I have acquired a Jouef steam locomotive and powered tender. The tender runs very fine but the 4 traction tires on the geared wheels are loose. Not sure how to determine size needed to replace and REALLY not confortable removing the geared axles to replace them. Any suggestions?
I don't know of any chemicals or other treatments that will reliably shrink these tires (there are plenty that will swell them, and perhaps one that does would induce greater shrinkage upon subsequent 'drying out', but I can't think of one).
What I would try, since even replacement with NOS parts seems to be a nonfavored approach, would be to insert a shim or shims with the effect of increasing the effective wheel OD, consistently for all drivers, sufficient to give a little stretch to the tire, then add a little flexible glue if there is still slipping under power. (Build up the tread of any non-tire-equipped "drivers" to match the as-stretched tire diameter if they are co-geared...)
If you do take the chassis apart, I would consider turning new larger rims and perhaps flanges, instead of making or adapting elastomer donuts 'to fit'. Remember all the advice here over the years about machining with plastic wheel centers! If you do try to source new traction tire stock, do not stint on getting good quality material with established resistance to aging (and which will not react adversely with plastic parts on the engine or on your layout...)
I suppose you could build up a replacement tender drive 'from scratch' with new wheels and axles, or adapt a more easily sourced chassis or parts. Then modify the old side frames and tender body to this As needed. This has a potential benefit in leaving the 'historic fabric' less affected...
If the tender runs "very fine", why do anything?
Ed
This site handles a lot of Jouef steam locos, maybe you can track down a new set of tires.
https://www.reynaulds.com/index.aspx
Mike.
My You Tube
Maybe I wasn't clear. The motor runs fine, the metal wheels spin the way they should and the traction tires are doing their job by gripping the RAIL. Unfortunately the tires don't grip the WHEELS very well. Ergo, the engine stands still or just creeps along.
OK, I get it. Well, maybe the oil did stretch them out some. Is there a little groove in the wheel that the tires fit into?
I'll thinking the snot might work, maybe try and get some under the tires, between the wheels and the tires, or maybe even your idea with the CA.
Not sure what I would do. I guess I would try and locate some new tires, that aren't stretched out, and damaged from the oil, and in the mean time, try the "fixes".
Good luck!
I wonder -- how about BullFrog Snot to just replace the tires entirely rather than being used to [try to] adhere them to the actual wheels. If the tires are now too large due to the oil or other factors they will not roll the way you want regardless of what holds them to the wheel.
This discussion had some interesting ideas (I hope it is OK to post this link - not really a competing website I should think):
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/101366-jouef-class-40-tyres/
Note suggestions to try Hornby, Lima and other makes for similar size wheels. One posting suggested Bullfrog Snot
And one guy posted this intriguing idea:
heatshrink tubing cut into slices. Make sure you use the adhesive lined stuff though and that the wheels are free of contamination before 'shrinking'.
Dave Nelson
leewal Maybe I wasn't clear. The motor runs fine, the metal wheels spin the way they should and the traction tires are doing their job by gripping the RAIL. Unfortunately the tires don't grip the WHEELS very well. Ergo, the engine stands still or just creeps along.
Yeah, now I get it, too.
I'm a bit wary of putting various goo's under the traction tires because I think it would go on unevenly and make the wheels out of round.
I suspect the two choices for a successful outcome are either finding another tender in working order, or disassembling the trucks AFTER you find replacement traction tires.
And I'm hearing a hint that disassembly is unpleasant. Or worse.
What I am hearing is that someone greatly overlubricated this thing, and a large quantity of oil has wicked its way between the tires and wheels.
without disassembly what he ought to try is spraying a proper solvent repeatedly into the 'gap' and blotting up the dissolved and expelled oil until the gap is clean and dry when the last solvent injection evaporates. This might involve adapting a fine needle to the end of one of those 'straws' that give directional application. With care positioning the blotting, and attention to gloves and other PPE and to good ventilation, this can probably be done without ruining the actual necessary lubrication elsewhere in the tender and drive.
Then use some thinned elastic or rubber-loaded cement 'needled' into the gap followed by spinning the tires to spread the adhesive and adequate time UNLOADED for the adhesive to 'dry' or cure or set up. It needs to be flexible, not lumpy epoxy or hard thin film CA even with gap filling additives.
OvermodThen use some thinned elastic or rubber-loaded cement 'needled' into the gap followed by spinning the tires to spread the adhesive and adequate time UNLOADED for the adhesive to 'dry' or cure or set up. It needs to be flexible, not lumpy epoxy or hard thin film CA even with gap filling additives.
I used Walther's "GOO" many years ago on my one and only traction tired tender, and it worked fine. Just a very fine line of it ..... too much and you will spread that stuff EVERYWHERE !
Rust...... It's a good thing !
Thank you all. I'm going to try SOMETHING before I try to dis-assemble the wheels and axles and replace the tires. There are just too many gears on those axles for me to be comfortable with. Also, I can't find any paper work to even help me safely remove the wheel/axle assembly. Not even on HO Seeker. I bought the thinest CA available from Hobby Lobby. I'm thinking one drop on the wheel, let the CA flow behind an under the tire then rotate the tire by hand to evenly spread it out. Then run the tender as slow as possible and let the wheel turn sowly until the CA drys. And do this four times. I've used Bull Frog Snot with some success but I'm not very good at it. And GOO. I always have GOO handy but it's a love hate relationship with that stuff.
A general perusal of Jouef tender drives appears to indicate that you can work the tires out through the gap between wheel and side frame without mechanism disassembly -- at least on some models, apparently including some Hornby models made after they bought tooling from Jouef. You might look carefully to verify this on your example.
i do not know if the tires stretch or deform when subjected to this treatment; all the references I could find assume you're replacing them with new, which really isn't the issue here. But taking the tires off would greatly simplify cleaning and de-oiling.
Word is that the tires don't like to go back on without trying to flip off the part of the rim you can't reach as you try to work around the circumference. Several people suggest using one or more jeweler's screwdrivers or the like angled in to hold the arc of tire in position while the 'rest' is worked on.
Leewal,
I don't know for sure how this would work on Your traction tires......but I had an RC 1/6 scale Nitro/Gas pick-up that I put a bead inside the Aluminum wheel and rubber tires and it prevented the wheels from spinning inside the tire and going no where. Probably the hardest part would be getting it on without making a mess. But You do have time before it sets up. They do have some cheaper......but I had found this to be the best:
https://www.rcplanet.com/chemicals-adhesives/tire-glue/traxxas-ultra-premium-tire-glue-tra6468?ref=isp_rel_prd&isp_ref_pos=4
I'm guessing the traction tires You have may be a synthetic rubber...it will also work on them.
Good Luck!
Frank