Athearn rolling stock repair and lub question.

[cudaken]

While setting the coupler height I have found some of the older BB's I bought of E-bay have either cracked or mushroomed mounting points where the trucks go. Have to pry off the trucks and sometimes I can not get 2 .10 washers on the neck of the chassis.

 OK, there are old and junk like I have been warned about. But then I had a BB 50 footer start to derail that I bought in March or April new from LHS. Found it's mounting points  where mushroomed and tight as well making the truck tight = derailing. It all soo will make the coupler height off.

 What lub should I use on the truck mounting points and now I guess the bosster on the trucks? Is there a repair kit for the problem? If not, any one know what the out side sizes of the mounting tube is?

 Thinking about cutting off the old mounting point, drill out and re post . Anyone done this before?

 

                           Cuda Ken  

[mlehman]

Here's a few ideas.

The easiest thing to do is to just pitch the old underframe in the junk pile and out a new one on. The cheapest way to do it is through recycling old rolling stock, but you could invest in some new parts from Athearn for not too much, I'd bet.

You can drill out the old mount and glue in a piece of styrene tube. The problem here is getting a nicely concentric and vertical mount.

The one thing I would NOT do is lube anything. All lube migrates down on a model railroad and thus onto your track. I only lube things that need it and try to make sure that it doesn't get thrown by using the proper weight lube and using covers, etc to prevent gravity migration to track level.

[JonathanS]

There are three different repairs that I have used.  All work well but which one you use would depend on what you might have avaliable to you.

1.  Cut off the truck mounting boss (the part that sticks up and fits inside the hole in the truck) and use a Model Die Casting truck instead.  The MDC trucks have holes just big enough for a #2 screw and do not use the boss.

2. Cut off the truck mounting boss and drill or ream out the hole for a 4-40 screw.  You will have to be selective about which 4-40 screw you use as many have heads too large for the trucks.  I have sometimes used flat head 4-40 screws that are meant for a countersink.  That provides centering support for the truck on both the top and bottom of the bolster. I do not use this fix for flat cars, gondolas, or hoppers as the 4-40 screw usually must penetrate the car floor in order to be sufficiently supported.

3.  If you are very lucky and can find proper sized washers, that is ones that are not sloppy on the screw and that fit closely in the bolster, you can just cut off the boss and use the washer to provide the centering.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Ken, When I have an Athearn car that screws up like that, I just chuck the underframe and replace it with a Bachmann underframe. This ussually requires a little surgery, but the results are usually positive.

[jamnest]

You can order replacement parts from Athearn. The information below is copied from their Web Site.  http://www.athearn.com Quality Athearn Parts

Please attempt to get parts from your local hobby retailer first. If the retailer is not able to get them, then you may order directly from Athearn. All orders inside the continental U.S. will include a $5.50 shipping and handling charge. Orders shipped outside the continental U.S. include a higher shipping charge, based on actual shipping costs. Checks, money orders, Visa and MasterCard are accepted. When ordering by credit card, please include the verification code located on the back of the card. You may order by mail, email ([e-mail]) or telephone [phone], ext. 107, Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30 p.m. Pacific Time. You must include payment with your order; we do not ship C.O.D. When ordering by mail or email, please include your shipping address and send your query to “ATTN: Parts.” Allow 4–6 weeks for order processing. Please feel free to contact us regarding a special order of any parts not listed on this page.

[Soo Line fan]

 Found it's mounting points  where mushroomed and tight as well making the truck tight = derailing. It all soo will make the coupler height off. 

It depends on how bad the "mushroomed" area is. I have fixed some by pinching them back together with needle nose pliers. Then retighten with less torque than the previous owner did. This is a #2-56 screw, not a head bolt.

any one know what the out side sizes of the mounting tube is?

Take a good car to the LHS and match it up with some plastic tubing. For more severe cases this may be another option.

An alternative method is as follows:

Cut off your damaged mount.

Glue the top lid of a # 5 Kadee box in place of it.

Check the ride height before gluing, as you may need to sand down the area first.

As others have said, you can also replace just the under frame. It has been a while, but the last time I needed an under frame, Athearn sold them in a package of 3 or 4.

Personally I would try one of the other 3 options I mentioned first. You really have nothing to lose and you may be surprised how easy this is to fix.

 

Jim

[Tilden]

Ditto on Jim's reply.  You can also use a sharp hobby knife to trim the spread part of the mounting stud off, leaving some of the stud proper size.  Then re-mount the truck normally.  You will be able to tell if the screw is too tight as it will lock-up the truck before you can further damage the mounting.  I've never had to replace an underframe.

Tilden

[BRAKIE]

  Ken,Before you start slicing,cutting,hacking or chucking anything try the following step.

Use 500 grit sand paper and re-smooth the truck mounting peg.

Also for best results on the couplers do the following

1.Check the weight to insure its not bent..If bent straighten it.

2.Check the frame to insure its not bent..If it is bent straighten it by GENTLY bending it..

Be sure the coupler clip SNAPS in place..Better would be to use a #50 drill and mount the coupler box using short SAE 2-56 screws.

Trucks..Tighten the truck screws so the trucks cant turn..Back the screws 1 1/2 to 2 turns..

When finish your car's couplers should look like this.

 

BTW..Athearn cars are not junk regardless of how old they are..I have Athearn cars that dates back to the 80s... However..They need to be ASSEMBLE PROPERLY in order to get a trouble free smooth operating car and the best part no cutting,slicing,hacking,chucking is needed.

 

 

[cudaken]

Hey guys, thanks for all the great ideas.  Soory it took me so long to thank you folks but been having fun and found a few ideas of my own.

 

                     Cuda Ken