i have some old tyco engins i have been working on the engins run good but the gears on the engins slip doe’s anybody have any suggestions on to stop gears from slipping ? i would appreciate the hlep
thank you
dbeckett
Buy a P2K.
Geez…
A guy comes here looking for a little help with his locomotives and gets a wise-guy remark telling him to buy a P2K. Not everyone here has the desire or the money to drop $60 - $80 for a new locomotive when they are looking to repair what they have.
Yes, this can be rich man’s hobby, but it doesn’t have to be. Some folks get as much enjoyment tinkering with an old loco and getting it to run nicely as other have pulling their shiny new Kato out of the plastic case and plopping it on the tracks.
Go figure.
[sigh] [sigh]
What about replacing the gears?
Which Tyco locomotives do you have? Some are repairable, some are not. Unfortunately, in most cases it is cheaper to purchase a replacement locomotive, than to get even the parts to repair.
See also: http://tycotrain.tripod.com/tycotrains/
Roadtrip, Its normally a better idea to just buy one good loco instead of spending (wasting) cash on a fleet of sub-par ones.
A wise man once told me, “Quality not Quanity”
D Beckett’
You (and I) are not alone. I have TYCO engines that still run well andprefer to spend my money upgrading and building my layout before i get newer road equipment. I assume you have a slipping main drive gear. I fixed my slipping tyco gear with a drop of green loctite (self wicking) 680 stud and bearing lock. Be careful to oil the bearing behind the gear before applying the loctite and use just enough to put a bit on the outside of the center of the gear so it can get between the gear and the armature shaft only. Loctite stud and bearing mount will also work as well as the similar products by everyone else - available at most auto parts store - get the smallest tube possible.Good luck, J.R.
Necessity may be the mother of invention(actually Frank Zappa was), but desperation is the father of the bodge
I don’t necessarily disagree with you. After starting out with Life Like standard product, my last three purchases have been Kato, P2K and Spectrum.
But he wasn’t talking about buying new locos, he was talking about repairing one that he must have had for quite some time. I thought he deserved a little more explanation than your post gave. nfmisso said much the same thing you said, but also took the time to answer the question the guy asked. No biggie… I just thought your response was a little harsh.
[:)]
thank’s for the help.
to gmtracing a special thank’sfor the .i will try that.
dbeckett
Here is another thought to chew on. Perhaps this (these) locos are a keepsake from a deceased family member. I have a Tyco C430 that fits in that boat, and if it quits running, I will try to fix it, at the worst it will get repowered and no more. I know there are better looking and running locos out there, but I want to keep that C430! Not everything is about having the best, sometimes it’s about having what you want!
Having said that, I may have a few of the Tyco parts you need, then again I may not. If nothing is truly broken, the Loctite suggestion sounds like the best way to go. If you can get me a description of what you need, I will look through my spare parts and see what I can do.
I have several very special old steam locos that were given to me by my 91 year old Father in Law when he got rid of his 4’ x 8’ layout some 25 years ago. They will be a part of my collection as long as I live. They don’t run well (some not at all) have the old style wheels that won’t do well on the code 70 or 83 track that I use, and are not worth converting to DCC. They will occupy a special statis on the layout (A non powered track near the roundhouse and will be kept on display. I much prefer to use my new models for running trains. As has been said, there are many reasons why someone may want to keep a particular loco and get it to run well.
DBecket,
Here is couple of thoughts that might help.
I have one of the Spirit of 76’ TYCO engines that were pretty rare. It was the ALCO highnose C630, it was one of my favrotie engines as a kid and have rebuilt so could jeep running it along with the others.
- Hit up train shows or swap meets for extras. I have found that the motors usually burn up or go bad, but you should be able to find replacement gears easy enough, I bought one so I could get new handrails to replace the ones I broke off as kiddo. NIce thing, TYCO engines are pretty cheap.
*I found that my motor was beyond repair, so I went another route. I admit, the fit is a bit off, but to the none trained eye, (i.e. anyone who is not a prototype trainnut) you cant tell. I bought a Athern Blux Box U-30 and used that for the new frame. I had to make a few scrapes on the TYCO shell (aftter I gutten the insdies) but it slipped on over the Athern frame and BINGO! I had my Spirit pulling around the track once aigain. Might be a possiboity. Wordof caution though, everyone at the hobby shops said my ideas wa snut and wouldnt work. Well, I had my poject doen in less than 10 minutes.
Good luck with yours…
Best Regards
Johnk
thank’s guys i will try some of those ideals
There hasn’t been a thread here yet where a member asked a question about fixing a Tyco locomotive where the immediate response by a few hasn’t been a harsh or rude reply, ignoring their question completely.
Granted, the locos may be strictly bottom shelf, entry level and of little long-lasting quality, but there are any number of reasons why the member wants or has to keep or use them. As it’s been pointed out above, and nearly every time this question is raised and the boors jump out of the woodwork, not everyone can afford to trash what they have and “buy a P2K.”
This forum is like a sandbox where the new kid can’t play because he doesn’t have the right toys.
Wayne
dbeckett,
I was glad to see some helpful suggestions from GMTRacing on repairing the slipping gear., and canazar suggesting swap meets for spare parts, or even another drive mechanism. Another source for Tyco parts is Ebay - a good running (or even new) Tyco loco can be had for $15 shipped most weeks if you’re patient. Make sure it’s the correct vintage motor to match the one that you have already, then swap as many parts in as needed to fix the problem (or the whole drive mechanism if appropriate). Sometimes tinkering can be fun, and it doesn’t need to be a collectible or latest technology hardware to make it a satisfying experience. I’m assuming that you already knew you could go to the store and buy a new locomtive for X dollars, but were choosing to work on this one for your own reasons - that’s good enough for me.