Battery Compartment Corrosion

[EIS2]

I saw a postwar Diesel engine on eBay that said it had battery compartment corrosion.  How difficult is it to either clean up minor corrosion or replace the battery compartment for heavy corrosion?  If replacement is necessary, what is a good source for a replacement battery compartment?

thank you...

Earl Staley

[cwburfle]

What type of engine?
On some engines, the battery compartment is part of the frame.

[TRAINCAT]

If its not too bad, you can clean it with baking soda and water, maybe a brass brush. You could even fill in the pits and repaint. Jeff Kane has some replacement sections for some frames like the F3.

Roger

[EIS2]

It is a 2031 Alco

Earl

[railroaded]

I've seen everything from light corrosion that's easy to clean, right up to damage so bad that it ate right through the box, completely destroying the center of the engine.

[cwburfle]

The 2031 is a die cast framed Alco. The upper part of the battery bracket is a sheet metal part that is removable and can be cleaned up or replaced. The lower part of the battery bracket is part of the die cast frame. Minor battery damage on the frame can be cleaned up. I have seen those frames with enough battery leakage to damage the frame so the corrosion is visible on the sides of the battery box.
This too can be cleaned up, but there is likely to always be visible signs of the damage.

The battery compartment cover can be taken off, so it can be cleaned up or replaced.

As far as I know, no reproduction frames have ever been made. Recent production frames run around $25, without the separate front apron piece (original frames were all one piece) I do not know whether they can be used to replace a postwar frame.

Two other common issues with those frames are:

- broken steps at the rear of the frame
- bent apron

[TRAINCAT]

I cleaned mine up with a sanding roll on a dremel tool and a flat file. Then use Testors silver paint, 1247 I think?