ES44 NKP 8100 problem

[Rickenbacker 325]

I got an early Christmas present this year from my dad since he will be away for work over the holidays. Anyway, he got me the NKP ES44 heritage unit with sound. It is a great looking model and every thing works on it but mine does have an issue. It seems that the engine does not sit flat on the track. Meaning that the engine above the wheels will either sway to the right or left and does not stay centered. I did look online and see 2 other people with this issue, one with the Pennsy ES44 and one with the NYC SD70ACe. Can it be easily fixed? I do not want to send it in over the holidays because I figure it will take a while since model trains at least for my hobby shop sell more around this time. Thanks in advance!!

[Hunt]

To corrct that issue,  send it to Bachmann.

[jward]

I do not have as es44ac so I am not sure this will work, but I have tried it with other Bachmann locomotives like the gp7.

Bachmann uses a unique high mounting  for its diesel trucks. unlike most other manufacturers, Bachmann's trucks pivot point sits above the worm gear, this is where the sway comes from. fortunately, this pivot point also has a bolster screw similar to a freight car that can be loosened or tightened as you see fit. in your case, you will want to tighten this screw. be aware that if you tighten it too much your trucks will not pivot well enough to stay on the tracks. it may take a couple of adjustments to get things right.

[Rickenbacker 325]

I will try that tomorrow night and see if that works!! My friend had an older Spectrum diesel that had the same problem and he said the tech at his hobby shop fixed it in 3 minutes. I am hoping that he did what you mentioned. I will give an update tomorrow night!

[Rickenbacker 325]

Double posting for an update. I took the loco apart and could not find screws to tighten the trucks. Do I have to take the trucks off to find the screw?

[jward]

I just pulled up the parts diagram for this locomotive. it appears the trucks are mounted similar to an athearn locomotive, so there is no bolster screw on this particular locomotive. in this case I am at a loss. what I described earlier will work for most Bachmann diesels but apparently not this one.

[Len]

jward is right, there is no adjustment.

From the diagram it looks like all you can do to remove tipping/rocking is build up the bottom of the chassis with some sheet styrene or brass to close the gap between chassis and truck. About the only other options are sell the loco or live with it the way it is.

Len

[Rickenbacker 325]

I sent in the warranty card this morning. It looks okay when it is going down a straight section of track but it will lean in to the curves and then sways back to the other side. I am running this engine with around 15 freight cars on a 28 degree curve. I am going to try and cope with it until around February so it will hopefully be after the christmas rush of repairs. Thanks for your help!

[BaltoOhioRRfan]

If there's room, add some weight on each side evenly.

[brokenrail]

I have seen a you tube video on this exact issue and from what I can tell It needs to go back for a replacement since there are some with frame issues that

cannot be easily fixed dealing with machining of the frame for the truck pivot pins and something else about a complete disassemble to do this. This

type of work should only be done by the manufacturer or a repair professional. The body of the loco should center up and not lean to one side or the other and stay there on any locomotive.
Johnny Adam

[Rickenbacker 325]

I have added some styrene to the inside with some lubrication powder and it seems to have fixed it. I just put a tiny bit on both sides of the back truck. There is just now only a slight bit of tilt back and forth but it is much better than before! Thank you everyone!

[jward]

glad to hear you got it fixed.

[brokenrail]

I like the look of those heritage diesels ,I think if they are only available with sound it would make sense to have the whole package with all the sounds or a non

sound version rather then half way.There great to run with another with the full Tsumani sound package,but a issue came up when braking ,where TSUMANI

has brake sounds along with a functional brake at f 11.When you try to run them together and use the f11 functional brake the Sound value loco cannot MU

with it in a consist since it does Not have a functional brake. Not compatible to mu with a Soundtraxx Tsumani Loco in braking .Maybe there is a code to unlock

this feature?? if it is there, or just take the sound board out and toss iT and put a Tsumani in it.Does not sound lIke such a good value now. Disappointing!!!  How OR why we get a dynamic brake sound in these ,but no functional brakes f11 that actually matters when running a model railroad. Who of all should know this???
Dissapointed
Johnny