Dilema Removing a Truck From a Lionel Dash-9 Diesel!

@D500 posted:

The diesel truck above is in a design that I have never seen and must have been from a designer who needs a hobby.

Those were around for a few years in the TMCC era, then they went to slightly more sensible designs.  My question is, who in their right mind takes one of these apart to grease the worm and worm gear, it's a nightmare to lubricate these!   The amazing part is Atlas did a similar design, I guess they were jealous that Lionel had the most obtuse truck design and tried to top it.

I replaced the bad section of that wire and got that truck all back together.  I end up splicing a good section on the original wire.  It ended up a little longer than the original.  The grease in both of the trucks looked pretty good, so I didn’t mess with it.  I don’t think this engine had been run much before I got it.  

Larry

Amazing to see this older thread come back to life. These trucks are truly the gift that keeps on giving!

Anyway, attached is a pdf of an exploded view of these trucks which may help. On it I scribbled the sequence needed to get them apart when I first had this problem. #1 is the nasty little Phillips that has to be accessed from the top thru the slot in the base plate where the roller power wire exits. This releases the power roller from the bottom and the power wire from the top; watch for insulators and don't lose any!

Once that's done you can access screw #2 from the bottom of the truck. That releases the motor mount plate (D plate) from the top of the truck. Then the plate can be removed with the motor. This plate also locates and holds the driven axle in place. Then you can access the #3 motor mount screws to release the motor from the D plate.

The common problem afflicting these trucks is the two #3 motor mount screws can unloosen and drop out, which allows the motor to tilt and the worm doesn't contact the driven gear anymore. I usually put these screws back in with a small dab of Loctite blue so I never have to see them again! Haha.

As was mentioned above watch out for the flat (marked in red) spots in the axle bushings, which have to be installed flat side down on re-assembly of the D plate.

Anyway hope this helps. When you get it back together a fitting reward is a big shot of Bourbon or Scotch!

Rod

Thanks for posting the exploded parts diagram Rod. Saved it for future use......

This design was truly a surprise for me. Good thing we have such talented folks such as yourself on the Forum.

Bob

Thanks, Rod.  I’ll have to print it out to have hand should I need to remove a truck.  When I did the wire repair I, of course, had to take it apart again.  Once back together the motor did not turn the wheels very easily by hand.  I loosened the bottom screw and tightened it not super tight as I had done earlier.  The motor now easily turns the wheels by hand.  

Larry

@PSAP2010 posted:

I loosened the bottom screw and tightened it not super tight as I had done earlier.  The motor now easily turns the wheels by hand.

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but something is wrong.  You should be able to tighten that screw as tight as you like and still have the truck work properly.

I’ll take another look at it, John.   It wasn’t by any means loose after I tightened again.  

Larry

@PSAP2010 posted:

I’ll take another look at it, John.   It wasn’t by any means loose after I tightened again.  

Larry

Larry, two thoughts come to mind. When you assemble the upper D plate onto the main frame the lower end of the motor worm fits into a small bushing. If its not fitting right the motor will bind. You can see the bushing on the blowup drawing.
Also if either one of the driven axle bushings is out of position the axle will bind, which binds the motor. Both bushings must be installed with the flat facing down.

Rod

Thanks, guys!  It sure doesn’t look like it’s seated properly, the sits up higher than the front one.   I’ll take it apart again and make sure the bushing is in its proper place.  Thanks again.

Larry

Good plan.   There's no amount of tightening of that screw that should bind up the motor, there is a metal to metal connection if everything is fitting properly.

Well I took apart and found the bottom bushing upside down.  After attempting several times to get back together I finally managed to get it.  What a PITA!  I got all the wires connected and PS3 up and running.  Some how I managed to bend the frame just ahead of the rear truck.  Both of the rear shell screw posts had broken off.  I tried super glue but they broke again.  Tried epoxy and they both broke.  Last resort is styrene cement.  I thought It would have been a straight forward conversion, lots of room.

Larry

@PSAP2010 posted:

Well I took apart and found the bottom bushing upside down.

Aren't you glad we insisted.

For the posts, stop trying to simply glue them.  What I do is slip some brass tubing over the stubs and fill it with JB-Kwik.  Make sure you also secure the posts to the side of the shell.  When it hardens, put the shell back on and drill a pilot hole where the screw goes.  Take the shell back off and drill a hole for the screw, it should be just slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw, including the threads.

Thanks, John, I appreciate your input!

The two posts are attached to the shell with two screws.  The one piece kind of looks like the letter U with a flat bottom from the front or rear.  One could make one from a piece sheet metal and circuit board standoffs the right length.  

Larry

Not knowing what they look like makes it hard to agree or disagree with the fix.

I’ll post a picture of it tomorrow.  

Larry

Previous post shows the piece and where it is mounted in the shell.  

Larry

I forgot about those types of posts.  I had one that I made a fiberglass base for and then made two posts with brass tubing and JB-KWIK.  I simply screwed the posts on from the base up through the end of the posts.  Then I did what I described earlier for the shell mount.