|
|
 Posted - June 26 2015 : 4:08:48 PM
|
So I tracked down this new old stock Midnight Special, couple drops of oil on the gears, and then not three yards down the track she erupts with a cloud of blue/gray smoke and stops dead. Pretty much shot? Start looking
for a replacement Athearn chassis or something?
Edited by - Chops124 on July 01 2015 01:48:09 AM
|
Country:  USA ~
Posts: 11655 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: March 19 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 26 2015 : 4:12:39 PM
|
Oil instead of grease, on gears? May be savable. May not. Might need a new motor after all.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3974 ~
Member Since: January 04 2009 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2019
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 26 2015 : 5:20:18 PM
|
Sounds like you're about to start a re-motoring project!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1166 ~
Member Since: October 18 2009 ~
Last Visit: December 23 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 26 2015 : 7:35:27 PM
|
Done the same thing with a Tyco SD24. Time to find yourself a nice can motor and crack open that loco!
--CRC
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 930 ~
Member Since: January 25 2012 ~
Last Visit: August 23 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 27 2015 : 2:56:04 PM
|
Right! Between the pinion gears and the motors that burst into
flames, I am liking Athearn as head end power more and more.
Have some Mantua pieces with open framed electric motors
that survived the test of time, however. Guess I will learning
some kitbashing skills.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11655 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: March 19 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 28 2015 : 11:12:43 PM
|
| So Jeff, you're talkin' actual flames and melted armature winding/insulation? If not, I'd say give a shot at cleanin' everything up and see what happens. I must say I'm pretty ignorant about what motors they put in the diesels, but I wouldn't have thought they would use a different motor; maybe just house it differently?
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2087 ~
Member Since: March 16 2013 ~
Last Visit: July 05 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 28 2015 : 11:48:43 PM
|
I shut the power off at the first puff of smoke. It's one of those
infamous pancake jobs for a motor. I'm going to see if the shell
can be adapted to another chassis, like an Athearn, but probably
going to be a piece of work, particularly because I have no real
idea what I'm doing. Too cute to be a Wall Queen.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11655 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: March 19 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 29 2015 : 01:07:07 AM
|
Chops, I've seen guys modify a F7 frame by Athearn. You could also tear down the motor and clean it. Maybe new brushes.
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3147 ~
Member Since: May 07 2007 ~
Last Visit: March 12 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 29 2015 : 12:56:40 PM
|
I find a Athearn blue box F7 to be a direct fit! It even snaps into the lugs on the frame side! Just need to extend out a coupler box from the frame or modify the shell a little so a coupler box can be mounted to it.
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3147 ~
Member Since: May 07 2007 ~
Last Visit: March 12 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 29 2015 : 11:48:57 PM
|
Thank you, thank you, I may try both replacing the brushes and or
the Athearn Blue Box fix. Last time I tried replacing brushes
I had springs flying over my head and putting them back was
an awful task, but maybe I'll get it right this time.
So this, you say, will fit onto an Athearn Chassis, with a coupler fix?
Edited by - Chops124 on June 30 2015 02:39:33 AM
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11655 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: March 19 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 30 2015 : 05:36:49 AM
|
Yep! Just remove the front coupler box to clear up front and extend it out back unless you can find a real long shank coupler of your liking. Also can get a small enough bulb to fit inside the light housing with the lense removed. Life Like had a long shank horn hook on some dock side 0-4-0T's of the B&O variety.
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3147 ~
Member Since: May 07 2007 ~
Last Visit: March 12 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - July 01 2015 : 01:02:51 AM
|
Alrighty then, I figured I couldn't screw it up any more than I had already, but
before I try the Athearn trick, I looked up Going in Circlez step by step guide
and some other fellow with a Southern Drawl, who kept warning the viewer "not
to let them little springs pop out. This is what happened next:
So I prised open the ventilated gear cover every so carefully, after gently removing the
pinion gear. Lucky me, the brushes were kind of gunked up, so they didn't sproing out at me.
The I wiped everything down, particular the shiny, contact part of the winding with an alcohol
pad. Getting the bitty springs back into the bitty holes and fitting the bitty brushes on top and
then sandwiching the winding back on was a bit of a trial, but everything fit. Put an eensy
micro drop of Super Glue on the tip of the pinion spindle, those rotters have a nasty habit
of coming loose. Everything turns fine.
Put the truck yoke back on, soldered it up, and put her one the rails. Nothing. Not even a
burp. Oh, weren't the brass pickup wheels supposed to be on on opposite sides, one negative,
one positive?
Alrighty, then, back to the rails, and voila! She fires up! Sort of... motor whines impressively, but
doesn't move two inches. Sounds like a blown pinion at worst, or bad traction tires.
Pinion gear is on there for life, and the gears turn easily. Traction tires, which have to be
a couple of decades old, appear intact otherwise. Ah, but I see now I have installed the
truck yoke upside down. Brillianto. Have to detach and resolder. Or maybe I could just
give it flying lessons, over the garden wall. Maybe I should take up shuffle board?
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11655 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: March 19 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - July 01 2015 : 01:56:22 AM
|
Okee, dokey, the yoke was in correct position anyway, after de-soldering the wire
and trying it the other way. She runs, a little, powered wheels turning madly, hmm,
check the rear wheels and find the lead free turning axle is seized up pretty solid.
Take it apart and this is what I find:
Seems the axle slot has a teensy bit of over lap, like a bad casting. Try to oil it, no dice.
Thinking about reaming out the slot with a drill bit, but before I go wild on that will try
another Tyco axle from the junk box. You can see in the picture the axle does not naturally
fall into the slot, but rides upon it when let loose.
Alrighty then, put the new junk box axle in and it seems to turn OK, not great, either, but
at least turns without hanging up. Put her back on the rails and she fires up pretty nice, but
but no pulling power at all. Barely dragging itself, still. Traction tires must be hard, even
though they appear intact. Now where did I leave my Goody Hairbands???
Good Night Tyco Heads. Will resume the search tomorrow. Then swing by Moose's and see if
he has a few dabs of JB Weld to try to reattach the side frames.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11655 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: March 19 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - July 01 2015 : 02:08:18 AM
|
I don't know how far back you've read on this forum, so if this is old news forgive me.
The sharks can be repowered with F7 chassis from Athearn and Bachmann. Probably others, I don't remember.
The more fun answer, however, is to replace the motor. The procedure is basically this: find a small, flat can motor...CD players, CD/DVD ROM drives, and Playstations ( I hear they are the best fit) all have them. Take the armature and the old magnets out of the locomotive's power truck, and "reshape" it with a dremel tool...or whatever... until the can motor fits in where the armature sat. Glue it in place. Wire it up and go.
Search around on here, there are more detailed instructions available. I've done a shark this way and it was particularly easy because there's plenty of room for a thicker motor to move in the shell.
Good luck...looks like a lot of fun!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1166 ~
Member Since: October 18 2009 ~
Last Visit: December 23 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - July 01 2015 : 12:12:03 PM
|
All new news to me. The magnets can be reshaped by eyeballing it?
Now that I've come this far, believe all it needs are traction tires,
that I have misplaced, again.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11655 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: March 19 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - July 01 2015 : 4:45:51 PM
|
Sorry, poor wording on my part. You don't reshape the magnets. Take the magnets out entirely, as well as the armature. They go to the scrap box. You're left with that opening you see in the picture above. After widening and rounding out the opening, you can push the flat can motor in the opening and let the shaft push through were the old one would have. It's a pretty big thing to do the first time you do it, so be sure to read up on it some more. I'll look for the old discussion on it.
Edit: Here's an example:http://www.tycoforums.com/tyco/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7428
Ahh, the good old days.
Edited by - burlington77 on July 01 2015 4:54:13 PM
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 1166 ~
Member Since: October 18 2009 ~
Last Visit: December 23 2018
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - July 03 2015 : 01:49:22 AM
|
Drilling out the motor housing sounds a little daunting; probably a job for a drill press.
Anyways, I got the motor working, and I found my Goody Hair Bands, so will
attempt that tomorrow. Thanks for info.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11655 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: March 19 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - July 03 2015 : 02:30:23 AM
|
Drill press is handy. What I used and a Dremel along with a small file.
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3147 ~
Member Since: May 07 2007 ~
Last Visit: March 12 2026
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
Home
Forums
Events Calendar
Forum Admins & Mods
Register
