The other day I picked up a 514R refrigerator car on eBay. One of the wheels has a considerable wobble to it, but it rolls just fine on the track. I’m not sure if the cause of the wobble is a bent axle or the center of the wheel is deformed. If I should manage to get my hands on a replacement wheel and axle some day, what is the process for installing them? There is a metal beam that connects on each side to the black parts that have stamped suspension springs, and to which the journal covers are attached. I think the ends of the beam have tiny tabs that fit through the black parts, and I think one pair of tabs would have to be straightened so that one black side can be removed. Is that right? What tool can be used to avoid scratching the black tabs and the black part?
My recommendation for a tool would be a suitable plastic ‘spudger’ of the kind used to open or spread cell-phone or other device cases.
You’ll want to turn the axle between centers to determine if the axle is bent vs. the hole in the wheel being off-center. In a pinch you might be able to clamp one axle end in the Jacob’s chuck of a drill, but don’t spin the drill too fast!
If the wheel is off-center, you’ll want a lathe with boring attachment. Chuck the tread in a centering chuck – if using a four-jaw, true it to the tread profile. Then bore the center hole oversize to take a suitable bushing, and bore (or drill) the bushing to suitable press or friction fit on the axle (this is how carriage-wheel boxings are bored concentric). You can slightly rough up or knurl the axle where the wheel will be seated to get a stronger fit.