Has anyone ever accomplished this? I squeeze and pull with all my might and can’t get the shell off. Any tips?
Jonathon[:)]
Take the couplers off!!! good thing you havent broken it. You unscrew the coupler screw, take it out, and the whole coupler box slides out of the engine. Then you squeez and pull.
Thanks for warning me Joe! I’ll try it soon.
No you do not have to remove your couplers for the removal of the Genesis SD70Ms. I am 100% positive on that. You really just have to go for the front of the loco first and pull it up and then the rest will be easy. I am positive on that
Im looking at one of mine right now and I dont see how you could do it without removing the couplers. If your sure please post pics on how to do it. It would save me a lot of time.
Hmmm… even Houdini couldn’t do this
Well I removed the couplers and it stil won’t budge. Now what?
It should go now, the tabs are not thick like on a bb so try some gentle prying and the tabs might break off. Thats fine because the coupler boxes will hold the shell on if that happens. One thing to watch for is the air tanks. They will just pop right off the bottom of the shell if you have to pry it. No big deal though, put a tiny bit of CA on them and they will glue back on. Prying should be a last resort though. Keep messing with it for awhile.
The danged thing still ain’t budgin. You think slipping an exacto knife between the frame and the body to cut the tabs off is a good idea?
Wait, I forgot to mention: The tabs are located right behind the cab and avout 3/4 of the way to the back of the engine. Not in the fuel tank area like on a BB
Joe, the tabs on mine are right under the start of the Q fans.
Did you squeeze where the tabs are? I just took one of mine apart and it came off fine.
That’s where I have been aqueezing Joe. Still won’t budge.
Hmmmm… I dont know what to tell you… Have you tried prying in the gas tank area. Thats all else I can think of.
What about my exacto knife idea? Would that work?
You could, but then the shell would tend to slide side to side. I wouldnt suggest it.
Here is a tip that helped with mine… Try prying gently, underthe plows on the front and the rear… I belive you pull up… or hell… try pushing in. if all else, fails, I used a flat head screw driver under the running board and gently ahh gently, pried it part. I could not for the life of me squeeze it like ti says in the exploded view… Also, in the exploded it looks like the runnign boards or walk ways, are seperate, they are conntected to the shell, make sure yo under neath those.
Good luck…
Have you tried asking Athearn?
What production do you have?Older production units are a bear.The SD70 spartan units I had were almost impossible.I had to remove the cab assembly and finally got the long hood off.Some of these were either glued at the factory or wet paint stuck them together.Current production with the DCC plugs are easy.Remove the couplers and they will usually come right off.I know it would be hard but try removing the cab assembly first.Then use the smallest flat blade screwdriver you can find and pry on the tabs.That should get the loco apart without destroying it.Dan
Ahhh… I have the newer version…