missing part <3 truck shay>

[kevin2083]

Ive had a problem where the 'piston'/'connecting rod' of the middle and left cylinder have gone missing. I don't know how long ago this happened or if it was like that when I got it, but I'm concerned that it will affect how it performs. Should I send it in? Will this be covered by the warranty? I've had my shay for about a month now, and noticed on friday. Thanks for the help!

[kevin2083]

OK, I finally found the parts-they were laying in thonly part of a tunnel that I couldn't see. does anyone have any advice on how to get them back in? Am I the only one with this problem? I've been running it as slow as possible(for the neat affect). Does this extremly slow speed have anything to do with these little parts coming off?

Thanks

[WoundedBear]

Kevin......

I happen to have a shay cylinder bank in my parts bin.....a Spectrum one.

The pieces you are describing are just snapped over the crankshaft at the bottom end, but appear to be held at the top with rivets.

I think your only true fix would to be to send it in, and ask for a new cylinder/ashpan assy....#H81908.

The Shay should perform like normal, even missing these parts. as they appear to be purely cosmetic and don't actually contribute to the drive effort. The crank is spun via a gear at the bottom of the middle cylinder that is meshed with the gear in the ashpan.

During break-in, I had one Shay that would spit off one of these pistons at the crankshaft end, but never had the upper connection fail to the point of losing a piston/con rod. A couple of drops of plastic compatable oil should keep things slippery down there. My problematic one smartened up after a few hours of run time, and I also found a small bit of molding flash on the parts that may have contributed to them spitting off the crank journal as well.

Hope that helps......

Sid