I need to replace the axle gear on my Village Trolley(6-11809) and I am having trouble pulling the wheels. The wheel puller I have is too big. Does anyone have any suggestions??
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What sort of wheel puller do you have?
Lionel's ST-311/ST-312 wheel pullers came in three different jaw configurations.
The Postwar / Early Modern era pullers have thin, narrow jaws, I would not consider grinding anything away to get them to fit. They are prone to breakage as is.
The next wheel puller offered by Lionel has narrow jaws, but they are much thicker. The jaws are strong, but unfortunately, there are a lot of applications where they will not fit behind the wheel.
The last wheel puller offered by Lionel has thin tips but they are wide. I have a pair with some of the width ground away for clearance. I've used them quite a bit and they have held up. If you have these, don't get carried away, I did break a few jaws after grinding away too much.
I have one with thick jaws I use mostly on postwar.
This is a Sears/Craftsman battery terminal puller.
Thanks for the help. Will go to auto parts store today and pickup a battery terminal puller. Thank you all again. Lenny
But...do you have the cups to install the wheels?
No I do not have the cups
Since Lenny mentioned that he uses his wheel puller on Postwar, he must have a technique to mount wheels too.
Lenny J: How are you making out?
Yeah, CW, I thought he might share it. I used sockets and it was tough to keep the wheel from being cocked.
Before I had a press, I'd use blocks of wood and a vise. The results were poor. I would not recommend that technique to anybody.
Before Lionel developed and sold their service station press and wheel cups, they advised their repair centers to turn their own cups, and press the wheels using a lathe as a press. Lionel only offered four pairs of cups. Today, between Hobby Horse, and Toy Train Restoration Products, there are quite a few different cups available.
As far as I know, Gilbert American Flyer never offered any cups or any sort of arbor press at all. They did offer one tool for quartering the wheels on a six wheel drive steam engine. it was a pair of flat plates with pins to engage holes in the wheels, and a hole for the eccentric arm. They were to be used with a vise.
Port lines sells a reproduction of this tool, along with a few more that are of similar design, but fit other locomotives.
I have an original, but I have never had occasion to try to use it.
I think Hobby Horse made a few cups for American Flyer, and perhaps Marx too.
I will post how I installed wheels once they are in place and I'm sure my method works. I've used it successfully on the front truck wheels on postwar steamers so I'm hoping it will work on these.
