Replacing whe4el assemblies, 7561

[playmofire]

I want to replace the wheel assemblies on some old rolling stock with the 7561 spares.  However, I cannot find a way of removing the old wheel assembly from the truck without damaging it by breaking one (or more!) of the tabs which hold the wheel assembly to the truck chassis.  Does anyone have any methods they could recommend, please?

[Bill Blackhurst]

If they are split tabs, can you use a pair of needle nosed pliers with small pieces of Playmobil fire hose slipped on the tips of the pliers to prevent marking the tabs?

I use this method to remove the black retaining pins that attach the bulldozer parts to the chassis.

[playmofire]

There are four tabs, Bill, all of which seem to need to be pressed at the same time.  In addition, space is limited.

Here are some pictures to show what I mean.

First, the wheel assembly in place:



The four tabs can be clearly seen and this time  I tried cutting out the plastic in the retaining ring of the wheel assembly between the tabs on the chassis (one of the tabs was also caught by the saw, but that is another matter). Then, I used pliers to break off the plastic on the wheel assembly between the clips before prising the wheel assembly upwards at one edge.

This was the result:



As you can see, the tip of one tab has broken off.  (The diagonally opposite tab to this is the one that was damaged by the saw.)  A new wheel assembly will still hold in place quite firmly even with the broken tab, but I would like to find a method which doesn't damage the tabs.

[Bill Blackhurst]

I have an idea, Gordon. If you wrap a protective layer of masking tape all around the 4 tabs relatively thick, can you position a small automotive worm clamp with the tightening screw facing upwards for access & tighten the clamp while pushing downwards releasing the tabs? The idea would be to give equal inward pressure to the 4 tabs, just enough to let you disengage them. If one of the tabs out of the 4 doesn't want to cooperate, you could still use a screw driver with a protective sheath to give it a little additional persuasion.

[Rasputin]

Warm it up with hot water then use wedges under the wheel assembly, work slow and I do one at a time in a circle, bend wedge bend wedge all around .. the old ones are very brittle especially if they were outdoors for years. a little silicone lube  will help is slip off as well

[Knight Train]

I've found that if you find a tube with the same diameter as the piece your trying to remove, you can put the tube over the 4 tabs and have it flush against the wheel's mounting bracket.  Then just lift up the wheel assembly - you have to make sure it stays flush as you lift the assembly.

I use a broken wheel assembly for this.  Here's pictures to make it easy to understand.

[playmofire]

That's a very clever idea, Knight Train, a real touch of genius.  I shall gvie it a try.  Thank you.

[Knight Train]

Warm it up with hot water then use wedges under the wheel assembly, work slow and I do one at a time in a circle, bend wedge bend wedge all around

This is also very good advice, I'd definitely do this while doing the tube trick.  You really want to lift the carriage straight up, not at an angle, like would happen if you just lift using the screwdriver in the last picture.  Wedges are the way to go.

[Rasputin]

This is also very good advice, I'd definitely do this while doing the tube trick.  You really want to lift the carriage straight up, not at an angle, like would happen if you just lift using the screwdriver in the last picture.  Wedges are the way to go.

just to  not confuse of mislead someone, use as many wedges as possible, I like to use 2 wooden clothes pins taken apart which gives me 4 wedges

I really like your idea of the tool you made, I just do not have any broken assemblies lying around. Perhaps in the recent lots I bought   

[playmofire]

I tried Rasp[utin's method using wooden clothes pegs taken apart today and found it worked very well, although I could only get two wedges under the wheel assembly.