Thanks Bob. I was able to see the spring without taking it apart and it looked in good shape. I coupled the car with another and noticed the coupler was a little bit bent upward... just enough to make it hard for the pin to stay locked in. I carefully bent it down and the problem seems to be solved. Im always nervous doing that because I know those couplers can snap easily.
I have 2 other cars that have a similar problem. Im going to see if they can be fixed the same way.
Thanks again.
No. The spring that holds that armature up is a rectangular strip of spring steel 1-inch long by 3/16-inch wide that is loosely attached to the armature by a rivet in its center. Yours may be broken, bent, or rusted away.
To get the coupler assembly off, pry the wheels and one axle out of the truck. If you straighten the tabs that hold it to the axles, you may break them. If your problem isn't as simple as straightening out the spring, probably the easiest repair is to replace that entire coupler assembly.
Bob Nelson
I have a car with bar end trucks that wont lock the coupler. The metal piece with the pin hangs down loosely and wont stay up. How do I fix this? Do I have to replace the whole truck?
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