# metal wheels



## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

I,am have trouble getting the metal ball bearing wheels to roll freeley in the cars that are aristo-craft. The lgb and usa cars work fine  the wheels turn ok on the axels but they will not roll very far when you push them on the track just aristos do not roll. Any ideas /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Strange. I have those on 3 coaches. They roll so free I have to be careful to put the loco on the track first and couple the coaches to it, or they run away while I'm fetching the next coach. 

Is something rubbing on the wheel? 

Do you mean changing to metal wheels on Aristocraft "roller bearing" trucks like these? 










These take a different wheelset or they bind. Aristo suggests you buy these 29100 trucks with the metal wheels in them so you're sure to get the right wheelset. You also get 2 spare couplers that way.


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

No not that style they are the stock ones that come one the cares. They have the springs in them and they flex you can also twist them a little. The wheels spin ok but the trucks but will not roll when placed on the track. They may go two or three inches and stop but the lgb and usa will roll six or ten inches not sure what the problem is.


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete,


Are the brake shoes on the Aristo trucks rubbing the top of the rail?  I had that problem when I put USA trains regular metal wheels in Aristo Archbar trucks.  Solution was to cut the bottoms of the brake shoes off.  Problem solved.


Mark


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Pete, I'm a little confused, do you really have ball bearings? Where did you buy them? From re-reading the post it sounds like you have Aristo cars with factory ball bearing wheels. Are the ball bearings between the axle and the wheel, or are they in the sideframes between the sideframe and the axle? 

Regards, Greg


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

The wheels are san-val wheels.They do not roll freely as the lgb and usa cars do . I have checked and can not find where they are hanging up. The difference between the way the aristo and lgb,usa cars roll is big. The next thing i,am going to try is to drill out the holes where the axels sit in the trucks to make them larger. Hopfully that will allow the wheels to roll better/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif


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## rpc7271 (Jan 2, 2008)

The axle diameter may be different than what was in there before. Do you still have the old wheels. Get a caliper and measure both axle diameters.


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## Bret W Tesson (Jan 6, 2008)

Pete,

The San Val wheels do NOT roll nearly as freely as the LGB ball bearing wheels.  You can easily see this by simply spinning one of the wheels (it stops pretty quickly unlike the LGB wheels).  Most of the time the axles actually turn in the journal.  If they fit too tight in the journal, the car will not roll well.  The ball bearings will help some..particularly in curves when the wheels are trying to turn at different speeds.   That's been my experience.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Did you do the instalation of the BB or did the cars come that way.  Sounds like you added and then used the wrong wheels sets.  Later RJD


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

If you have ball bearing WHEELSETS, where the ball bearings are between the axle and the wheel, the last thing you want turning is the axle in the journal, this defeats the purpose of the ball bearings. I think the reason the axle does NOT turn in the journals is ON PURPOSE. 

Now, not to confuse the issue where the ball bearings are in the journal, between the sideframe and the axle, and the wheels are rigidly attached to the axle. 

My experience with san val wheels is that they are not as free rolling as the LGB (best) and the Aristocraft (good) sets. 

Regards, Greg


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

I  added the wheels myself and like i said the wheels when installed in lgb and usa cars  they roll great but not so with the aristo-craft cars.I think it may have to do with the way the aristo trucks flex and  the others do not/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Check to see that the outside face of the wheel is not rubbing against the back of the sideframes... something is fishy. The axles should not turn in the journals....

Regards, Greg


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