Postwar E Unit Operation - Rookie Questions Warning.

Seems as though that lever is loose. Remove the body and see whether it can be tightened enough to run reliably

There is no center position.  That lever turns on and off the power to the e unit operating coil. It is not easily fixed, as to get to the back side of the river that holds the lever on requires removing the coil out of the e unit. Try and see if you can live with a work around. May wedge a tooth pick in the slot with the lever.

There is a trick to tightening the e-unit lever. You can slip a shim between the fiber plate and the e-unit frame. I have done this using a horse shoe washer.

IMHO, a normal e-unit rebuild does not include removing the sheet metal bracket that holds the coil, which would be required to tighten or replace the switch arm. That written, it is not overly difficult

Carl [ http://www.rivetin.com/cart/  ] has riveting tools that are very handy if you really want to get into doing your own repairs.

Like C.W. said, you can slide the end of a cabinet tip screwdriver between the coil and the back of the rivet. Then use it as a backing post to tighten the rivet with a BR-1 from Carl's. I did it more times than I can count when my repair shop was still open.

Like C.W. said, you can slide the end of a cabinet tip screwdriver between the coil and the back of the rivet. Then use it as a backing post to tighten the rivet with a BR-1 from Carl's. I did it more times than I can count when my repair shop was still open.

Thanks for the credit, but I didn't make that suggestion. I've never had much luck tightening an e-unit lever this way. I think I will give it another try.

My preferred method is to put a little solder on the contact so when the lever is on it, it will hold better. I am not brave enough to take an e-unit apart. This trick will save you grief in the long run.

Thanks everyone, I'll have to crack the engine open later and take a look at it. Will report back with questions when I get around to doing this.

a piece of black electrical tape will hold a loose lever in place, and blends in nicely with the black boiler.

I have a similar problem with a 2055 steamer. it seems that the e unit does not like to go into nuetral for very long it will just freeze up after about a half minute with no track power it is ok and the e unit was just replaced

The drum maybe acting up.  Or the plunger. They say it can get magnetized. 

Only other would be the fingers..