Anyone know of any on-line resources, etc. that would give the step-by-step with photos or illustrations? Thanks, Jack
I had my apart just the other night. Once I removed the shell, it seems the board is the only thing holding it together. The trucks come right out, careful of the drive shafts of they'll be forever part of your carpet. I didn't take it ALL the way apart.. maybe tonight
Does the fuel tank just snap off of the bottom? I don't necessarily have to get the frame halves separated, but I need to get into the gear train to see what's preventing this guy from moving. The lights light and the motor "buzzes" but something is apparently binding and keeping it from moving. Also, please elaborate on the "board holding it together." I noticed the absence of frame screws, but assumed something else is keeping the frame halves together. Thanks!! Jack
If you pull the body off... The fuel tank, circuit board and motor clips hold the 2 halves together. If you pull the trucks off and it runs then there might be something stuck in the truck gears.
Thanks Chris. I managed to get it disassembled (and reassembled!!) without incident. Normally I don't like to get into these things, but this one needed some invasive surgery. As you mentioned, the fuel tank is the main structure that holds everything together (not the norm). After snapping the fuel tank off, and removing the motor brush "clips," I was able to wiggle the frame halves apart. The black plastic motor "cradle" has four ears that help to hold the tops of the frame halves together, and the tension of frame contacts on the circuit board also give it a bit more "grab." A pleasent surprise is that the drive shafts to each truck don't fall apart. I assume the universals snap into the housings on each end, but I didn't try to pull them apart. Once I was able to get to the motor, I could force the armature to rotate and get it freed up. I have no idea what it was, but it seemed almost like some "glue" or similar material had gotten inside the motor. Upon rotating the armature several revolutions in both directions it loosened up and is now working fine. This unit hasn't ran in months, but ran fine the last time it was on the track. It's now running at the same speed and performance of its twin Kato unit, so it looks like I'm in good shape. Odd for a Kato, but then again nothing is perfect. At least I now know how to install the DCC board when I get to that point. :thumbs_up:
FWIW, the Digitrax decoder for the Kato NW2 dropped in easer than any other "drop-in" decoder I've ever installed. In most of the others there was Kapton tape to fuss with, or the clip didn't create enough pressure until you fussed with it a bit and/or the pads had to be tinned. Best!
Good to hear. I now understand how to remove and reinstall the motor brush clips, but how did you get the OEM circuit board out without separating the frame halves? I tried to "slide" mine, but it appeared that I would need some brute force via "prying" to get it out without separating the frames.
I have two of these units. My second one (actually, it belongs to my 12 year old son) ran fine from day 1. My first one, however, had problems. It wouldn't run a couple days after I bought it. I opened it up and found a MOUND of metal shavings attached to the motor. Something must have been grinding against the frame and all those little shaving were attracted to the magnetic field of the motor. A health does of compressed air cleaned out the shavings and it has been running great for over a year. And the both have Digitrax decoders in them. I might consider getting one of the MRC sound decoders when they are available. I'll be interested to hear how that sounds.
Don't want to hijack but I need a little NW2 assistance! I have mine completely apart. My first ever engine, and my first ever disassembly.. It looks straight forward enough, actually was surprised how simple it really was. My problem is the two little brass strip thingies that run above the wheels.. I dropped them both and bent one of them with my hand accidently. I can't remember what they looked like when I took it apart. How are they supposed to be bent and how do they go exactly? what do I need to be aware of as far as how much tension they are putting on the trucks? I probably should have left it alone, LOL
Disassembling a Kato While not exactly an NW2, I documented the process of ripping apart an older Kato SD40 and cleaning it out. I threw in some notes about the differences between Kato, Atlas, Athearn, and Intermountain chassis as well. Most of these mechanisms strike me as being frighteningly similar, so while I do not own one myself, I'd think the NW2 is along the same lines. The context of my dissasembly was to clean out the mechanism and re-lubricate it. While previous replies seem to have different issues with the NW2, cleaning it out will take care of the metal shavings, and re-lubricating should resolve any binding issues. Just remember with any oil, a little bit goes a LONG way. The issues with my Kato were resolved by getting all the dirt out of the inside and removing some carpet fibers that had wrapped around the drive shaft. Once you actually get one of these locos apart for the first time, it becomes a lot less scary the next time. While the parts are small (some are VERY small) it's a surprisingly simple and straight-forward machine. I posted my write-up over at nscale.net - Check it out: http://www.nscale.net/blog-entry/bob/2008/04/01/repairing-kato-sd40-step-step-how There's some pictures in there as well of the small brass contact strips from the Kato, and the Atlas and Intermountains are almost identical. The ones from an Athearn are MUCH different, and quite frankly, a serious pain in the @$$. Hope it helps, Bob
Metal shavings; hmmmm..... I didn't see any but the way the armature was binding/grinding is seemed kind of like that. As I mentioned, after forcing a few rotations each direction it loosened right up. If the problem reoccurs, I'll go back in with some compressed air. I'm glad I did not add more lubrication, as that might tend to attract and "stick" any shavings that are in there. As I mentioned, this seemed very strange, unlike anything I've seen in any other loco. Things are packed so tight in this unit (out of necessity), that it is feasible that there was a slight interference between the exposed portions of the motor armature and the frame halves. Since the motors are very likely purchased from a third party, Kato may not have a high level of control over any dimensional variabilty. On my unit, one of them was perfectly flat and the other had a very slight bend about 40% of the total length from one end (i.e. not right in the middle). I think if you flatten yours out they should work fine. Some of the older units did have a purposeful bend in the middle (I'm thinking back to an Atlas GP), so there was an "up" side.
Bob I will check that out for sure! It always amazed me at how there are 3 billion model railroading type things on the internet, and yet I could never find a step x step of exactly what you did. And believe me, I've searched a plenty!
I *think* both of mine had a slight bend about 40% of the way down how you described. When I dropped them both and bent one, it was no longer clear which one was correct. Sounds stupid I know but trust me... So it doesn't matter how much pressure they put on the truck huh? Because if I remember correctly the strips don't contact the wheels directly, they contact a metal nub on the trucks (I think, but it's not in front of me at the moment)??
I put a small screwdriver in between the halves and turned gently at each end until the halves were separated enough to get the board out without the entire mech. falling apart. I just had to go slow and be careful.
MammyJammy, I just got done reading your GREAT how-to article. I have one thing to tell you and one thing to ask you but first I'd like to say thank you. That helped me and I'm sure it will help others. My Kato NW2 is actually a lot different than that under the hood, but I will eventually own some similar locos and that will help! I wanted to add and maybe someone can confirm. I think while you have that motor popped out it would be good to spray it out with some good PLASTIC SAFE electric motor cleaner like the ones we use for RC cars. It will remove any dirt and carbon dust and deposits. There are many such as PerformancePlus3 that are plastic safe. It dries without residue and then you could reoil any rotating friction points. The thing I will ask you as I am new to trains, I can understand putting the oil in certain spots, but shouldn't the worm gears get labelle grease instead of labelle oil? Or do people do it either way and it's a preferrence?
There are many opinions on how best to lubricate (if at all). The linked tutorial is a great resource for anyone trying to learn how to disassemble and clean a locomotive. When it comes to the lubricating, we have people that lube everything and others who clean but only add lube to metal-on-metal interfaces (the output shafts on the motor are the only ones that routinely come to mind). I can only think of the following as areas of general consensus: a) use only plastic compatible lubricants designed for model railroad applications (the Labelle 108 light oil is widely used) b) don't use any more lube than is necessary
