Need Advice: Mechanical Repair of Lionel JLC Hudson #8210

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16413...B1SWTYMaAg6vEALw_wcB

Jon

That "outside black piece" is called the eccentric crank.

It can go one one of two ways. Make sure you mount it so that the arm is close to the center/axle of the drive wheel, not pointing away from the axle.

When you put the long screw into the eccentric crank, paint the threads with clear fingernail polish. That will keep the screw from getting loose, but you will still be able to remove the screw when you want to do so.

Thanks very much for that information.

Yet, here is my installation problem.

If you take a look at the linkage set on Ebay that KoolJock pointed us to, you will see that the linkage at the bottom of the picture is what I need.   I would love to buy that and simply install it.

Attaching the linkage to the center wheel is easy.  The eccentric crank gets attached by a nice phillips head screw.

But, if you take a look at the other end of the linkage, you will see that it has fairly large round hole.   This end gets attached to the frame/motor unit by what looks like a large pin with a really large round head.   Here is a picture of my engine, showing the top of the linkage attached.  The big round head is in the center of the picture:

No problem, you might say.  Just pull out that pin.

But the problem is, that the pin isn't really a pin.   It looks for all of the world like a 4 penny nail.   This "nail" goes through the hole in the top of the linkage, and then through two holes in metal housings, and then comes out the back, inside of the housings.     What keeps the nail from pulling out?   A nut? A c-clamp?  Nope.  The end of the nail is bent sideways at a 45 degree angle.  Here is a picture.  You can see the nail as it comes through the housings, with the bend on the end.  (You can also see the nail that comes in from the other side of the engine, which holds the linkage on that side).

Sorry to say, that there is no possible way to pull or maneuver these nails out with the 45 degree bend holding them in.   I thought perhaps that they were made of soft aluminum, and that for the one I have to pull, I could just bend the end straight with a set of needle nose pliers and pull it out.  No way.  It seems to be strong steel and will not bend with the pliers.

So, there is my problem.    I can't get the nail out.

I can (maybe) cut the back of the nail off, flush with housing, using a dremel wheel, but I cringe at thinking about all of the metal filings and dust falling into the unit.       

Does anybody have any ideas?     Does anybody have a parts list, showing the big headed pin?   I would be interested in knowing if the part is a straight pin, and the installer then has to bend the back of it. 

If I can somehow cut and get this pin out, I guess I could replace it with a 4 penny aluminum nail.   The end of the aluminum nail should not be too hard to bend.

Thanks for all ideas and information.

Mannyrock

Well, although I could not find these pins on any parts diagram, it appears that they are called Aluminum Valve Pins 2056.  Lots of aftermarket replacements, that say they are hardened and not easy to bend.  But, found a set of original Lionel aluminum pins on Ebay and will try to buy them.

So, I think I got my parts lined up.

Any idea how to cut off the inside of the existing pin?

Thanks,

Mannyrock

Use a good pair of sidecutter ( Dyke ) pliars. You should be able to just reach in there and cut them off. It works with rivets

Thanks Hclark.  I have a pair and will try it.  (Those pins are pretty thick though.)

Well, I tried cutting the end of the pin off with my diagonal cutters. Problem is, that the cutting edges of the pliers are not totally flush with the outer edge of the side of the pliers.  The cutting edges are sharpened or cast slightly inward, at an angle,  and therefore will not cut 100% flush with the outside edge of the tool.

So, using great hand strength (ouch!) I was able to snip the pin off, but it left about an eighth of an inch of the bent pin remaining on inside of the frame.

I think I will try putting a strip of masking tape inside of the frame, sticky side up, to catch metal flecks, and try using a dremel tool with cutting wheel to cut off that remaining protrusion.  Seems like there will be enough room to fit the round cutting wheel inside of the frame to do the cutting.

Thanks,

Mannyrock

Update:

The space inside the frame was plenty large enough for the dremel wheel to cut the inside of the pin off flush with the frame.  Pin pulled out easily.    The strip of upside down tape that I placed in the bottom of the frame picked up most of the aluminum dust, and my Shopvac picked up the rest.   (Had to be careful with the Shopvac though, because the suction is strong enough to rip off wire connections and small floating parts.)

My replacement parts will be delivered this week.

Thanks again for all advice.

Mannyrock