Western Railroad Discussion > Pulling a power assembly out of an OPR SW8

Here's a series of a type of photos you probably don't see everyday. The Oregon Pacific Railroad's No. 801 (EMD SW8) needed to have one of the power assemblies removed and resealed and then reinstalled. All done in the field at the OPR's Liberal Yard. Diesel Mechanic is Jerry Van Loo. Crane operator and photographer is OPR's Craig Samuels.

Engine is an EMD SW8 with a 567B V-8 making 800 h.p. This engine has been serving the Molalla Branch of the OPR since 1993 and was last overhauled in the late 1990s.
More info on this engine can be found here: http://www.oregonpacificrr.com/locomotive801.html

There's a few more photos than posted here in this thread and in slightly larger format on this page of the OPR website:
http://www.oregonpacificrr.com/Repairing801.html

Hope you enjoy the series...thanks for viewing.

Photo 1: First photo is the power assembly removed and hanging in the air, so you can see what it looks like, but we'll back up to the beginning in the next post.

Photo 2 and 3: A couple of photos of the No. 801 in action on the Oregon Pacific Railroad's Molalla Branch.

Brian McCamish
Oregon Pacific Railroad
http://www.oregonpacificrr.com/

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Photo 1: Valve cover removed, looking at the top of the power assembly that has to be removed. Exhaust valve gear has been removed from the assembly on the right that is about to be pulled. Those four big crab nuts have got to come off next.

Photo 2: Some of the parts laying aside that were removed from the power assembly before the entire assembly could be pulled.

Photo 3: Jerry Van Loo guiding the assembly as it is pulled out of the block by a crane

Brian McCamish
Oregon Pacific Railroad
http://www.oregonpacificrr.com/

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Photo 1: Power assembly is almost completely out.

Photo 2: Looking down into the block where the power assembly used to be.

Photo 3: Jerry getting ready to replace the seals on the power assembly while it's hanging by the crane.

Brian McCamish
Oregon Pacific Railroad
http://www.oregonpacificrr.com/

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Photo 1: All finished, now going back into the block

Photo 2: Assembly is back in the block, but not yet tied down

Photo 3: Manually torquing the crank over to align everything

Brian McCamish
Oregon Pacific Railroad
http://www.oregonpacificrr.com/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/10 01:25 by Brian894x4.

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Last three.....

There's a few more on this page:
http://www.oregonpacificrr.com/Repairing801.html

Photo 1 through 3: Showing Jerry torquing the 4 crab bolts using a really interesting torque multiplier tool!

If anyone has any questions...EMDSW-1 (Dick Samuels) owns this railroad and frequents this board and would probably be more than happy to answer!

Thanks much for viewing!

Brian McCamish
Oregon Pacific Railroad
http://www.oregonpacificrr.com/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/10 01:27 by Brian894x4.

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Very interesting pics. Thanks for sharing.

This was just another example of why railroaders loved EMD's back in the day. It would have taken a hell of a lot longer to do this on Alcos, F-Ms and GEs.

Yes, and also an example of why a lot of those 567B's, like this engine, have beeen converted to 567BC's (by installation of the C and later style water manifold in the crankcase) or even to 645BC's (by installation of 645 power assemblies). Those lower liner seals were notorious leakers, and one of the early things that EMD got rid of in developing the two-stroke engine.

Excellent photo doc . . Really enjoyed your detailed photos and explanation of the process.

ddkid Wrote:
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> Yes, and also an example of why a lot of those
> 567B's, like this engine, have beeen converted to
> 567BC's (by installation of the C and later style
> water manifold in the crankcase) or even to
> 645BC's (by installation of 645 power assemblies).
> Those lower liner seals were notorious leakers,
> and one of the early things that EMD got rid of in
> developing the two-stroke engine.

What would be the procedure to determine that liner seals were leaking and identify which cylinder? On a Semi, if we find coolant in the oil, we pull the oil pan and pressurize the cooling system and see if we can determine where the leak is coming from. That won't quite work on a 567! great pictures and captions by the way. We need more of this kind of info on this site.

Wow! Those picture explain a lot! I finally understand a lot of what an EMD diesel engine consists of - basically a frame to hold power assemblies.

Wouldn't putting 645 power assemblies where 567s used to go strain the crankshaft and its bearings? Or were they usually replaced too. I'm thinking of SP's GP20s that were rebuilt into non-turbocharged units by using 645 assemblies.

Thanks so much for posting those pictures!

Stan Praisewater

junctiontower, the procedure on an EMD is pretty much the same. You remove the airbox and oil pan handhole covers, pressurize the cooling system, and look for water dripping out.

sagehen, EMD's modernization recommendation for installing 645 power assemblies in 567's requires continuing to use the 567 fuel injectors and governor, so that the engine rating is not increased. Otherwise, your concern would be realized; increased power output could put a fatal strain on those old crankcases!

ddkid Wrote:
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> sagehen, EMD's modernization recommendation for
> installing 645 power assemblies in 567's requires
> continuing to use the 567 fuel injectors and
> governor, so that the engine rating is not
> increased. Otherwise, your concern would be
> realized; increased power output could put a fatal
> strain on those old crankcases!

Makes sense to convert SP GP20s to non-turbocharged 645 because horsepower remains at 2,000. I wonder why they didn't last that long - basically they're the same as a GP38 - and there sure are a lot of those. Too bad - GP20 carbody has a lot of character.

Stan

Thanks for the photo story! Takes me back to the days when part of my job involved visiting the Santa Fe San Bernardino Shops. You sure don't find locomotive repair tools at your local Sears Craftsman dept.

raytc1944 Wrote:
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> This was just another example of why railroaders
> loved EMD's back in the day. It would have
> taken a hell of a lot longer to do this on Alcos,
> F-Ms and GEs.


Now try to do this inside an F unit! Not as easy - changed one last November. Yes EMD did design it so you don't need to take off the roof.....

ddkid Wrote:
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> junctiontower, the procedure on an EMD is pretty
> much the same. You remove the airbox and oil pan
> handhole covers, pressurize the cooling system,
> and look for water dripping out.
>
Makes sense, but I was concerned that you couldn't get a view far enough into the crankcase to see where the leak was. It's not quite the same as laying under a truck engine and looking straight up with a light.

How long did this procedure take?

About six hours and unit was placed back into revenue service.

Craig Samuels
OPRR