Where do I get sockets for the small nuts that hold the side rods on steam engines? One of my GS-4 took the leap of death and bent the axles so the flagnes are out of line. Bought new drive wheels from Bachmann but the problem, no sockets that will unbolt the valve gear from the drivers!
Now the BLI question, my new M1a must have blew the center drive gear. Yes it will run but makes a clicking sound like a PK2 with a cracked gear. I have had the M1a for 2 weeks max and is under warrtany. (when I first heared the clicking going backwards a fellow M1a owner said it was lack of lub, not now) What do you think the turn around time would be?
If I can buy the center gear I would rather fix my self, better to spend say $15.00 for part’s than have the engine gone for 2 months with me holding my Tender in my hand.
But if I can get the part, where do I get a tool set for the small nuts?
At this point I am wondering if BLI is all it is cracked up to be? My first BLI Class J stripped out what I am guessing was the worm gear on the Arm after 2 hours with traction wheels that came on the engine. Came from K-10 trains and the replacment has worked fine for 60 hours of track time. Next was the Hudson, works great and draging some hoppers as I miss spell. Now the M1a, hum broke down. Plus I now have BLI Monon USRA Heavy 2-8-2, wondering if it wil hold up now?
Thanks for the answers that are coming and I really want some tools.
Turn around will be between 4 and 8 weeks. The only engine that has given me problems was an Outlet Direct Niagara. It was just under seven weeks about a year ago now, but that was to and from Vancouver Island. Customs probably held it about two to four days in total. It was the decoder.
I have had good luck with BLI, and have had good service from them. You’ll get an answer to emails within 24 hrs, usually by the end of the day.
Sorry about your steamers, Ken, they don’t seem to have served you well. But, if you can maintain an upbeat attitude, they will all be running well in a short while. Let the warranties to what they offer, and you will be rewarded.
Well, I recieved my Reading T1 one December fresh from the factory, I could not get home fast enough.
2 sad feet down the workbench track it went back into the box and I was in tears or close to it thinking the thing does not perform at all and may be written off or replaced with a new T1.
5 weeks later I had the unit back in perfect order with a handwritten repair order showing things that I missed and fixed.
My BLI F unit lost a speaker (We did not know it at the time, we thought we muted the unit and hammered the Digitrax trying to program the sounds to live again) that took 8 agonizing weeks. But BLI was being hammered with stuff in that period and stayed in touch.
I do have the M1a and that engine has yet to toss anything. The rest of my BLI steam fleet are doing ok but they are picky at times. They sleep in boxes until it’s time to run, the day or two before, I go over them with a lube, hex screw driver checking all the nuts on the rods and run with the sound off to see if there is any problems and look for waddle.
I also had a Spectrum 4-6-0 tender that got destroyed but replaced within a week from Bachmann over the phone and 60 dollars on the credit card.
My MRC 4-4-0 appears to have one of the drive rod’s bolts working loose. It is right now on the bench ready for tomorrow’s inspection with the Jeweler’s Hex Bolt tools.
I have heard horror stories of 400 dollar engines taking the dive of death after breaking a rod off and raring up to smash itself on the floor 5 feet below. Maybe I go over all the rods before they run on a railroad.
The only engine I own that does not get any attention from me is the Like like’s Proto Y3 2-8-8-2. That thing runs sooooo smooth that if anything happens it will become very apparent very quickly, and at 20 smph should be able to stop in time. (At 50th production unit out of whatever total run that was it better be smooth)
The day the the Y3 breaks and dies, Off to PCM for the Y6b thank ye!
That clicking sound is possibly a bent drive rod catching on a screw head, but you should not attempt to perform your own repair or you risk voiding the warranty.
I have never had to send anything back to BLI, but have read nothing bad about their service here on this forum, so your best bet is to phone them and ask for advice on sending it back.
A 4-piece nutdriver set that fits those small hex head screws on models is available from Micro-Mark, but it is rather pricey at $17.30 plus shipping, catalog number 80240.