Bach-man - can you please post a picture of what the grease is supposed to look like upon opening the jar?  I bought a jar from St Aubins and the grease looked like it had separated - pink liquid at the bottom and white caked fluff in the rest of the jar.  Didn't feel like grease to me.  I have no idea how old it was.  What is the published shelf life on your MSDS?

GB

Did Bachmann just acquire Williams Trains?  Heard a rumor from my dealer today.

I have a brand new 1:20.3 Bachmann Heisler (actually purchased it 3 months ago from Star Hobby but never had it out of the box until today).  I watched the DVD, performed the lubrication as specified, and placed it on a test track.

On the track with low voltage, the loco moved slowly OK with no binding in the actual motor drives - in either direction. Increased throttle yielded a comensurate increase in loco speed.  All seemed OK, except.....

In forward motion, there is a minor binding/hesitation of the linkage/piston mechanism with each revolution. The mechanism hesitates despite the engine's steady forward motion and then quickly catches up. I canot see where the "bind" may be occuring.  Going backwards, it does the same thing.  There is also an audible "chuk....chuck" sound that coincides with each wheel revolution but that seems to come from the rear truck (i'm not sure - ears aren't very good.

I turned the loco upside down and laid it in the foam packing top.  I took some wires from a small LGB power pack and touched them to the wheels. The motors ran but with each revolution of the wheels the front truck shudders significantly for about 1/4 to 1/2 turn. In reverse, the rear truck has a similar but less noticeable shudder.  I can still watch the linkage to the steam pistons / crankshaft bind and release on every revolution.

Are these mechanical issues normal for the Heisler?  Never having been inside one of these before is this something I can resolve or does it need to go to Bachmann? 

Al
Sykesville, MD