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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by rexhea [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by locomotive3 Did you get the 31 page DC/DCC owners manual? [/quote] Yes, I got the manual. It doesn't have a parts breakdown section. I haven't taken a steamer apart yet and thought that a parts section would help finger it out. [quote]QUOTE: My Lionel engine that I purchased a few months ago had the same hitch in it. I checked the gearboxes and the front engine idler gear was my problem. Many other varibles also happened. One problem was the screws that hold the side rods onto the wheels. They are large and will catch also on the rods under centain conditions. I filed them almost flat.[/quote] Thanks Banger1. I am looking at the engineer's side and see the small lever that rides an eccentric shaped slot and connects to the back wheel of the front driver. It is floppy loose at the eccentric compared to the one on the other side. Can't see how to tighten anything. Maybe this is causing hang-ups and the derail?? Are the levers attached by screws or rivets in this part of the mechanism? What did you end up doing about the idler gear? I see four corner screws under the boiler. Are these the ones to take out to remove top and if so is this all? Which pilot spring was mentioned in the tech tip at Tony's? [quote]QUOTE: Amazing! Why torment yourself? If this is indicative of the kind of problems that Lionel has with these engines, than maybe them getting out of HO is a good thing! Maybe this is good riddance![/quote] You may be right, kbfcsme, but I already have this loco and would like to get him going. He's beautiful and powerful looking and would do any layout proud. Did you ever stop and think that Lionel's problem in HO was the price? I could have never paid $700.00 for this Challenger. REX [/quote] The idler gear is hard to determine if that is your problem, but fix the hitch you found by the rods catching other parts, like the piston rod slide. The space between the two on my engine required I file the screws down to allow the space between the two. The rods would actually catch on them. The gear seemed to be out of round and you can watch it from below if you remove the cover. I don’t recommend the fix I used on the gear, but if it does not have clearance between it and the other gears, they will bind. Look carefully and make sure none of the rods or valve gears are touching as this was one reason they lock up and you have to change directions to get it to run. I believe Lionel should have worked on the design with some of us modelers before they put it into production. I did remove the weight from the tender also as someone else has mentioned. The best fix for the tender will be to get an Athearn shell and replace the Lionel tender shell if you can. The vertical lines about halfway down the sides should be rivets, not formed like a pipe.
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