Wedico 3 Speed Transmission Rebuild

[Semi Crazy]

Hello!

I've been hanging around this forum for quite some time and enjoy reading the posts. I haven't participated much because I don't have a Tamiya truck and don't know much about them. But I can see that most of you do and many take your builds to the highest level of model building.

I have been playing with model RC trucks since I was a young truck driver, started driving right out of high school in '69. I was working for an excavating company hauling dirt and later graduated to hauling heavy equipment. At that time Tamiya trucks and Wedico, for that matter, were just not around. That is when I started collecting scale trucks of all kinds. I was in a truck stop fueling up when I saw the movin' on truck, which I bought, and later two others which are the Shinsei car carriers, one of each of the available frequencies. All of which I still have and they still run. Years later, in 1987, I saw an add for the Wedico line of trucks while traveling for the company I was working for at the time. The add was in a German magazine and was all in German text. I was just flipping through magazines to kill time while waiting for a plane. I took the magazine home and proceeded to call the company in Germany which directed me to a retail outfit in Great Britain which is where I got my first Wedico tractor and trailer. It was a red conventional and the round tank trailer. I didn't like the cat walk on the trailer so I asked a friend to machine it off, it looks as though it was never there. I also slid the tandem axles back on the trailer and moved the king pin to give it a US look. Since then I have collected six Wedico trucks and various trailers. The last two tractors are cobbled together out of spare parts and bodies I found here and there. Many have been rebuilt and updated many times and at this time four are in working order.

Which brings me to the question I have. I know there are not many of you that have Wedico experience but many of you have much experience with building operational models. So I thought I might be able to find out what I need to know from the guys that really build their trucks from scratch.

I have a few of the plastic Wedico 3 speed transmissions I obtained over the years for future purposes and now, after many many scale miles, I have transmission issues that require a rebuild. I have enough parts for the repair but all of the used transmissions I have obtained for just this situation are caked with a relatively thick grease, could possibly be Vaseline which is just too thick to allow the transmission to work properly. Now that I have rebuilt two of them in preparation of swapping out one of my original units I don't know what kind of lubricant to use in them to get the amount of miles and years I have in the unbuilt original units I have. I am worried, after the rebuild they will dry out or cake up. I have looked inside of the original units I have and they are relatively clean and free of lubricant.

I know that was the long way around to get to the question but I felt I should let everyone know why I haven't had much to say all of this time.

Thanks for all of the help and knowledge I have acquired in the past and still to come.




These are three of the six Wedico units I have.

[ryman]

Moly grease works for the wedico transmisions

[Claus]

I'm building a Wedico Peterbilt (more than two years now) , I have the Wedico aluminum cased three speed and dual Buhler motor setup. At one point I had the truck run able, just did some testing. I stripped third gear out with little effort. There is a plastic safety that connects third gear to the main shaft. I repaired the transmission with new parts and some epoxy but lost faith in the whole thing. I have tried a few transmissions and haven't found the right fit yet my next try will most likely be a Veroma thee speed with AWD.

Your trucks look great, love the PMD spread axle flatbed.

[Espeefan]

White lithium grease works well. It won't harm plastics, and it is readily available everywhere. Plastic gears really don't require very much lube. A little goes a long way.

Nice collection of Wedico trucks. Let's see the other three!

[Semi Crazy]

Thanks for the advice and the comments. Clause, I hope things start to look up with your Pete build. I have one of those metal 3 speeds with some miles on it, fortunately it has worked flawlessly. I probably would have gotten more of them but the plastic ones are much easier to find. Espeefan you are without a doubt the Wedico builder to look up to. Your slow motion Pete is really a sight to see. I am looking forward to the end result of your efforts.

I have included a couple more shots of my trucks. The ten wheeler is the one I use the most, it runs great and is easier to get around the house. But the white one (pictured in previous post) is my favorite and the one that receives the most attention ($). It is a scale 300' wheel base and the trailer is a 54' unit. It, for it's size is very easy to operate. Soon I will replace all of the electronics with a complete Servonaut setup. The electronics I'm removing from it will fall down to #6 truck, which is in a million pieces. I may build it up into another ten wheeler.



This one I found used overseas it now pulls the round tank which is the 1987. It was heavily updated, roofs repaired and got fresh powder coating when I got it.





This cab, electronics, and drive train were donated by my 1987 conventional. The fenders were powder coated to match the red conventional.

There must be allot of red ones out there because it seems every time I find one used it's always red!

[Espeefan]

Oh, that's nice, Semi Crazy! I have always liked the Peterbilt cabs way more then the older Wedico conventional models, but your two 'conventionals' are sharp! Black and red is one of the best color combinations. I like the detail touches you added too. The visors and the diamond treaded steps. Thanks for the comments on my own Wedico, but I should take some lessons from you! 6 Wedicos, and I'm still on my first! Again, what a great collection! Thanks for sharing.