Anybody who owns the Lionel 6-34618 George Bush SD70Ace

Matt,

 

I have the exact same issue with mine as well.  Irritates me to no end.  I just don't want the increased cost of chasing down the MTH version.  I also do not like the fact that I see it for I know it is there and what I first look at when I see the engine.  Others have no clue unless I point it out.

 

Hope you are enjoying the caboose version of this model.

 

David 

You would have thought that would have been caught in pre-inspection before production. Would be pretty obvious during inspection.

 

    Bill T.

It drives me nuts, why did they do that? I gave serious consideration to gluing it on

What does the engine side look like? Is it changed on later road name SD70ACe's? Ours seems to fit flat.

it is not the engine side that has the issue, the inside edges of the radiator have been filed to a 45 degree angle eliminating the friction fit of the radiator on the locomotive causing it to not stay down

I have like 8 lionel SD70Ace's and this is the only one like that

Got it, thanks! Could you put in another magnet?

If nothing works, call Lionel and tell them your dissatisfied with their product and you need this problem to be solved.

Lionel's warranty policy dictates that after 3 years the warranty is void no matter what.

Not sure if this really addresses your concern, but my LHS has one of these engines and I'm not sure what the problem is with yours...

 

Here's the one we have...

 

 

 

Both sides and both ends of the cover.  The fan housing sits flat on the engine.  FWIW.

Hi Charly

 

Your local hobby shop has one. Is it for sale?  If so,would you please advise me?

 

My e-mail is in profile.

 

Would appreciate it much. I would like to find one of those.

 

 

 

Larry

You can't see the gap under the radiator wher it meets the side of the engine? I can see it in your last photo

Matt, the on the MTH SD70Ace you can turn the radiator assembly around either way and it it fits correctly. Can you try turning it around for a better fit?

Doesn't work, the fit is so loose there isn't enough friction to hold it all the way down

I don't have this exact engine, but I have three others and all are the same, and fit correctly, if not even a little tight. Since you have eight others, can you try to mix and match the parts with the others to try and find out what the difference is? Just a thought. 

 

BTW, I did a quick search on google and the few pictures I found don't seem to have this issue. Could this have been done by the former owner?

 

Good luck Matt

 

Charlie

The former owner was Nicholas Smith Trains and the loco was brand new. I just wanted to see if anybody else who owned this loco had the same issue

Matt,

 

Didn't understand at first what gap you were referring to, I see it now.  I am home, but tomorrow I'll have another go.  I didn't notice any gap when taking the shots and the shadows from the flash at the angle I took the above photos masks whether there is/isn't one.  Will repost photos tomorrow

Same issue Matt, I have one and have seen about 6 and all have the same problem. 

 

You can only fit it the best you can, maybe a file here and there to get it to fit snugly. 

Ok, Matt, you are right!  There is a slight gap on this one.

 

 

 

And for comparison I pulled out our Pensy Heritage unit...

 

 

 

However, the gap did not appear until after I pulled the grill for the first time.  After looking things over, it appears that a separate piece that is installed into the grill that locates the grill on the body tabs may be involved.  Here is a shot that I hope shows what I'm talking about.  I think sanding on this inside edge to remove protruding locator pins and excess paint may help.  I can't try it on these engines as they aren't mine...

 

 

 

Also, I was able to minimize gap by squeezing the engine sides as I pushed on the grill...

 

 

 

I don't have a horse in this race, but I hope this is helpful.  I fully understand the frustration.  These are beautiful engines, and I hope this little bump can be smoothed out for you so you can get on to enjoying the engine on your layout.

 

FWIW

Thanks for the tip and I will have to check this when i get home.