Oh yeah, this is a hoot!! Poor engineering,

there is a larger screw that mounts the motor to the truck thru the bottom of the truck, remove that, then the truck will drop free and you can shift it side to side without undoing any wires to get to the side frame screws.  Kind of a PITA but it is what it is.  Good luck getting her running for Christmas.  It is possible to walk the tire on without taking off the side frames using small micro screwdrivers to work it on and keep it on while rotating the wheel.  But to me its easier to drop the truck loose and pull the side frame.   Mike

TRACTION TIRE REPLACEMENT

Your locomotive is equipped with two neoprene rubber traction tires on each powered
truck block. While these tires are extremely durable, you may need to replace them at
some point.
First, remove the trucks from the chassis by unscrewing the body mounting screws as
noted in Figure 3. Next, remove the trucks from the chassis by unscrewing the truck
mounting screw also noted in Figure 3. Finally, turn the removed truck over and locate
and remove the truckside screws to gain access to the drive wheel traction tires behind
the trucksides.
Once the truck sides have been removed:
1. Make sure the old tire has been completely removed from the groove in the drive
wheel, using a razor blade or small flathead screwdriver to pry away any remains.
2. Slip the new tire onto the wheel. You may find it useful to use two small flathead
screwdrivers to stretch the tire over the wheel.
3. If you twist the tire while stretching it over the wheel, you will need to remove and
reinstall the tire. Otherwise your engine will wobble while operating.
4. Make sure the tire is fully seated inside the groove. Use a razor blade to trim away any
excess tire that will not seat inside the groove properly.
5. Reassemble in the reverse order.
One set of replacement tires is packaged with your model. Additional sets are available
directly from the M.T.H. Parts Department (order online: www.mth-railking.com,
e-mail: parts@mth-railking.com; mail: 7020 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia MD
21046-1532, FAX: 410-381-6122).

 

ALEX

Greg, I don't have this particular engine, but for these older design MTH trucks, removing the shell, dropping the truck, and removing the side frames was the method the instructions prescribed for changing the tires. The real reason to pull the shell, I always thought, was to ensure the motor is properly seated in the truck on reassembly. I've changed them the way you tried, but since it is not working for you, it probably is worth following through and removing the shell. If all else fails you can unscrew the pick up wires to better manipulate the truck and access the side frame screws. Good luck and Merry Christmas, RM

try some frog snot and you will not need to dismantle your engine.  Hope that helps.  Nick

Thank you all for the rapid feedback. I am back inside from the shop but will revisit this in the morning. Without the engine in front of me, working from memory:

 

1) Mike, the center screw looking at the truck from the bottom, is what I took out to rotate the truck to the side. It will not "drop" due to the wires. It will not rotate far enough to get at either the wire screws or the side plate screws.

AND...I can't get it back on after taking it off. The shaft does not want to go back up, even while rotating the wheels to get the gears to mesh. This was the reason for my original post. Sorry if I mislead you.

 

2) Alex, a great description (though figure 3 would have been nice to have) and sort of leads to why I posted originally...is the answer to attack it from the top. What you posted says to pull the body, then remove the center screw for the truck..the screw I assume Mike was referring to. The rest of your post was not necessary....once I get to the side plates, the rest is a snap.

 

3) Rich, that appears what Alex states, and also answers the question in my orig post...attack from the top.

 

Back to the shop tomorrow to pull the shell, since it appears the running boards on the body keep the screws from being accessible when the center screw is taken out. It did look like without the body, the truck rotated enough with the truck dropped, to allow access to the side frame screws.

 

I have an older PS2 engine. To drop the side frames, you turn the engine over, take out two screws on each side-from the bottom, leaving the wheels exposed. You put on tires, put the side frames and screws back and move on. This SD9 design seems assinine! Screws on top....bad. Screws on the bottom.....good. A big step backwards to me.

 

Thanks greatly again for the posts and the help. Hope tomorrow goes well.

 

Merry Christmas. Greg

Hi Greg I tried to copy and paste more photo's from the MTH site but it wouldn't let me

for some reason. I'll give it another try.

 

Alex

Alex, thank you but don't go to all that trouble. I will know later how it works out, but it appeared that taking the shell off would give that last little bit of room to get to the screws, though I still can not understand why such a stupid design was implemented.

I appreciate your interest and help, Greg

Since this is a repair that needs to be done right away, here might be a quick solution. Cut off the rubber tires and try running it. If it pulls fine you are good for Christmas!

 

 

In order to take the trucks off, I normally remove the cab.  As stated, it's very difficult to get the motor to line up in it's block without having a hand on it.   While I don't doubt it might be possible to put the traction tires on with the sideframes mounted, it sure ain't easy!

 

I've had a couple of locomotives that I had to stick the screwdriver through the truck at a gap to unscrew the shell screws, that sounds like what you're facing.  If you can't rotate the truck far enough to expose the screw, see if there's a space between wheels and couplers to stick the driver and loosen the screw.

We've run several diesels and many of our steamers without the tires and they perform just fine. As Steve above says "Cut off the tires..." and enjoy your Christmas!

 

Sounds like the very first thing to try when I get out to the shop....right after I pull the body so that I can put the truck back on the motor.

 

Since I have to do that, I might as well put on the stinkin tire. But next time...........I will remember to try this trick.

 

Thanks guys! Greg

Following up my original request and the replies:

 

Today, I took the shell off. EVEN THEN.....you can not get the screws out, you have to drop each truck off of the motor to get to two of the screws holding the truck side plates on!!

 

Each truck has 4 screws. Two can be removed carefully via a slot in the chassis. But the other two can not be gotten to via a slot or via swinging the truck to the side. The chassis covers the screws. Loosen-remove the screw holding the truck to the motor and you have access to the two screws....and can proceed and do the job.

 

After getting this far, I suggest that anyone changing one tire, change all four. Too much trouble to come back and do it later. Easy to see why people glue on tires, or use silicone or snot to solve the problem.

 

A monkey with a 6th grade education could have engineered this better. There is a second slot....to get to the motor wire screws, which are only a short distance away.....but too far to reach via the slot. A slot to access two of the screws...but not one to access the other two!!???

 

Silly.     Greg

Ha! Anyone replaced traction tires on either a Lionel or MTH cab forward??? Brilliant engineering. The drivers with traction tires are BEHIND the crosshead guides, and there's not enough space to back out the side rod screws without bending the crosshead guides outward.