I am just starting to replace all the plastic wheelsets on my cars with metal ones. I noticed on my Walthers Miller reefers, which rolled effortlessly with plastic, now have a very noticable increase in rolling resistance with the new Jay Bee wheelsets I bought for them. Any ideas? Did I waste my money on 12 pairs of these? Yes, I did guage them first before installation. Do they need just some running time to seat the journals in the trucks maybe? Thanks for any ideas!!
Not all axles are the same length between brands. A reamer is made to modify the pockets in your trucks. Your hobby shop should have one. Also watch for too loose. Those will need a truck replacement or different axle set. I have also pinched the trucks with my fingers and rotated the axels to free them up if they need just a little more looseness.
http://www.nmra.org/beginner/wheelsets.html
www.micromark.com click on /item # 82838
http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/002/197xvpbs.asp
Wheel set axles vary in lengnth from Kato’s ASF .0.963 to Intermountain 1.009 so it depends on the car manufacturer
as well as the axle manufacturer.
IM’s enjoy a great reputation and are more expensive.
Lots of modelers choose the cheaper Lifelikes . Some axle ends are rounded, some are pointed.
The angle of the needle point and the length of the axle differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Sometimes you have to replace the entire truck becuase of these differences. I have ran into the same problem you have on several occasions, and either switch back to the plastic wheels or replace the trucks. The biggest disappointment I have encountered recently is the new Athearn Coca-Cola pre-assembled line. Their Chinese manufacturer uses blunt-pointed axles instead of needle-point, so your only hope is to replace the entire truck. The original Athearn wheels are such poor rollers that you would need to MU locomotives to pull more than three of them together! Real junky.
I am just starting to replace all the plastic wheelsets on my cars with metal ones. I noticed on my Walthers Miller reefers, which rolled effortlessly with plastic, now have a very noticable increase in rolling resistance with the new Jay Bee wheelsets I bought for them. Any ideas? Did I waste my money on 12 pairs of these? Yes, I did guage them first before installation. Do they need just some running time to seat the journals in the trucks maybe? Thanks for any ideas!!
Not all axles are the same length between brands. A reamer is made to modify the pockets in your trucks. Your hobby shop should have one. Also watch for too loose. Those will need a truck replacement or different axle set. I have also pinched the trucks with my fingers and rotated the axels to free them up if they need just a little more looseness.
http://www.nmra.org/beginner/wheelsets.html
www.micromark.com click on /item # 82838
http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/002/197xvpbs.asp
Wheel set axles vary in lengnth from Kato’s ASF .0.963 to Intermountain 1.009 so it depends on the car manufacturer
as well as the axle manufacturer.
IM’s enjoy a great reputation and are more expensive.
Lots of modelers choose the cheaper Lifelikes . Some axle ends are rounded, some are pointed.
The angle of the needle point and the length of the axle differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Sometimes you have to replace the entire truck becuase of these differences. I have ran into the same problem you have on several occasions, and either switch back to the plastic wheels or replace the trucks. The biggest disappointment I have encountered recently is the new Athearn Coca-Cola pre-assembled line. Their Chinese manufacturer uses blunt-pointed axles instead of needle-point, so your only hope is to replace the entire truck. The original Athearn wheels are such poor rollers that you would need to MU locomotives to pull more than three of them together! Real junky.