I have been asked to attempt repairs to this diesel engine and have been unsuccessful in locating any diagrams or details regarding it. I unsoldered the necessary wiring to gain full access to the motor and truck assembly. The motor would like to run but the two small intermediate gears wobble so much that the gear train siezes up. Is this truck assembly meant to be serviced? How are the truck sides removed? It appears they are swedged in place. Any information that you feel might assist me would be appreciated.
Thanks, Swede
That is a DC motor, test with a 9 volt battery, not a transformer. The two small intermediate gears will wobble vehemently if the motor is subjected to AC.
Rob
Thanks for both responses, Rob. The unit I am attempting to repair was manufactured about 1982 and has no electronics like in the diagram. It does have a manual activated lever to place the unit in reverse, forward or off. Also, the two intermediate gears jam even when the unit is manually powered although I had applied AC to it for the test. How should I have known this unit must be powered by DC? Still need to learn how to disassemble the truck assembly to get to the gears.
Thanks again, Swede
Is this what your engine looks like:
Remove the power truck from the frame and unscrew the sideframe/truck sides/crossbar/pivot assembly. This will lift off, giving easy access to the wheels and gears:
Thanks for sticking with me on this, Rob. The bottom of my unit looks similar to the one you posted but the truck sides are cast and substantially thicker. Also, there are no screws to unfasten. I took side, top and bottom view photos of the truck assembly, stored them in photobucket and am trying to figure out how to get them posted in a reply. Please tell me what steps you took to get your photos in your reply.
While typing a reply, just click on the TV-looking icon(next to the filmstrip icon), and type/paste the web address of any picture/image you want into the pop-up space.
The Quick Silver engine was unique in that Lionel had just developed the new electronic reverse unit, AND the DC can motor WITH the rectifier to allow universal operation (ac, or dc use).
Prior to this the DC powered engines could only be used with DC power, or the engine would burn out.
All that said, the Quick Silver engine is also way underpowered for it' set of a dummy unit and (3) 2400 style streamlined cars.
You will often find this engine "altered" by a former owner, or the shell changed for another alco frame
and motor (as I did with mine).
Lionel continued to work with it's new motor and reverse unit, and as an example the 8375 CNW Geep that came out in 1983 has (2) of these motors (one in each power truck), and runs much stronger that the Quick Siler alco.
As for swapping the frame, some of the late in the day Post War alcos came without an e unit, these work well with the Quick Silver frame, and there is no hole in the frame for the e unit lever .
Ken
krapug1You will often find this engine "altered" by a former owner...
Which is why we need pictures at this point.
It does sound like it has a staked motor frame that needs to be disassembled to access the gears.
Go to eBay, under "Lionel" type in Quicksilver. There is a 8268/8269 for sale that has a great photo of the gear structure. I assume that this looks like the one you have. I had the gear fixed at the local hobby shop on something similar. A the time I knew it would have been cheaper to buy a new engine, but the one I had fixed had intrinsic value to me.
Thanks again Rob. It has taken a while and the photos are not so hot, but should show what the motor/truck assembly looks like. Also, thanks to all others who have responded. One post referenced the ebay listing. I am sure that unit is substantially newer. The assembly looks like it corresponds to the one in Rob's photo and diagram. Another post referenced "stake". Does that mean the same as the word "swedge" that I used in one of my posts?. Look at photo 1. You can see how the sides are attached. Any suggestions as to how to remove these fasteners? What do I do to refasten once the gears are attended to (replaced?)?.
Thank you for your response, Ken. I am sure this unit is in it's original state since the person I am attempting to assist is the first owner. I have posted photos in a response to one of Rob's posts. Can you verify from the photos if this is a DC can motor?
That is a 8021-100 AC/DC(universal) motor truck for use with AC transformers. Not at all original to the engine.
I would grind off the truck side frame nubs above the aluminum plate on the gear side to access the gears(you can separate the motor frame similarly with 4 grindings, but they never are quite the same afterwards) and epoxy it back on when the service is done.
These often come up for sale on eBay as a part/assembly or as part of an entire loco if you want to go that route.
Here is the breakdown with part numbers:
Beautiful!!!. Thank you very much. The owner of the unit I have has no recollection of his father having the motor changed but your schematic matches it perfectly. Before tearing into it, I will see if parts are available and go from there. The schematic is a lifesaver. Where did you get it and how did you know so quickly what the model was?
Although I have them all in print pre-dating the internet, the service supplements are available online at Lionel.com. I've been working on and studying Lionel MPC production since 1970.
The parts are all readily available.
If you haven't, sign up for my Lionel/MPC yahoo group.
In the "files" section I have been building a library of MPC era documents.
Some are easy to find on the Lionel website and some aren't.
This way they are easy to find, and you can print them out as well.
Thanks for the info, Rob & Ken. I went to the Lionel.com site and attempted to locate material specific to the Quicksilver series (loco, dummy and cars) since I need to also order coupler parts and interior lamps, but was unsuccessful. Also tried to register with your group, Ken, but Yahoo is doing some server work and access to the "Group" sites is limited and registration will have to wait a few days.
The "nubs" were ground off, the truck assembly disassembled, the intermediate gears were found to have the centers wallowed out. Everything else looked good. I drilled and tapped the bases of the nubs and will use screws with locktite when reassembly takes place.
Additionally, after speaking with the owner and again asking if the motor is original, he indicated that he does recall "destroying" the original and that his father placed the Quicksilver shell on a different base. He did a good job cutting a hole in the top of the shell for the manual switch.
Thanks again, everyone
Swede
Did you get this back together?
Rob, sorry about not getting back to you sooner. Initially I did not spot your post and, after I did, I was unable to log in. CTT resolved the issue this AM.
I do remember this locomotive and know for certain that whatever I did was successful. This locomotive as well as a 1666 locomotive, 2689W Tender, a #60 Trolley and other Lionel items were owned by a young man who was interested in resurrecting items he played with as a boy so his young son could play with them. The boy was 5 at the time and still loves toy trains,
swede
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month