(New) Atlas GP7 needs mending (out-of-the-box) - Suggestions?

Two out of the three I opened where the same as yours.  I fixed them pretty quickly and very happy otherwise.  I used a very miniscule amount of CA applied with a tooth pick.

Thanks.  I will adopt your CA-toothpick strategy.

The GP7 has always been a favorite, and I think this is a nice model.  Looking forward to seeing it in motion.

Sam

Sam..since this is a topic specifically about an Atlas product, I moved it to the correct forum.

I prefer using RTV, AKA silicone seal.

Super glue never works for me and the fixed part is always fragile.

RTV will hold it, and it will still be removable, plus it will not damage the paint.

you are so lucky, my geep was completely loose from the tank

breaking the airtanks

Atlas had a serious problem with quality control , i think

the screws for it where loose

Cor

I bought three NYC in 2-rail.  Each one had a smoke stack broken off.  I'll try the suggestion of using RTV to reattach them.

My rude awakening was upon opening the O3R DRGW Pwd GP7 unit.  I heard a faint rattle as I removed the display box from the shipping carton.

One of the electrocouplers was 'disassembled'.  The only two loose parts I could find were the inner plunger and the knuckle itself.  Apparently the knuckle rivet had never been staked, and sometime during final assembly, packing, shipping life the coupler fell apart. 

Of course, there was no instruction booklet in either this unit or its unpowered sister as has been mentioned in another thread.

Since I'm unfamiliar with Atlas's coupler design I'm making a judgment that it's similar/identical to Lionel's decades-old construction.  Ergo, I must be missing the plunger spring, knuckle spring, and knuckle rivet.  We'll see what Atlas sez...sent an email.  I'm sure I could get it back together given the missing parts. 

I have a supply of Lionel's knuckle rivets.  I tried it in the hole in the coupler body.   It works fine.  I have plenty of L's knuckle springs, too, but since I have no plunger springs...and I'm not sure they'd match Atlas' design anyway...we'll hope to get both from them...soon.

Always something, eh what?

Interesting cradle system of engine packaging.  The unpowered unit came through A-OK.

KD

Faller 170492 “Expert” plastic cement is the glue you want.  It’s thick enough to stay put, strong enough to get through paint and actually bond, but no so thick that it’s overly visible when it dries.  
Superglue “works” but you risk the telltale white residue and superglue isn’t very shock resistant.  A good whack and it’s off again.
Plastic cement (any of them, tamiya, testors, faller, plastruct, etc….) is the way to go as it will chemically bond the hatch to the roof (or any other plastic to plastic joint).

Excuse me, but how is the inadequate packaging and poor quality control the consumer's problems to fix?

Companies have been packaging locomotives for, I dunno, 40+ years.  Why does this problem still exist today?

Somebody needs to get their act together.  It's 2022 for cryin' out loud.

George

dkdkrd: I don't know if this will help or not, but the parts diagram for the trucks on the O scale GP7 might give you some clues:

O_GP-7_3rail_P3 (atlasrr.com)

There is not a lot of detail offered regarding the couplers, but if Atlas simply sent you one of their 618900 coupler assemblies you might be back up and running.

Parts diagrams are also available for the GP7 chassis and body:

O_GP-7_3rail_P2 (atlasrr.com)

O_GP-7_3rail_P1 (atlasrr.com)

?

I also had to remove, alter, and replace one of the pickup rollers.  The wire that constitutes the spring was over-long, and bound up against the roller - preventing it from any kind of movement - rolling or otherwise.

Better now.

I still have not re-fixed the winterization hatch to the roof.  I may opt for the silicone seal fix suggested above by RoyBoy (thanks, RoyBoy).  Rendering the hatch removable may be a good option to address another issue (having to do with RailSounds or lack thereof) described in this thread:

New Atlas GP7 - How to install battery for 'RailSounds' ? | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum (ogaugerr.com)

As long as we're here, can anyone tell me, what is considered 'correct' (?) behavior for the lights on this unit?  When I run mine in the forward direction, all of the lights on the front are lit, and the lights on the rear blink on-and-off.  If I run in reverse, the aft lights are lit and the lights on the front end are all out.  I don't know if this is proper or not.  And, since I'm running conventionally, I don't have access to any control over the lighting.

One last observation: When I try to enable the horn, I get the bell.  And when I try to enable the bell, I get the horn.  That's all fine, but I thought I would add that to my list of observations.

Hi-Ho,

Sam

@CurlSnout posted:

One last observation: When I try to enable the horn, I get the bell.  And when I try to enable the bell, I get the horn.  That's all fine, but I thought I would add that to my list of observations.

Hi-Ho,

Sam

Sam,

This last one should be easy.  If horn and bell are activated by the opposite buttons when operating in conventional mode simply swap the leads to the track from the transformer (or TPC/Legacy PowerMaster if you're using one of them for applying your power to the track instead of a transformer).

This works because it applies the DC offsets (positive and negative) required to activate horn and bell in the opposite directions.

Mike