In the picture

0-6-0 Specifics

A view of the driver aperture with dangling rod and valve operator.

The pin. 

I agree that Walthers 'should' have the parts. But when I have called about this issue, since I am in Canada I get tossed to some local support line that seems unwilling to provide any real help. This loco was a special order through my local hobby shop who are quite willing to stay uninvolved. My guess is that the insert in the wheel seen in the upper picture should catch on some flaring on the pin, like some sort of snap ring. And I am unwilling to try and take the other side apart just to see. Probably the factory in China screwed up -- so this may well be a $500 throwaway that I could leave parked in the yard to make noise. Last item of this sort I will buy from Walthers. 

Just a thought: The square

Just a thought: The square hole in the driver suggests that the pin (still retained in the valve gear) may have a matching square shank. That would allow the proper timing to be set up. The larger diameter hole in the main rod would have a sleeve to allow it to rotate freely on the square shank, or it may simply be that its hole is a diameter equal to the diagonal of the square pin. If it were my engine, I'd make sure the main rod would fit and rotate by either of the two means mentioned, then epoxy the pin back into the driver after setting the valve timing. (IIRC, valve timing is usually 90 degrees ahead or behind the crank) If you have to make a bushing, try to use a slippery plastic like delrin. Perhaps some odds and ends from the hobby could be repurposed, like the little bushings to adapt KD couplers in some draft gear boxes. Cleverness will be required, as will the skill and care needed to keep epoxy out of places it doesn't belong. It looks perfectly repairable to me but I'm cheap, so everything looks repairable.

Lou

Glue?

It is hard to tell without actually seeing it in operation, but it looks to me like putting a very tiny amount of ACC on the end of that pin, then sticking it back into place would work. I don't believe the pin should rotate, but the parts around it should, so just be careful not to get any glue on the shoulders of the pin or other moving parts.

Brent

Calgary

So the problem is with the "bolt"

In my last replay I was focused on the black peg just above the "bolt or "peg".  There should be an interference fit of the peg in the driver.  This obviously not the case.  The original intent would likely have a plug that fits in the driver.  This plug would have a square hole in it and the peg would fit into the plug.  Both would have interference fits. 

I would try to add some interference material in the hole. 

1.- A small drop of super glue in the hole would be my first choice.  This has to be done with care because one shot is all you will have.  Make sure the glue will hold virtually any material.  I would use the tip of a sharp "tooth pick like" rod to apply the glue to make sure it is in the hole and not on the wheel sides.   Then push the peg back in the hole with the parts assembled properly.  While the glue is setting, you need to wiggle the linkage to make sure it is not bound by the glue.  This is the kind of job I like Gorilla Super glue for.  It sets up quickly, but not instantly.

2- Short of the glue, you might try the scotch tape approach.  Here you cut a piece of "scotch" like tape just a bit bigger than the hole in the driver wheel.  Then push the peg with the parts assembled properly.  The extra material usually will hold the peg.  This is not as permanent.  Be careful because too much tape and the peg may break. 

What ever you try, good luck,

Larry

Just a thought

Have you tried contacting Walthers through their website and forwarding the pictures to them for advice/guidance?

Scotch Tape

Larry's idea of the scotch tape is a good one. Give that a try and if it runs OK wiht the tape then you can remove the tape and glue it in permanently.

Brent

Another thought

There is a hex head on that pin for a reason. There are likely threads on the side of it that is sticking through the side rod. If there are no threads visible see if the smooth portion will unscrew from the bolt. It may be the bolt is supposed to be loosely tightened so that the rods can revolve around it. The driver next to it also has a similar connection. The best suggestion at this point would be to see what the other side of the loco is doing and see if you are missing a part.

Also this is not meant to be a smartalec comment, have you looked closely at the exploded view pictures on the instructions that came with the engine. I would expect that they should show parts needed to repair the item in question. Another source might be Bowser an advertiser at MRH who might have parts to repair or even improve the Bachmann locomotive.

Rob in Texas

Missing side rod part

If I can toss in my $.02 worth, it looks to me that the crank pin, which is soldered to the eccentric crank, the part that is "dangling" in the picture, needs a nut on the back of the wheel. The crank must be set at the proper angle & then tightened down-- the crank pin must not move in the wheel. Could this nut have fallen out? Have you checked the back of the driver to see if there is a threaded nut of some sort in it? If there is no nut on it, possibly you could find a nut that would fit it (just make sure it clears the frame when the driver rotates), or make something like a nut that would hold it tight in the wheel. Some LocTite thread locker would hold it in but still let you get it apart if you had to. Good luck!

Bob Battles

All good advice but

Paul

His issue maybe with just one person not the whole company. I'm not trying to become a walthers employee and agree with the premise that better service should be available, however I think he is taking the right tack in coming here. The ability to repair something yourself is a great skill to have and will prevent one from being at the mercy of another. It is often cheaper to fix it than to ship it or drive it to someone else to get them to fix it. Maybe a contact at Walthers will see this post and take it upon themselves to take corrective action.

Sometimes a note to the main office will get something done where it was lacking before. And hopefully your contact with the company that was so unhelpful can get something adjusted so as to perform better in the future.

Rob in Texas

I agree

I agree with you Paul

Sad thing is a company as big as Walthers is liable to have the employee that does not measure up to standards. I would think that a responsible company would have an avenue to resolve such things but it does not appear that they do.

Another company that I worked for at one time in years gone by was radio shack. The president of the company was named Charles Tandy. He answered his own phone and it was quite possible for a person to contact him directly if they were displeased with a product or service of that product.

When dealing with a complaint his standard response was "What would you think is fair in the resolution of this issue?" At that point the disgruntled customer often asked for a new item to replace the item with a problem. The next response was after a short delay I will have one at the store xxxxx in 4 days four you to pick up, bring your item and exchange it. The store that was unable to satisfy the customer was charged for the item.

Because of this policy and the fact that it's existence was so widely known among the employees very few problems existed that were not handled at the first sign of trouble. That era I'm sure is long gone as is gasoline for under a dollar per gallon, but it served the company well while he was alive.

It seems that many folks forget the value of good will and how to establish it. There are folks that I buy from that sell certain products because of the service after the sale. I do not shop for these products but buy from them exclusively because of great service they have provided in the past when a problem arose. The issue of saving a dollar or two now is not worth the problem of having to get trouble resolved with new people later.

Rob in Texas

Update

Well, I did take another run at central Walthers and not the Canadian support line -- got a much more helpful response. Essentially, the pin is supposed to be a press fit into the wheel, no fastener on the back. And nothing shows on the disassembly diagram -- which I finally located and scanned into my MR document folder.

Have CA'd the pin in -- used a toothpick to deposit same to the bottom of the hole, then pressed it in. So far, it seems to work. Nice little engine -- power pickups are on the tender so it is fairly forgiving of dead frogs...

Excellent

Good to hear

Sorry about this zombie...

... once again MRH comes to my rescue. I ran into the exact problem described in this thread, but on the Walther's 0-8-0, not the 0-6-0. 

After examining the exploded parts view that came in the box and reassembling the gear repeatedly, followed eventually by repeated failures, I also concluded that a tiny dab of CA would probably be the best solution. I was reluctant to proceed without some sort of confirmation from Walthers but thought I'd start with the easier option of searching the MRH forum. 

Bingo. Great resource, thanks!

Jeff Allen