Re-attaching a Motor Truck

Do you have the old mounting tab????   You might be able to tap it in with a hammer and super glue it in place...  Do you need a replacement truck, if so I have several that are about new, you might have to change out the side frames, they are screw mounted...

Marty

Yep, the mounting tab is there--still held to frame via the speed nut. Also nothing looks broken--it just looks like it came out. I also think the truck seems otherwise fine. I thought about glue but worry it is very likely going to get in some other areas and might prevent me from taking apart truck if I need to.

Do you (or anyone) know how these  locator tabs are originally mounted in the truck?

I attached a PDF I found online for the exploded view of the locomotive (unfortunately trucks are not exploded).

Thanks for all / any help!

I thought I saw a post about looking for an exploded view of the motor truck on Lionel.com but now it is not here any more. Anyway, have looked for the motor truck exploded view but it does not seem to exist. Also unless there is a screw that I am missing it simply looks like this locator tab is stuck down in the slot so the method of affixing it may not be obvious in an exploded view. Hoping someone has experience re-attaching these.

I found the exploded view of the SD40 truck. It does not show any mounting hardware for the tab that I can see. Suppose it's just a press fit. I have an engine with a locator tab pulled out like that, and I have been running it anyway--I just dropped the tab back into its hole, and placed the engine on the track. Have to remember to pick it up by the trucks tho! Since the whole drive train is contained in the truck, I don't think it hurts anything if there is a little extra slop between the truck and the cab assembly. Maybe next time I lube it, I will try to sneak a little JB Weld down the slot where the tab seats.

These exploded views are super-useful. They can be downloaded here (the drop-down menu under Product Supplements): https://www.lionelsupport.com/service-documents/

Nos. 1-9 cover the entire MPC era. Trucks are in a separate section at the back.

The locator tab is definitely a friction (press) fit into the truck frame.

TRW

Awesome - Thanks very much everyone. Just wanted to make sure that I was not missing anything. I have not even checked the engine yet since I was worried about running it the way it is (will go ahead and test it given Nick's post). Also will mess with pressing in the locator tab to see how loose it is (thanks to Nick and TRW). The seller indicated they would repair (and pay for shipping both ways) but if I can fix it and it runs then it eliminates a fair amount of trouble.

Hi Rob M.:  I hate to put a damper on all the advise that has been given, But this SD-40  was one of the early types  of the six-wheel motor truck.  These had their origins with the Milk. Rd. SD-18s.  Those trucks were made of a die-caste material with silver/white metal wheels,  and their mounting studs were actually caste as part of the basic motor frame. 

          They were later modified for mag-na-traction still with the cast-in mounting studs.  A later version, I think it was the Erie-Lackawanna, had a metal, stamped stud made that was press-fit into a slot and had a slight crimp over the top to hold it in place. 

          I suspect that the piece that is still in the locos frame is the broken-off cast stud .               

          George Tebolt had a repair part for these broken stud that was a small metal bracket with two screws to mount in place of the broke piece.  If this is your problem, then you might contact him to see if he still has any stock so you can repair yours.

Dennis M.