How to remove Menards trucks from flatcar.

You are correct, they are not screwed on.  It's a drive-in pin that's knurled on the shank, and it's quite a tight fit in the plastic.  I am surprised the plastic doesn't crack when they press them in at the factory.

You can pry the trucks off with a couple of flat-bladed screw drivers, or miniature pry bars like tack pullers, etc.  You'll have to work the bars in carefully between the truck and the plastic car body, and carefully twist or pry until the pin starts coming loose.  "Careful" is the key work, so you don't dent or break the plastic body.  Some thin pieces of sheet metal slipped between the truck and the frame may also help protect the plastic while you're prying and/or twisting, but I haven't used any sheet metal protectors on anything I've done yet.

I have also successfully reinstalled trucks and pins after pulling them apart from the cars.  That takes equal parts of a little knack, a little know-how, and a little luck.  And definitely not for the ham-handed.  Or, if you figure out how they do it at the factory, then you can do a little disassembly and reassembly on the trucks to get them pinned on much easier.  But you can only do this a few times before you start breaking off the little sheet metal tabs that you have to bend and re-bend.  

Thanks for the info Mr. Freight!  I will look at it again and see if it is worth working on.  

Nortonville Phil posted:

Thanks for the info Mr. Freight!  I will look at it again and see if it is worth working on.  

You're welcome.  And it's worth working on.  That way, you'll know how to do it. 

 Nortonville Phil,

if you have access to a small or low speed drill press, drill the center of the pen. This will weaken the pen and make it easier to pry out as instructed above. Obviously, you will not be able to reuse the pen.  If the pin is large enough, you could drill the pen and possibly use a screw extractor to back the pen out without damaging the plastic. 

Rick of the Gap. 

Rick Bivins posted:

 Nortonville Phil,

if you have access to a small or low speed drill press, drill the center of the pen. This will weaken the pen and make it easier to pry out as instructed above. Obviously, you will not be able to reuse the pen.  If the pin is large enough, you could drill the pen and possibly use a screw extractor to back the pen out without damaging the plastic. 

Rick of the Gap. 

Sorry Rick, but you obviously don't own any Menard's freight cars.  The pressed-in pins are pretty much hidden from sight to start with.  By the time you figure out how to expose the pin so you can get at it with a drill, you may as well have pried the truck off as I suggested.  And if you do get to the point where you can get on it with a drill, you will probably ruin the plastic anyway if you start drilling.

Trust me, prying the trucks off is the only way to go.  Not too tough to do, just have to be careful is all. 

Thank you. I pryed 2 flatcar trucks off last night and used the small screwdriver to press the pins back in. Tricky but it worked.