Intermountain ES44AC motor

[Charlie B]

Has anyone changed the motor on an intermountain es44ac locomotive. I am trying to find out how to remove one without destroying the locomotive and I have had no luck finding instructions or even a drawing on line.
Charlie

[jim currie]

Charlie have you looked in HO Seeker?
Jim

[Charlie B]

Charlie have you looked in HO Seeker?
Jim

I just got this as a reply from Intermountain Hi Charles,

The locos come with instructions on how to remove the shell, which is the most delicate part.  After that it is just remove the lighting and electronics to get to the motor.  We don't have drawings for that.

Darwin
Intermountain Railway

Really very helpful aren't they.

Charlie

[jim currie]

checked on ho seeker there's nothing with the reply you got from them i dough that i will ever own one of their products.
Jim

[TMo]

Could you shoot us some pictures of the befuddling conundrum? I have an Intermountain SD40-2 but never had to remove the motor from the chassis. Turned it over just now, and there are four Phillips screws that hold the fuel tank to the frame. Removed those and couldn't wedge the tank off, but then came to the realization that the fuel tank is two pieces that slide together from the outside in. Sliding them open reveals two larger Phillips head screws that look like the hold the motor in. Not sure if they adopted something similar for the ES44...

[Charlie B]

I got the unit apart tonight. You have to take off the lower (walkway) portion of the shell, then the side frame plastic covers can be snapped off which allowed the fuel tank to be removed and then the 2 motor screws are accessible. Getting the motor out was easy. Removing the flywheels required putting one flywheel in  a vise so it wouldn't turn and a large set of vise grips on the other one and a lot of torque to twist it loose (not exactly what I call quality modeling). For the other flywheel I put the shaft in the vise and did the twist and pry on the other flywheel.  The motor was totally destroyed by the time I got them off. Now I await the arrival of the replacement motor.  These have a hexagon drive shaft on the flywheel end and I am trying to save that but I will not assemble them that tight again. They may have been sweat fitted and that isn't needed for a motor that only has a small amount of torque. 

I am truly upset with these manufacturers that sell 3 and 4 hundred dollar locomotives yet have no parts to sell after a couple of years. Bachmann sells a product that is not quite as nice, but they have always come up with the parts I need. I couldn't even get an axle gear for an Atlas S-1 that was 25 years old from Atlas but I found out the Idler ger was the same as the axle gear and they were available. (the axle gear was sold as a wheelset only) 

I still have Athearn BB locomotives that cost half the price of the decoder I installed in order to run them on DCC and they are over 50 years old and still run fine.

I may try putting a motor in without flywheels if there is too much of a problem.  I will try to take some pictures to show how to de=construct these locomotives.

Charlie

[TMo]

Today's disposable economy strikes even model railroading! I ran into a similar situation with Intermountain when I bought a chassis on ebay last year. I thought maybe Intermountain had some undecorated shells, but there were no spare parts to be had. If I had to guess, they buy direct from China and stock nothing to reduce their overhead. To their credit, their products are super detailed and look sharp.... but you know where looks get you.

[Charlie B]

Here are some photos of the motor removal process. I m not a tech writer so it is rather crude, however it is more than can be found any where else 

The first step is to remove the shell which there are instructions on line, be careful of the hand rails because you will break them otherwise. 

After you remove the shell you have to remove the couplers and the clips that hold the trucks on. These are similar to most other locomotives. I removed the shafts and gears next because otherwise I would probably lose them. Next remove the walkway which comes off the top. 

I then removed the printed circuit board  Next step was to remove the side frame covers which hold the fuel tank in place, the just slide off the two tabs in the frame, then remove the 2 screws holding the motor and flywheels                                
Charlie

[TMo]

The sideframe attachment is definitely tricky - glad you figured that particular puzzle out. Surprising that the motor went belly up, and it seems a bit strange that the replacement wouldn't come with flywheels attached. Go figure!

[Charlie B]

The sideframe attachment is definitely tricky - glad you figured that particular puzzle out.  Surprising that the motor went belly up, and it seems a bit strange that the replacement wouldn't come with flywheels attached.  Go figure!

The replacement is not from Intermountain. They do not have any. The one he recommended is from Northwest

 <parts@intermountain-railway.com>  Tue, Sep 2, 11:55 AM (2 days ago)

ull
WWe no longer have the motor in stock for your locomotive.  Northwest Short Line (NWSL) have a replacement that will work.  It is number 53-2025D9.

Darwin
Intermountain Railway
Now I did get a reply though I am not happy with it.  This $2 Chinese motor sells for 26.95 plus shipping. My guess is that it will fit many models sold by Intermountain (and others) yet they choose not to have a stock on hand, even after selling a number of locomotives that had bad motors to begin with. They did replace them for a time but how many are still out there, new in the box that collectors have bought and will be resold when they quit collecting or die.  They make a beautiful product and they run well for the most part but I will no longer buy any because of the lack of replacement parts. Unlike automobiles that wear out many of us keep our products for years. As I have said I still have locomotives running that I bought in the 60's 

I am going to see what other motors are available with a 2mm shaft that may adapt.  I have at least 12 of these locomotives and if any others fail I want to be able to replace them. Stay tuned

Cheap Chuck






[size=1]Hi Charles,

We no longer have the motor in stock for your locomotive.  Northwest Short Line (NWSL) have a replacement that will work.  It is number 53-2025D9.

Darwin
Intermountain Railway[/size]

[TMo]

Definitely a bad business model if your goal is customer service. A great one if you just want initial buyers, low overhead and you're planning on going out in flames. I would also be reluctant to buy more of their excellent stuff.

[Charlie B]

I got this motor from ebay and it is exactly the same size and same shaft size I installed it tonight and it runs perfect. It is supposed to have more torque so I will test it against another Intermountain locomotive and give you the results  I have to finish the assembly 
motor link    


   
Charlie

[Charlie B]

I got the locomotive assembled and to test it I coupled it to another Intermountain ES44. Both are non sound. I coupled them back to back. The IM factory motered would not move coupled to the one with the new motor even at full throttle The unit with the replacement motor will drag the IM original unit with ease. I know it isn't a scientific test but when I get a chance I will see how many cars they each will pull. I am happy but the handrails make this job one to do only when needed. I have seen these motors cheaper and by buying several you could save on postage on sites that charge postage.