Any Legacy GP-38 owners out there??? Question.

Often times fluid gets trapped in these dual outlet funnels blocking the output. When I fill this type of unit I fill only the stack closest to the smoke unit opening. Then I cover the opposite hole and gently blow into the fllled stack.

I try to do a "night before " fill to give the smoke fluid plenty of time to get down into the wicking

RickO posted:

Often times fluid gets trapped in these dual outlet funnels blocking the output. When I fill this type of unit I fill only the stack closest to the smoke unit opening. Then I cover the opposite hole and gently blow into the fllled stack.

I try to do a "night before " fill to give the smoke fluid plenty of time to get down into the wicking

Rick - I am completely familiar with what you are saying. With this particular engine I did not add fluid to funnel, but right into the smoke unit when the top was off. The funnel is clear, but restrictive, IMHO.

I almost wonder if when the funnel was glued to the roof if it didn't add to the restriction. I'm tempted to take it apart, but I don't want to destroy it either.

Jeff, I bought 2 of these exact same engines in the past month or so.  Coincidentally, I also had an issue with the smoke unit on one of them: however, it was due to burned-up/dried-out wicking material.

Similar to what RickO stated, I found that the wicking material really needs to soak up the smoke fluid before these engines will smoke...and even then neither of the two engines is a "super smoker" by any means.  I'm ok with that, however, seeing how they're diesels!

My one thought is the seal between the smoke unit and the funnel.  Is it lining up and seating correctly and tightly?  If not, then some of the smoke may be escaping before it even gets to the funnel and stacks.

It's hard to tell from the picture,is there a stem that fits in the smoke unit or does it just sit flush?  Is the black dot the hole,looks awful small if it is. The other thing I wonder about is when the funnel and smoke are together is it possible it's so close that it restricts air getting to the inlet.

Doug

Jeff T posted:

I almost wonder if when the funnel was glued to the roof if it didn't add to the restriction. I'm tempted to take it apart, but I don't want to destroy it either.

It looks like its glued on with hot glue, or silicone?? Maybe with an exacto knife/ razor and a lttle care you can release the funnel from the roof.

Maybe theres some excess glue blocking one or both outlets?

Funnels on these types of diesels used to be seperate with a foam rubber gasket between the roof and the funnel. They could get a bit messy at times ( maybe why the design change) but were more servicable.

joeyA posted:

Jeff, I bought 2 of these exact same engines in the past month or so.  Coincidentally, I also had an issue with the smoke unit on one of them: however, it was due to burned-up/dried-out wicking material.

Similar to what RickO stated, I found that the wicking material really needs to soak up the smoke fluid before these engines will smoke...and even then neither of the two engines is a "super smoker" by any means.  I'm ok with that, however, seeing how they're diesels!

My one thought is the seal between the smoke unit and the funnel.  Is it lining up and seating correctly and tightly?  If not, then some of the smoke may be escaping before it even gets to the funnel and stacks.

Joey - The wicking in mine was new. I filled it with the top of the smoke unit off and really saturated it. I ran the engine without the roof on and it almost smoked me out of the basement in 10 minutes or so.

I then reattached everything and ran it as Lionel intended. Smoke was light at best. After a few minutes I popped off the roof to see if smoke leaking inside the engine due to a poor seal, not the case. I think it just due to the lack of area for the exhaust to escape. 

trnluvr posted:

It's hard to tell from the picture,is there a stem that fits in the smoke unit or does it just sit flush?  Is the black dot the hole,looks awful small if it is. The other thing I wonder about is when the funnel and smoke are together is it possible it's so close that it restricts air getting to the inlet.

Doug

Doug - There is a small nib on the bottom side of the funnel that fits into the smoke unit to align the two together. The diameter of the hole allowing the smoke to escape is a tad smaller than an 1/8". I think that is the biggest issue.

You might try drilling out the hole at the base of the funnel a bit.

RickO posted:

Jeff T posted:

I almost wonder if when the funnel was glued to the roof if it didn't add to the restriction. I'm tempted to take it apart, but I don't want to destroy it either.

It looks like its glued on with hot glue, or silicone?? Maybe with an exacto knife/ razor and a little care you can release the funnel from the roof.

Maybe there's some excess glue blocking one or both outlets?

Funnels on these types of diesels used to be separate with a foam rubber gasket between the roof and the funnel. They could get a bit messy at times ( maybe why the design change) but were more serviceable.

After a long look the restriction is the tiny hole in the funnel where the smoke escapes. The hole in the funnel is 3/64" in diameter and the hole in the smoke unit is 5/32". (The funnel hole is 1/3 the diameter of the smoke unit output hole) I think that restriction is the primary cause and then the funnel just makes it worse especially when you can't see what adhesive might further be blocking the passages.

Not that it matters as far as a solution, perhaps, but weren't these GP-38s originally K-Line engines that Lionel took over during that interim period? Lionel may not have changed the smoke unit design from the original K-line version. There may be some information around on solutions to K-Line smoke issues.