Belly tank

Hi guys, wondered if anyone could help, I've built up the belly tank but it's doesn't line up?

You need the modified belly tank boiler bracket. The belly tank to horn plate brackets and Boulder bracket were modified to push forward and lower the tank. Too tight to the Boiler and clearance issues to the steering.

The bracket has slots instead of holes for the studs in to the boiler.

My build thread part 1 around page 8 shows the same issue.

I would say your hornplates are tilted in relation to the boiler. That would be the first place to check.

I will check when I have a helper
Would that not mess with the crank shaft alignment though?

Should not as the spec plates hold together.

It's one of the few parts that came out of the computer wrong, I had four different brackets at one time. Managed to get the Showmans engine ok with one of them but the other three didn't fit the RL properly until they were "adjusted". The pain is trying to do it when everything is finish painted! and not scratching any of it. Take your time, see if STW have any different brackets that might help or adjust the one you have.

I have had the same problem. Dont move the horn plates as suggested as you have probably got all the motion aligned by now and it will undoubtably upset something on top.

First off get the bracket modified. STW will sort this for you.
The second job is once you have the bracket back shave a little of the bracket faces. either the ones that fit to the boiler or the face that bolts to the tank. This will lift the tank up and the holes to the horn plates will line up correctly.

Your other option is drill out the holes that are miss aligned on the rear brackets to a bigger diameter and then fill the void with high heat JB weld epoxy putty when screwing up the bolts.

There appears to have been some confusion in production when these parts were modified from Batch 1 and some of the boilers for RL's had the holes drilled in the original place rather than having them moved forward on some of the other production runs. I think the holes for the front bracket for the belly tank may have been drilled slightly out which makes the holes at the rear out of line.

Its an easy fix to do with angle grinder if you don't have access to machining equipment.
Just do it gradually and flatten the faces with a flapper wheel afterwards. We're only talking a few mil of metal to remove so don't go mad.

Thanks guys, think I'll go for the drilling option, think that would b easier as it's all painted.
Does the steering ease up after a while?
It's quite stiff at the mo, but has eased up a bit since fitting.
Put plenty of oil over the moving parts too.

The steering may ease when the belly tank is.mied slightly.

The steering on my crane engine was really stiff until I did a couple of rallies when it eased up. Now it's pretty light considering the weight of the engine.

I had to cut, shorten and weld up the boiler bracket AND slot the holes on the front tank bracket on order to get the belly tank in the correct position, before doing all this I supported the belly tank on packing and levelled it up, then checked the alignment of the steering wheel shaft. The boiler had previously been placed on timbers and levelled up accurately. I would avoid altering the position of the horn-plates particularly if you've aligned the crankshaft brackets. Have you been in touch with STW to discuss the issues?

I would say definitely don't alter the hornplates, the weight of the engine with someone sitting on the back creates a pivot point over the back axle. The bolts attaching the horn plates to the boiler are the only thing stopping it flex. Enlarging the holes would create a big problem, as it is the holes are oversize and need to be filled with JB weld or similar to stop any movement. (Also make sure there is no paint overspray on the inside face of the holes) You need to ensure it is a metal to metal gap for the JB weld to work properly. If it helps I only use the JB weld after everything has been fitted and settled into a position it's all happy with (i.e. on four wheels) then remove one bolt at a time, degrease and apply a collar of JB weld around the bolt and tighten it up as tight as it will go without stripping the thread!
A tell tale if there is movement between the boiler & horn plates is the gauge glass will crack as the Burrell design has one end attached to the axle & the other to the boiler. Not ideal on a miniature but not a problem on the full size as the horn plates were part of the boiler.