Buy or ‘rent’ wheel puller for lionel 736 drivers

I don't lend out my tools, but if you ship the chassis, I'd be able to pull them. If you don't find one to do the job yourself, let me know.

My weapon of choice is the Timko Wheel Puller.

I've used a faucet handle puller.

About $15

My local Ace Hardware had teh faucet puller for about $9.00.    

John, I see you finally pulled the trigger on the Timko. I love mine and it comes in really handy 

I've used a faucet handle pullers to remove stuck faucet handles. Works great!
Mine looks like it would do a good job on standard gauge, and probably prewar tinplate "O" gauge.
IMHO, the jaws are too thick for postwar "0" gauge and late prewar "O" gauge with die cast bodies.
Would the jaws be strong enough to hold up after being ground down to fit?

I am guessing the Timko wheel puller is somewhere around fifty dollars.
What is the locomotive worth?

I think it was kind of John to offer to pull the wheels.
What would the shipping be to send the chassis back and forth?
I think you'd be a good way towards the price of the puller.

Matt Makens posted:

John, I see you finally pulled the trigger on the Timko. I love mine and it comes in really handy 

Yep, it's a quality tool, and I like the fact that I have two push rods, one for motor flywheels and the other beefier one for locomotive wheels.  So far I've mostly used the flywheel puller, but I did pull a set of wheels off a diesel, worked like a champ.

Port Lines (portlines.com) offers a similar puller and will rent:

I used some Lionel wheel puller to remove a faucet!

Just want to point out, if you pull the wheel off, you might be looking for a way to put that wheel back on in the future.

You might try your vise. You also might snap the axle. Don't ask how I know.

You will probably need a wheel press to put it back on.

I did not have good luck with the TIMKO puller.

One side (facing wheel)  of the flat "dime" shaped flat surface bent and broke off.

Possibly some bad metal.  It was only about the second time I used it.

I had owned if for quite some time before use so a return without receipt I figured would not yield any results.

I notice on the faucet puller in the pic that the area where mine broke is spot welded most likely to reinforce this potential weak area.

Dave

One side (facing wheel)  of the flat "dime" shaped flat surface bent and broke off.

Sorry, but i gotta ask: what wheel were you pulling?

I recently broke the jaw of my Lionel wheel puller trying to dismount a drive wheel from a postwar Lionel 2360 GG-1. 

Can't remember CW but it was a stubborn engine wheel.

I drew a mark on the area where it broke off.  That plate is only 1/16 of an inch thick.  Always thought it should have been twice that.

I disposed of the broken part.  I kept the remainder for other purposes.

I'd guess that you could get a replacement from Timko for a very reasonable price, provided you let him know it broke.

It is very common to find the postwar Lionel wheel pullers, ST-301 and ST-311 with broken jaws.
Early MPC pullers were made the same way.

In the 1980's Modern era Lionel really beefed up the jaws, I don't think I've ever seen a broken jaw, but that thickness comes with a price. They are too thick for many applications.
So Lionel went back to a thinner jaw, but made it much wider. These wider ones rarely break.