American Flyer Link Coupler Repair Tutorial

Рет қаралды 11,673

Tim Coe

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 16

@andy41417 5 ай бұрын

Saw video showing hot air solving the problem. May have to repeat that so this technique may be worth it.

@ronaldbeldner9745 7 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for this. I kind of knew what I needed to do to fix this problem on many of my cars but now I see exactly what and how everything needs to be done. Again, thank you for this video. Keeping these 65-70 year old trains running is a lot of fun. RonB, Phoenix, AZ

@Joker3985 Жыл бұрын

Nice demo on how to remove and replace the coupler Do you have any suggestions on how to fix a coupler that droops below horizontal, but otherwise freely moves up and down?

@timcoe6841 Жыл бұрын

It's real easy bend the sheet metal tang that the coupler is attached to upward or downward depending whether too high or to low. Don't use the coupler to bend it. Grasp the coupler where the pin goes through the tang and bend from there . Good luck.

@michaelgmoore5708 8 ай бұрын

I like the realistic closeness of link couplers, so what I do is put pure mineral oil all over the link couplers that don't move. The oil frees them up and it works good. Why use any other method if Gilbert made a great product to work well?

@timcoe6841 8 ай бұрын

Glad that works for you. The stickiness of the couplers is caused by the mold release compound. In some cases it causes mild problems with the couplers and appearance to the car, engine, etc. To remove the mold release many use a hot hair dryer to dissolve it followed by a scrubbing with a warm water solution of a mild dishwashing detergent. This process works with varying degrees of success. In my case I tried numerous methods to remediate the sticky couplers,, i.e., silicone spray, WD40, mineral oil, the aforementioned hair dyer and detergent solution which worked in some cases. I finally resorted to a more permanent resolution as described in my video. Happy railroading and all the best. .

@leverettrailfan5414 7 жыл бұрын

Interesting, most helpful! I have some prewar 3/16" scale American Flyer (also made by Gilbert), just some odds and ends that were covered from roof to wheels in heavy rust, which deoerately needed work, and though its too late now, was unable to figure out how to remove the couplings, which are of the same style as what is in this video. The difference is that the prewar couplers were entirely cast metal, instead of plastwith a weight. At least mine were. However, an issue with some of the Prewar Gilbert stock (the most famous example being the 0-8-0 switcher, of which no original examples are known to have survived without severe metal decay) was badly formulated casting metal, which lead to deformities, and brittle material. My guess is that these couplings were made of brittle metal, hence breaking very easily. I did not abuse them, mind you. I merely tried to move them gently but firmly, as they were frozen in place. If didn't take much, they simply broke off. At first I wanted to avoid this, but I quickly realized that there was no other way I knew of to remove them. It was hard, but I knew that these cars were already so far gone that most would never have even touched them, if not throw them away, so I accepted it and moved on. One of the four cars has been cleaned of rust, it was a Royal Blue coach. Also present are a boxcar of some kind, and a tank car. Apart from colors, there's nothing else I can make out of them, but I'm doing my best to try and save these cars.

@grege6287 7 жыл бұрын

Replacement metal couplers should still be available from AF parts suppliers.