MT Bolster Pins

[BCR751]

I thought I would replace the truck-mounted couplers with  body mounts on a few cars I picked up recently.  No matter how hard I tried,  the plastic bolster pins would not budge.  I wound up having to drill them out.  Is Micro Trains using Loctite to hold these in nowadays? ?

[peteski]

Not that I know of. Use more force Luke!   

Sometimes you need to use a small flat-blade screwdriver under the truck as a pry bar.

[Hamaker]

Remove them as stated above.  Works for me.

[Kisatchie]

I use a pair of tweezers that have the tip (about 1/2 inch) angled about 30 degrees or so. I find it's easier than using a flat blade screwdriver.


Hmm... I'm in the mood
for a screwdriver (hic)...

[BCR751]

I must have gotten a bad batch.  I tried all of the above plus using a small nail and trying to pop it out by tapping on the nail.  No joy.  I have never had any issues with removal of these pins in the past.  No idea why these were such a PITA.

[peteski]

I use a pair of tweezers that have the tip (about 1/2 inch) angled about 30 degrees or so. I find it's easier than using a flat blade screwdriver.

That is a good idea since they pry on both sides of the truck's bolster.

[nkalanaga]

If you can get to the inside of the floor (easy on a boxcar, not so on some covered hoppers) you can use a piece of brass or steel rod as a punch to knock them out.  The hardest part is holding the floor steady, as that almost takes a third hand.  Don't set the floor on the trucks, as that will certainly dislodge the wheels, and may break the truck frame.  I've knocked a lot of pins out this way that wouldn't come out any other way.

I have a short piece of 1/16 inch brass rod in a worn-out pin vise that I use as a punch.  It wouldn't hold smaller bits anymore, so has been recycled.  Hit it with a pair of pliers, as a hammer would be overkill...

[Paradise275]

I had the same trouble removing the body mounted couplers on one of the new heavyweight coaches.
These pins are really small and it snapped right off. My MTL dealer got me some new ones. It seemed almost glued in. Most came out easily though.
Rick

[Chris333]

And i bet once you get the pin out it will never hold itself back in the hole it came out of. Ed's law er something. 

[Catt]

I've only had a few MTL cars that were this way.The Walther's cars on the other hand are either a real PITA to get out or they will not stay in even if glued.

[Snark45]

Don't know how these pins are manufactured, but I think the mold/die/whatever is wearing out. I'm in the middle of replacing a bunch of MT trucks with new BLMA or Atlas types. Seems that the pins in the older cars are easier to remove/reinsert and slip perfectly into the replacement trucks. The newer pins seem ever-so-slightly larger in all diameters and are 1] tougher to get out and 2] bind in the new trucks. I've taken to reaming out the replacement trucks with a #30 drill, which is about 0.003" larger in diameter.   Harry

[craigolio1]

Tim,

What cars are you body mounting?

Have you follows the thread on using Bowser Z scale couplers, in etched draft gear, at all?

Craig

[BCR751]

Tim,

What cars are you body mounting?

Have you follows the thread on using Bowser Z scale couplers, in etched draft gear, at all?

Craig

It's Doug and I did give some thought to converting to Z-Scale couplers but I have far too may pieces to do them all so I'm going to stick with the N-Scale ones for now.

And, I agree with Snark45 in that the newer cars seem to have the pin issue more than the older ones.

Doug

[peteski]

I had the same trouble removing the body mounted couplers on one of the new heavyweight coaches.
These pins are really small and it snapped right off. My MTL dealer got me some new ones. It seemed almost glued in. Most came out easily though.
Rick

You are talking apples and oranges here. Those coupler pins have smooth surface which fits very tightly in the hole (where there is usually some paint overspray, which makes for an even tighter fit).  I think these are made from Delrin, but I'm not sure. I don't believe they are glued in.

Bolster pins are made from the same plastic as the trucks (Delrin). That is a slippery and flexible plastic.  The pin is also slightly fluted and the fluting gets compressed as it is installed for the first time.  That assures a tight fit, but it should still be removable without braking the pin (or anything else).

[robert3985]

I use a pair of tweezers that have the tip (about 1/2 inch) angled about 30 degrees or so. I find it's easier than using a flat blade screwdriver.


Hmm... I'm in the mood
for a screwdriver (hic)...

+2