Hmmmmm…
So, with the loco on its back in the cradle, the growl is absent. When I place it upright on the track, the growl returns, not as bad as before, but still present.
I’m going to get out the solder iron, and this time, push down on the motor. Ray Man did not mention that. I will prevail.
Yep, ya gotta trust me Steve… Press firmly and hold until solder hardens… it will take a lot of heat, so it will take a few seconds to cool…
I tried putting a better explanation on my page I linked.
What kind of iron do you have? Hopefully hot and good wattage and a slender chisel tip. I see Raymond used one of the old school transformer type soldering guns, a Weller it appeared. A good choice for a lot of heat, but not real controllable.
Also, some early motor blocks did not have the cutouts behind the wheels I believe.
Best luck to you Steve,
Greg
I’ve got a Weller, 100/140 Watts, with a chisel tip.
This loco was mfg in 2003. What do I look for to see the cutouts, or are they what Ted used?
Yep, they are behind the wheels, and they are what Ted used and what I use. I do believe I have seen a motor block where you could not see these connections from the side…
Same as the picture below.
Greg
Rather than disassemble the block, I’m going to try Day’s approach. Disassembly is last option.
Ray’s approach removes the bottom cover also. All I am saying I prefer to solder from the side, by removing the center wheels.
Pressing down on the motor with my fingers right next to the soldering iron is not my idea of “safe”
Greg
wait… have you not removed the motor block from the A frame!!!
No, I just read and looked at the pictures.
Well, no wonder it did not work completely, he heats it up and hopes it is in better alignment.
And he had to do it twice. Oops, make that 3 times.
And he did not wait long enough for the solder to cool between joints.
Other than that, and the fact when I did it it worked the first time, no difference in methods.
My theory is that the motors were not exactly square with the gearboxes, so by applying pressure while re-melting the solder, you use the motor block and the pressure to align the motors. Ray’s hit and miss may eventually work, but I’ll bet you that he’s also melted part of the gearbox the way he’s getting in there.
Now I understand why you have to keep doing it, because you have no reference of aligning the motor.
Greg
He did it 3 times?
Steve even if you do disassemble You may have a hard time. If you look at the side pic. that Greg posted there are nice wide slots to get a soldering gun in there. But on my first gen. 45 there was no slot at all.
Richard
Richard, this SD45 was built in 2003. Does that make it 1st or 2nd generation?
OK, is it possible to gain access as Gregg recommends, to the side of the block, without removing the block from the locomotive?
Steve, it is incredibly easy to remove the block, it comes out as a unit by removing 4 screws:
See the 2 tabs on the near side with the screws still in them? It just pops off… remember the direction it was installed in, see the arrow on top?
Greg
The arrow points to the front, or to the nearby coupler?
How hard is it to get the wheels off. Is there Locktite involved? IIRC, Aristo slathered Locktite on everything.
Steve Featherkile said:
Richard, this SD45 was built in 2003. Does that make it 1st or 2nd generation?
Steve sorry at a show for no answer. I do not know if 1st or 2nd. gen. The reason I said that ,is this not the same loc. with 1st. gen wire? Also you did not say if you can see the slot or not. Just to be safe I would put a piece of masking tape on coupler end, first gen. has no arrow or stud. 2nd if you look opposite end to arrow you also see a stud that can only go in one way. there is only one hole where the motor block goes. as far as the wheel goes coming off there is a lot of different things I have seen locate on the new stuff not the older stuff. as far as the wheel coming off I have been able to just twist off but most time I have used a puller.
Richard
Steve, back the screw out a bit, just a tiny bit so it’s loose, then leaving the screwdriver in the screw, hold the wheel in you hands and rap the screwdriver end with a hammer.
99% of the time that will pop the wheel loose.
Keeping the most threads engaged avoids damaging the screw threads
Leaving the screw on means the motor block and/or the wheel don’t go sailing across the room.
Some people pop the wheel off by putting 2 screwdrivers between the motor block and the wheel, but you can risk a chance of bending the axle or ripping the axle loose from the gear inside.
I’ve never seen locktite on the diesels, since if they slip a bit, no harm no foul, as opposed to the steamers where they destroy the rod gear.
a puller will work too, but sometimes the jaws are too big to get between the wheel and the block.
Greg
OK, so I’ve followed Ted’s and Greg’s suggestions. The wheels came off easily, with just a slight tap via Phillips screwdriver to the screw head.
I went in from the side and heated the joints, while applying pressure to the middle of the motors. The problem block now is fixed, but with it quieted down, I noticed a growl in the other block. Tried to fix it. Seem to have failed. Now, the second block starts after the first repaired block, and runs slower. That was not an issue, before. I removed the grease that Greg suggested in his notes on his website. That improved the situation, somewhat, but did not repair it.
Now what? Do I try again with the soldering iron? Since I don’t know where things are binding, I’m reluctant to go in, blindly.
Ideas?