Steel Wheels too tight..!

[dan green]

I have a question regarding some new steel wheels on all my Colorado & Southern cars.... they are not turning freely and Im wondering why, as I put them on a group of SR&RL cars which use the exact same parts (3080/19 & 3080/2) and they work fine. I noticed that they are too tight to 'rock' laterally as they should. The screws that hold the axel brackets in place have a slightly larger head and I wonder if they arent being given enough room to move by this or should the screw hole on the side that gives lateral movement be widened out a little? I noticed on the cars that run easily, that theres a lot of room for the bracket to twist diagonally and this seems to allow the axles to turn freely...also, do these wheels need oiling or any other treatment?

regards

Dan

[spikejones52002]

What wheel sets are you talking about.

What manufacture of trucks are you talking about.

if you remove the truck from the car. Then you should be able to observe where any bind might be.

[cacole]

Sometimes, the axles of replacement wheels are slightly larger in diameter, which can cause binding.  The easiest solution if this is the case is to enlarge the holes in the journals with a suitable drill bit.

Before going to that extreme, though, you might want to try just putting some powdered graphite on the axles and see if that frees them up.

If you don't have a tube of graphite, you can use a #2 pencil lead.  Rub the pencil lead on the axle ends and see if that improves their rolling.

[toenailridgesl]

Make sure that the gauge isn't too wide, it's a common problem on especially Bachmann steel wheels. If so, gently twist one wheel towards the other until the gauge is correct. (Compare flange to flange with the old wheels you took out)