Besides repowering a Bowser, does anyone know how to sniff out the rattles?
Cheers
David
First is it rattles, gear train, or rod linkage noises? For rattles that’s hard to find, but check every fastening, bracket, motor screws, etc. If it is gear train r3lated try a bit of “Pearl Drops” toothpaste as a lapping compound and run it a lot in both directions for several hours before flushing it out and re-lubing. This can poli***he gear teeth and remove any micro burrs. Third if it is bearings and linkages use tiny drops of ATF Transmission fluid (Dexron lll) applied with a toothpick or fine wire. jc5729
Misaligned bearings or axles, missing bearings/bushings, improperly affixed moldings (especially rattling metal on metal), bent high-speed axles (such as on driveshaft), out-of-true gears that wobble (off centre on axle or not perpendicular to axle), motor mounted out of true, or not affixed well enough…so many possibilities.
If all else fails Northwest Shortline makes regearing kits for most of the Bowser locomotives. Most of the time the noise from Bowsers come from the gearing included in the kit.
Makes you want to go GRRRR doesn’t it.
Randy
Not Really…I enjoyed making this model and the sound isnt too bad…the problem lies in the fact that its make completely of metal. That introduces resonance chambers that are not found on plastic models (plastic models are filled with weights). Thats all…
David
The resonance is a real problem, The only fix that I’ve come across is to add silicone caulk to the interior of the boiler. The silicone will absorb some of the vibrations, partially deadening the rattle. In addition, add electrical tape between the boiler and cylinder saddle, and between the cab and the frame: adding tape to act as cushion pads will help deaden the sound further.
I’ve built a few Bowsers over the years, and yes, resonance of the boiler is a problem (Orsenroy, I like the silicon idea) and yes, wheels out of quarter, gear noises and linkage noises all have to be looked for. David, I recommend looking into repowering, as the Helix Humper kits for Bowsers will improve the running and sound. However, remember 1 thing that I learned after spending untold hours trying to get an M1a to be “Proto 2K silent” It aint happening. You can’t expect 2 pounds of weight to go rolling down the tracks without making some noise.
It’s like trying to sneak up on a peanut with an elephant.[:D]
Which Bowser engine do you have?
If it’s the Big Boy or Challenger, then most of the noise comes from the Athearn style ball and socket coupling on the motor. I replaced it with drive tubing in my Challenger, ran the engine for a while, and now it’s a lot quieter.[:D] As the engine gets broken in, everything quiets down. There’s almost no resonance left in the hollow metal boiler.[:D]
This may be so silly that it is laughable, but I wonder if a person could cover their loco frame and drive with Saran or similar plastic wrap, spray the interior of the metal boiler with a low expansion, medium density foam, and press the boiler down over the Saran to get a close-fitting mold. Then before it hardens too much, clean up the squeezed stuff, and let the rest inside the boiler harden. Later, reduce the inner profile by 30% to allow cooling (you don’t want foam against the motor, for example), and see if the foam doesn’t dampen out the resonance.
Just a thought, maybe a really dumb one. [D)]