I need some input regarding the two truck shay. I’ve just purchased a new two truck shay and have read about the problems with the original trucks. Are the replacement diecast trucks a major improvement? Did all of the original two truck shays have problems with the trucks?
Thank you in advance.
George in Maine
Well, later plastic trucks were a WHOLE lot better than the early ones.
Flip the Shay over.
How many screws hold the bottom covers on?
If 8, you need new trucks.
Period.
If 6, we need to dig deeper.
If 4, they’re metal.
There are six.
Curmudgeon said:
Well, later plastic trucks were a WHOLE lot better than the early ones. Flip the Shay over. How many screws hold the bottom covers on? If 8, you need new trucks. Period.If 6, we need to dig deeper.
If 4, they’re metal.
Okay.
This can be good or bad.
Step one, look at the non-geared driver (without the bevel gear on the outside).
See the screw holding the wheel to the axle?
Look for a flatwasher under the screw.
If a blackened small washer, barely larger than the screw head, it does NOT have washer kits, and will have failed plastic washers and/or bushings.
If the washer is gold or silver, and as big as the collar on the plastic bushing the screw fits through, it has washer kits, and we go deeper.
The pickups are upgraded in the later 6-screw trucks (bigger housings, and sleeved, eliminating SOME of the meltdown issues).
This can be determined by removing the bottom cover, and turning the cover over.
If there are 4 squares milled into the cover on the inside, next to the semi-circle pickup tube reliefs, its later plastic, and if the screwholes for the bottom cover are okay (or, at least 4 of the 6), you’re okay.
Thanks so much for the information.
George in Maine
One last bit.
The metal trucks do eliminate housing cracks, but do NOT muffle noise as the plastic units did.
The motors, axles, gears, sideframes, end beams, drivers, are all the same, on all versions.