New Lionel SD40 coupler problem

I’ve seen things fall off during shipping but this is going to far. That’s hard to take. I hope it’s an easy fix for you. If not I would contact the place of purchase. 

I had the same problem with my Veterans SD60E after picking it up from York.  Luckily, it was fixed and I just received it today.

I am calling Lionel in the morning and getting a return authorization.

Neal Jeter 

This stuff just goes on and on with every new shipment.

Neal

where the couplers repairable locally without going back to Lionel?

Not having a lot of experience disassembling these new engines, I did not want to try.  I don't have a local hobby shop to take them to.

Neal Jeter

Thinking you could have Lionel in Concord repair them. My dealer is expecting mine to arrive next Tuesday. I have asked him to open it and check it out and run it before I pick it up. If problems, he will send back to Lionel. Hope it works out for you.

jim pastorius posted:

This stuff just goes on and on with every new shipment.

This makes MPC stuff look GOOD!

I received both road #’s in Santa Fe from Charles Ro today. Both had couple issues as stated above. Both front couplers were detached from the engine with the screw laying in the box. The wires to the electro couplers were detached also. Both are going back. If you’ve preordered these, have your dealer inspect them before shipping out. 

Wow this isn't good. I just got shipping notice for both my Sante Fe SD40's. I imagine a loose metal coupler flying around isn't great for the paint.

I received my Southern engine today and did not even take it out to  the box.  The rear coupler (short hood end) was broken and just hanging. 

What a huge disappointment!

Don

DGJONES posted:

I received my Southern engine today and did not even take it out to  the box.  The rear coupler (short hood end) was broken and just hanging. 

What a huge disappointment!

Don

Probably just the screw that fell out. If the wires are still attached I would just re tighten it.

Seems they all have a loose screw on the short hood end no matter what. 

Surefire posted:

DGJONES posted:

I received my Southern engine today and did not even take it out to  the box.  The rear coupler (short hood end) was broken and just hanging. 

What a huge disappointment!

Don

Probably just the screw that fell out. If the wires are still attached I would just re tighten it.

Seems they all have a loose screw on the short hood end no matter what. 

The coupler is broken!  The wires are still attached to the coil but the coupler is broken off right where the coil ends and the metal is visible.  Needs a new coupler.

Don

What in the world is going on here? Lionel’s contractor is going to put them right out of business. This is ridiculous.

DGJONES posted:

Surefire posted:

DGJONES posted:

I received my Southern engine today and did not even take it out to  the box.  The rear coupler (short hood end) was broken and just hanging. 

What a huge disappointment!

Don

Probably just the screw that fell out. If the wires are still attached I would just re tighten it.

Seems they all have a loose screw on the short hood end no matter what. 

The coupler is broken!  The wires are still attached to the coil but the coupler is broken off right where the coil ends and the metal is visible.  Needs a new coupler.

Don

Sorry to hear it. 

Disappointing for sure

I got an RA and shipped mine back to Lionel.  They are supposed to arrive at Lionel tomorrow.  Hopefully this will be a quick turn around.

Neal Jeter

waiting to hear from dealer for my Southern unit

So I received my 3 units today (1 Southern & 2 Santa Fe). I did not take them out of the box because I did not have time, but I did open them up and look at them because all the problems mentioned here. The Southern & 1 Santa Fe unit looked fine and I sorta wiggled the couplers and they seemed attached and ok. The other Santa Fe unit has a droopy coupler but is still attached. How do you tighten the coupler up? May have time to mess with them this weekend.

Blue Streak posted:

So I received my 3 units today (1 Southern & 2 Santa Fe). I did not take them out of the box because I did not have time, but I did open them up and look at them because all the problems mentioned here. The Southern & 1 Santa Fe unit looked fine and I sorta wiggled the couplers and they seemed attached and ok. The other Santa Fe unit has a droopy coupler but is still attached. How do you tighten the coupler up? May have time to mess with them this weekend.

There is a small phillips screw on the bottom of the coupler 

My dealer inspected my unit. It had broken couplers , loose screws, broken detail parts and several paint blemishes . so back it went. I had asked him to inspect it when it arrived and test run it. They never got to the test run part.

Lionel returned the engines to me on Friday.  The couplers are fixed and everything runs fine.

Neal Jeter

Guys, when you get yours and the couplers are in place, hit the screw that holds the coupler to the frame with a screwdriver.   

Got both of mine on Friday.  Union Pacific's. One was perfect.  The other I spent a half hour repairing the coupler and resoldering the leads then I noticed the cab was shattered along its front face. Driving back to LHS to swap one out. Cleary this one was dropped during shipping. 

Good news is the sounds are fantastic.  And the sick cow horn is gone!