Dapol 9F valve gear fell off, repair?

[Gremlin]

My 9F, which has run for about 30 minutes since bought, came to a stop just now, the valve gear on the right hand side has, quite literally, fallen apart!

 

The crank pin that holds it together detached from the wheel and there seems no way to reassemble it.  Looking online, even Dapol doesn't answer questions about the same problem (see https://digest.Dapol.co.uk/forum/n-gauge-models/steam/9f-br-2-10-0/6680-9f-valve-gear) General sentiment seems to be "tough luck".

 

So, any advances on "tough luck"?  Recommendations for known repairs or just trash it?

[daftbovine]

Send it back to whoever you bought it from or to Dapol, their locos have a two year guarantee. There is a 'Product Return' page on their website.

Edited August 8, 2018 by daftbovine

[Gremlin]

Thanks - sadly, it is far older than that...

[jimwal]

If you have a local model shop, ask if they do repairs. Given the cost of the loco new it should be worth repairing. I do repairs for a shop here in deepest Essex and have indeed fixed a Dapol 9F valve gear. If all else fails you're welcome to PM me.

 

Jim

Edited August 8, 2018 by jimwal

[Dr Al]

If the crank pin has snapped then it's a bitch of a repair, otherwise it's pretty simple to sort out.

 

Cheers,

Alan

[Gremlin]

It is the crank pin...and as it is well out of warranty, looks like a throw-away...cost to repair (may as well get both done, even the non-broken one) plus postage to/from Australia is almost 80% of purchase price...

 

Any recommendations for a different manufacturer of a 9F in N that can take a DCC chip without complete disassembly and motor isolation shenanigans?

[Dr Al]

It is the crank pin...and as it is well out of warranty, looks like a throw-away...cost to repair (may as well get both done, even the non-broken one) plus postage to/from Australia is almost 80% of purchase price...

 

Any recommendations for a different manufacturer of a 9F in N that can take a DCC chip without complete disassembly and motor isolation shenanigans?

 

Don't throw it - keep at very least for spare parts - lots of useful stuff there.

There is no other current manufacturer of a 9F - that's it. Minitrix used to do one, a long long time ago - but it's not remotely accurate with a ridiculous front overhang (a Britannia body on a continental chassis) and the newest ones are over 25 years old, so a pot luck purchase in terms of previous ownership. Very much out of date.

 

Personally I think the Dapol 9F is infinitely better, and so long as you're careful handling the valve gear they don't give trouble.

 

Cheers,

Alan

[class8mikado]

Does anyone know what the correct size Hex nut/spinner is for the centre driver crankpin on a Dapol 9f, none of mine seem to work?

[Keith J]

On ‎12‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 21:56, Dr Al said:

 

Minitrix used to do one, a long long time ago - but it's not remotely accurate with a ridiculous front overhang (a Britannia body on a continental chassis) and the newest ones are over 25 years old, so a pot luck purchase in terms of previous ownership. Very much out of date.

I was flicking through an old edition of Railway Modeller recently (June 1992 to be precise) and came across an article on improving the Minitrix 9F to make it look more like a 9F. Still not 100% accurate and quite crude by modern standards but a definite improvement over what came out of the box.