Trying To Re-Gauge Wheels On Kato F7B

[BCR751]

I have an older model N-Scale Kato F7B that needs to have all of the wheels re-gauged.  They are all too narrow.  I have a wheel puller but I'm not sure which side of the axle to use.  Is it the gear side or the opposite side?  The axles all have a large plastic covering and I can't tell which is the insulated side.  There are no replacements available so I don't want to wreck these.

Doug

[peteski]

Is this the one before they started using low-friction trucks?  Does it have a 2-piece diecast metal gear case? Like the one used in Atlas/Kato RS-3 and RS-11?



If that's the case then the gear and plastic axles are a single molding and the wheels have hollow axles also turned as single parts. The plastic axle fits into the hollow metal axles. You can  push the the wheels apart slightly, but depending on how much you spread them, they might not be siting tightly enough on the plastic axle.

[nkalanaga]

All of mine were too tight, but they regauged nicely, and have stayed in gauge ever since.  They don't need to be spread much.

[Skeebo]

     This is one of my biggest pet peeves about N scale. Manufacturers can produce a hundred thousand freight and passenger cars in gage but cannot produce a single loco that is. And it's almost always too narrow. Problem with tweaking them into gage is over time they work their way narrow again. So, as long as I was replacing all my older Kato wheelsets with the newer better profile wheelsets, (which incidentally have better metallurgy and stay cleaner longer),  I also decided to put them permanently into gage by inserting a .010 styrene washer.
      The axle on the gear is offset to one side, so I initially wanted to stay away from the gear and put the washer on the other end. This was a mistake as the side frames and power strips center the axle and push the gear against the inside of the truck housing, essentially putting on brakes. I then moved it to the other end of the axle  which released the brakes, but then I notice the axle gear and truck gears don't line up perfectly. I haven't had any problems with this but it bothered me anyway. So I am now retrofitting my units with two .005 styrene washers, one on each end. Problem solved. No brakes, the gearing line's up perfectly and my units stay in gage. 20 units down, 800 to go.......
                  Jim Semikoski