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 Posted - October 11 2014 : 1:14:39 PM
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I acquired an old Athearn F drive
It would run sporadically with no pulling power so I oiled and greased to no avail. Upon disassembly,
I determined poor performance must be caused by bad bearings in the trucks
I decided to make some bearings. I want a good fit without stressing the zamac side frame. First I cut a channel long ways in a piece of 1/8 inch brass tubing.
Using a 7/64 drill I reamed out old holes in the zamac side frames   and squeezed the brass bearings into the slightly undersized holes  
After filing brass flush, I reassembled the trucks and the now the F-unit runs better than new.
Good health! OTTB
Edited by - offtrackthoroughbred on October 11 2014 1:28:50 PM
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Posted - October 11 2014 : 3:28:25 PM
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Brilliant!!
I may try this myself.
Thanks for sharing the idea.
Evan
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Posted - October 11 2014 : 4:01:40 PM
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Yes thanks for posting - I would have never even thought about the sideframe bearings, other than to oil them. Great idea!
http://tycodepot.com/
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Posted - October 11 2014 : 8:45:17 PM
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Very clever solution, not unlike Mantua's replaceable brass bearings. Those older Athearn sideframes for the pointed axles do wear, especially with the added tension from rubber bands in Hi-F units.
The Tyco Depot
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Posted - February 20 2015 : 1:27:05 PM
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I know this is almost a year and a half since the last post. One other thing to look for on older Athearn units is the kingpin for the trucks.
I rebuilt a whole box of these that had been in the family since the 50's and 60's. Cleaned and lubed, including the kingpin ball and socket, put them on the test track and got the old familiar Athearn stutter and headlight flicker.
It was the kingpin ball and socket.
No matter how much you clean, the pot metal just is not a good conductor in that area.
So, I found an open spot on the truck bolster (opposite the power pickup), drilled and tapped 2-56, added a wire with eyelet soldered on to each truck, ran them back to the screw that held the brushplate onto the motor (frame ground), although you could attach anywhere on the frame....and for the first time in my recollection I had Athearn diesels that didn't stutter.
Dave
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Posted - February 20 2015 : 9:13:22 PM
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As I've gotten into model train repairs "professionally", I'm running across problems like this, where the main problem is the design is not conducive to conducting electricity well through a movable frame part. Direct contact via wiring or a steady contact is required to bring these old units up to a more reliable carrier of current. I put some copper mesh into the front truck of a Mantua RF-16 Shark, and it improved performance over the formerly axle-point only contact tremendously. Making new bearing surfaces like this is a pretty fine upgrade. Not sure I could do that well. :) Nice job! But sometimes you gotta improvise to get the older stuff running better.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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 Posted - February 21 2015 : 07:45:04 AM
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neat
I'd not mind a set of these trucks for my  rubber band drive UP loco
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Posted - February 21 2015 : 08:45:07 AM
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Do these type of trucks require the side frames to stay together?
~ Dave
They're ALL toys
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Posted - February 21 2015 : 11:48:02 AM
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quote:Do these type of trucks require the side frames to stay together?
Originally posted by RDC1Â -Â February 21 2015Â :Â 08:45:07 AM
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actully yes
They are screwed on
Screws are on the bottoms
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