Gah!!!! Somebody help!!! Haha... so I bought 2 SD35's (SP and SF) and I took the shells off to replace the horn-hooks with Kadee's. Problem is, I can't get the freakin couplers off!!! They have this pin holding the coupler that can't be screwed out, and I tried hard to pull it out but I dont want to break the shell. I'm trying to find a picture but I can't find one yet; its a metal pin.
Anyone have any idea how I could get this thing out?
thanks
Yes these are a pain, they are like a pressed in fit, the pin has like locking ridge on it. Try a very small drop of WD40 on each pin and let it sit for an hour. Use needle nose pliers and wiggle it just a bit and it should come out. Clean the WD40 off with soapy water then.
I replaced mine to Kadees, but used a screw instead of the pin. The pinns that are in there can get stuck really bad do to age, but they can come out.
Before I would put WD-40 on plastic I would try tapping the pin with a tack hammer. the key word there is tap. That might drive it a couple of thousandths of an inch and free it up for removal.
Greg,
Try a pair of nail clippers. I use to use them on slot car motors that were held together with pins. Just get the edge of the clippers right at the bottom of the head and squeeze the nail clippers. They act like a pry bar and lift the pin. Then you can pry it out.
Bill
Cool, thanks everyone. The problem is that they are stuck out a little, so I can't use the pry method you just described. Tomarrow when I have some time i'll try the needlenose plier deal. I tried to pry it with a screwdriver, but I was afraid of cracking the shell so I didn't try all that hard.
I'm going to put kadees in there too; will a 58 screw work, or is there something else I should tap the hole with?
DeadheadGreg wrote: I'm going to put kadees in there too;
will a 58 screw work
If they have the phillips head, try turning them with a phillips screwdriver while prying them up with a flat head screwdriver. Give it a good stiff twist, that should break it free.
The nail clipper/side cutting pliers (Xuron) trick should work, that's how I usually get them out. Support the area underneath with your finger (remove the front handrail if you need to), the plastic is tougher than you think, (it's ABS not styrene).
A 2/56 screw will do. Use a self tapping screw if you have a tap.
Jay
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I was in the same boat a year ago, I have 6 twenty plus year old Atlas engines 3 SD35s and 3 GP40s. Needle nose pliers are the only way and you might try twisting the pin slightly counter clockwise as you are pulling. Also, be careful with the trucks, the plastic tends to harden up and they are very difficult to take apart without breaking. Of my six, I only have four that I've been able to install decoders. The other two I've used for parts, mostly broken trucks.
Also, you need to do some judicious work with a very small file to get kadees to fit.
Bill54 wrote: Greg,Try a pair of nail clippers. I use to use them on slot car motors that were held together with pins. Just get the edge of the clippers right at the bottom of the head and squeeze the nail clippers. They act like a pry bar and lift the pin. Then you can pry it out.Bill
Nail clippers are the ticket for those pins. The straighter the clipper, the better. Get the blade just under the head of the pin. Squeeze the clipper, and it should lift the pin up. Then just pull it the rest of the way out.
Bill...weren't those Mura pins the pits! Almost as bad as the little self tapping screws we replaced them with, that always broke off just before they got tight.
Rotor
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