip the head or just seize up in the arm. im running titanium M3 screws on a 3mm carbon arm and i dont think im overtorquing but maybe i am. using blue loctite.

its always the same arm too which is weird. rear right. could be a slightly off-spec hole from the manufacturer but i dont know how id even check that. frame is a TBS Source One v0.4 if that matters. motors are just XING2s nothing special.

at this point im questioning whether i should tap the holes or just get helicoil inserts or something. anyone dealt with this or am i doing something fundamentally wrong with carbon and screws

blue loctite and carbon is sometimes the culprit weirdly ? it can wick into the fiber and weaken it around the hole over time especially with vibration. some people swear by just friction alone on carbon arms or using a tiny tiny amount of loctite, not a full coating. also check what driver youre using, a worn or slightly wrong size JIS vs Phillips head on those M3 caps will strip them so fast, ive ruined probably a dozen screws that way before i realized my driver was toast

the rear right thing is interesting though. if its always that arm id honestly just measure the hole diameter with a caliper if you have one. wouldnt surprise me if its slightly oversized from the factory, the tolerances on Source One frames are ok but not perfect

helicoil in carbon is a nightmare dont do it. ive seen people try and you basically just make a bigger problem. if the hole is genuinely blown out the arm is probably done, Source One arms are cheap enough to just replace honestly. also +1 on checking your driver, sounds dumb but its almost always that