Kato GS4 driver depot repair.

[victor miranda]

I have decided to try something for the community
and perhaps make enough coin to buy a cup of coffee.
I do not intend to lose money shipping axles.
this offer is intended for Railwire members.

Kato has made new axle sets for their GS4
I strongly recommend anyone who has one to replace
the geared driver if not the rest.

the #4 driver of the set has a problem best resolved
by putting a pair of collars on the old style axle.

a depot repair is repaired items are sitting on the shelf ready to go
once the old parts are sent in for repair
the repaired item on the shelf is sent out.
this allows me to save up and run a batch... I expect once a month.

I can do that work and it takes some time to
set up the lathe and cut and make collars etc.
and then all the quartering and gluing
this is not all that hard But is it best done in a batch
of 20 to 40 at a time.

what I want to do is buy about 40 axles (10 complete sets)
I am willing to pay a buck an axle set and the 2.50 us postage to get them to me.


If you send a set and want just the #4 axle
with the other 3 axles as trade I'll do that too
for the first 10. you'll have to pay the postage both ways.

after I get them collared

I'll make another post and we can start trading them.
I'm thinking 2.50 an axle plus the old one in trade.
did I mention plus postage?

I am expecting to do a total of a hundred locos.

If I get buried with requests I'll up the price.
or I'll call off the deal.

I am not expecting either to happen.

[mmagliaro]

I'll send you my extra sets of GS4 drivers (the ones I've been pulling out of repaired engines).

[victor miranda]

let me know the postage I'll pay that also.

[peteski]

It doesn't seem very clear to me.  But I often have a problem comprehending things. Will you be installing sleeves on the cracked axle tubes or over pristine unbroken ones?  I sure hope it is the later.

[victor miranda]

Hi peteski,

I am thinking my first post was nothing like clear...
more or less, I don't  think you are alone in your out look.

I am willing to put collars onto cracked (and not cracked) axles.

I want to do them in batches, less time per axle.

I have to get a batch together first.

the reality here is that every Kato gs-4 owner should
get the replacement set from Kato.

the problem is the 4th axle, so I was trying to offer a low cost solution.

... send me your unwanted. broken axles and for a low price I'll sent you a fixed axle(s)

something like that.

victor

[peteski]

Putting a collar on a already-cracked axle doesn't seem like a good solution.  You can never get it as tight as the unbroken one. This will make it easier for the axles to slip and for the drivers to get out of quarter.  Especially if roughly handled (which might be the reason those cracked in the first place.

However installing a metal sleeve on an undamaged axle tube is an excellent idea for strengthening it.

[victor miranda]

Hi peteski,

yuo posted in this thread...
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=29384.0
the axle repaired in that thread was cracked.

the collar and red loc-tite fixes cracked axles.

I trust this repair completely for the non-geared axles.

that geared axle... I have not had any issues with the pair I repaired
I tested them on my loop for all the cars I could fit. and I yanked the throttle around
to try to get it to break.

If you think the KAto gear is good as long as it does not crack,
then this repair will hold.

since better parts are available, I'd recommend using the new geared axle.

victor

[Flagler]

I have 3 GS4 engines. If I buy the replacement set from Kato and install them in the engines will I still have a week link? or willthe GS4 inherent problem be fixed with the new sets.Do the new sets correct the problem?

[mmagliaro]

I have 3 GS4 engines. If I buy the replacement set from Kato and install them in the engines will I still have a week link? or willthe GS4 inherent problem be fixed with the new sets.Do the new sets correct the problem?

The new sets correct "the problem" which is the cracking axle tubes that the original drivers had.

But it introduces its own new set of problems, which have been extensively discussed in these two
threads so far:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=35367.0
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=35636.0

I will state plainly that as far as I'm concerned, you can't just drop in the new drivers.

Some other adjustments, particularly gauging the wheels and
possibly having to make some sort of little part to keep bearings from flopping out of the slots,
particularly on driver #4, may be needed.  On the 5 GS4's on which I have done driver replacements,
3 of them needed a brace (I call this a "U channel") on driver #4, and one even needed it
on driver #2.  All of them had at least one driver (and usually more) that was so narrow in gauge
that the flanges would not physically fit into the NMRA gauge slots.  If that doesn't bother you,
and you run narrow wheels all the time, then you won't have to spread the wheels.  But I know
that on my Atlas code 55 layout, wheels have to at least make it into the slots on the gauge or they
bump through turnouts (and these engines did).

[victor miranda]

Hi Flagler,

the #4 axle may (might, perhaps. maybe, could possibly)
have a problem where the bearing block gets out of the  channel in the frame.

if you have such a problem... use one of the old axles in the #4 slot.
driver axle #1 and #4 are the same.

I strongly recommend you replace the geared driver.
the others are optional as far as I am concerned.
things are easier if you put collars on one axle set and put it in axle slot #4

victor

[peteski]

Hi peteski,

yuo posted in this thread...
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=29384.0
the axle repaired in that thread was cracked.

the collar and red loc-tite fixes cracked axles.

I trust this repair completely for the non-geared axles.

I don't agree. The thread you mentioned shows you repairing the geared axle.  There, the crack is not as severe as on the non-geared axle tubes shown by Max.

 To me installing a metal collar on already-cracked geared axle tube seems like feasible solution.  But not on severely cracked plain axle tube.

I really have to see for myself how bad is the fit on the new bearings.  I'm still not convinced that what Max sees is a norm he just happened to have few GS-4s with not completely molded frames.  I have 2 GS-4s ready for the driver swap.  I just have to give them some time on my workbench. For me it still seems to make sense to just use the new driver set and not bother with repairing the old cracked ones. 

[victor miranda]

won't be the first time you've disagreed...

ok now we get into a discussion about the meaning of 'crack'

It is possible for an axle to have so many cracks that the driver will fall off.
notice the S in that sentence.
... in my experience the collars and loc-tite hold that kind together also.
  you may enjoy hearing that axle didn't go together true.
but it did stay together.
I had to gronk pretty hard on it to get it apart.

so the cracks and reaming that resulted from from the failure
may keep the axle from service,  that ain't the same as the collars didn't hold.

in any case send me the old axles from your swap and you can try the collars yourself.

victor

[peteski]

It is possible for an axle to have so many cracks that the driver will fall off.
notice the S in that sentence.

... in my experience the collars and loc-tite hold that kind together also.
  you may enjoy hearing that axle didn't go together true.
but it did stay together.
I had to gronk pretty hard on it to get it apart.

We could now discuss the meaning of "hold".    Whether hold means bulletproof-reliable or just "hold".  I see that we're not going to get anywhere soon in this discussion.  I concede.