MTH Traction Tires and Replacement

I just replaced the blind wheels on a pair of RK ES44ACs. I was able to remove the truck sides without removing the motor, but I had to back out the motor retaining screw far enough to get to the truck side screw that is in the center. I hated the truck overhang because the blind wheels were on one end of the truck, instead of the middle like the Premier trucks. I have all O60 and O72 curves, and the overhang was over one wheel width.

Okay, I tried this.  Is it possible for the motor to rotate or otherwise get out of position?  When I reassembled everything after doing this, the truck was crooked with the coupler end wedged up against the body of the locomotive.  I was able to solve the problem by loosening the motor screw.  Is the motor indexed to some notch or something in the truck or did I just over tighten it?

You don’t have to loosen the truck from the motor.  It will be very hard to reinstall it correctly without pinching wires without removing the shell.  I use two curved dental picks to remove and install the tires without taking off the side frames.  If the side frames are mounted from the bottom, they can easily be removed, if that makes it easier for you.  Replaced hundreds of tires without removing the sideframes.

Tires should last years if kept in a sealed plastic bag.  If they fit tight on the wheel without breaking, they should be good.  Stock up on tires.  Most all diesels use the DE-0000018 tire.

How does one order these tires, by size or model number.   I have a number of MTH locos from the early 2000s, and I need to replace those tires that have spun off.   Thanks in advance!

@RobertE posted:

How does one order these tires, by size or model number.   I have a number of MTH locos from the early 2000s, and I need to replace those tires that have spun off.   Thanks in advance!

#1 become familiar with the resources on the MTH parts and sales website, since they have handy dandy things like a TIRE CHART. https://www.mthpartsandsales.com/

Under helpful stuff and videos category https://www.mthpartsandsales.com/shop/documents

https://www.mthpartsandsales.c...HART_REVISED_ALL.pdf

It's this simple, 99.999999 of all MTH diesel engines- regardless of Railking or Premier, use DE0000018- the universal diesel tire

Got an MTH steam engine and just not sure? Cannot find the listing on the tire chart? Break out your calipers and measure the rim diameter.

There is a range for each tire based on wheel diameter. Edit- note, the snipped below is not the entire chart. Again download the PDF entire tire chart so you have all the info.