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I recently received two of Nick's Mallets for DCS conversion and one of the things he asked me to do extra was to make sure each drivetrain ran correctly and smoothly. All four drivetrains needed work to get them smoothed out but came up with this idea to resolve the binding... Ovaling out the connecting rod holes. Because the power is transfered via the inside gearboxes and flywheels, opening up the rod holes some is of no consequence and has no impact on running characteristics.
Using this new method took what was originally a many hour process of heating screwdriver tips with torches to loosen screws, cleaning axle ends, etc into a fairly short task.
I did a write-up on my website in case anyone is interested to share what I did. This will be the way I resolve driveline binds on Aristocraft steamers from now on.
I will add to those who feel running them to "break them in" will resolve the issue, if you have drivers out of quarter, the only way it will fix itself is for the driver to turn on the axle some so it's not binding. Once it turns you are well on your way to that driver working completely loose on the axle and locking the drivetrain as some have reported happening here. I would HIGHLY suggest that you FIX the binding FIRST then run the engine. Also, if you resolve any binds you should be lowering the chance significantly that you will ever have a driver come loose in the future.
See the "Drivers out of quarter fix" link under the Aristocraft Mallet section.
http://www.rayman4449.dynip.com/gardenrr_mods.htm
I will also add that I've found it's necessary to add ONE - 5/16" nylon washer (from Home Depot) behind each of the #1 drivers on each engine set. This limits the side to side swing of the motorblock on the axles and eliminates another issue these engines have which is the a tinking sound which is the rod pin impacting the main rod as the engine runs. (I don't recall which driver this occurs on off hand I think it's driver #2) This is another one of those issues that is asking for trouble of a spun driver or worse. Adding this washer does not affect it's ability to take the posted 8ft minimum diameter curves as I've tested it.
Raymond
Using this new method took what was originally a many hour process of heating screwdriver tips with torches to loosen screws, cleaning axle ends, etc into a fairly short task.
I did a write-up on my website in case anyone is interested to share what I did. This will be the way I resolve driveline binds on Aristocraft steamers from now on.
I will add to those who feel running them to "break them in" will resolve the issue, if you have drivers out of quarter, the only way it will fix itself is for the driver to turn on the axle some so it's not binding. Once it turns you are well on your way to that driver working completely loose on the axle and locking the drivetrain as some have reported happening here. I would HIGHLY suggest that you FIX the binding FIRST then run the engine. Also, if you resolve any binds you should be lowering the chance significantly that you will ever have a driver come loose in the future.
See the "Drivers out of quarter fix" link under the Aristocraft Mallet section.
http://www.rayman4449.dynip.com/gardenrr_mods.htm
I will also add that I've found it's necessary to add ONE - 5/16" nylon washer (from Home Depot) behind each of the #1 drivers on each engine set. This limits the side to side swing of the motorblock on the axles and eliminates another issue these engines have which is the a tinking sound which is the rod pin impacting the main rod as the engine runs. (I don't recall which driver this occurs on off hand I think it's driver #2) This is another one of those issues that is asking for trouble of a spun driver or worse. Adding this washer does not affect it's ability to take the posted 8ft minimum diameter curves as I've tested it.
Raymond