# US-1 Truck tuning



## GMDad (Jan 21, 2020)

I have 4 or 5 of the US-1 trucks and they need some TLC. Seem to be noisier as they run more but found a place that makes replacement worm gear which is suppose to quiet them down. I am not having a fun time getting them apart so looking for any articles or info on working on these. I don't believe brushes are available I have only been able to find pickup shoes. Anybody that can steer me in the right direction or who to contact would be appreciated.


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## GMDad (Jan 21, 2020)

Nobody have any of these trucks in their collection or use them on their layout ?


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

I moved your thread over to the tuning section. Maybe it will get more exposure in that section. I dont know much about them but it seems any related HO Tyco car discussions may help or have the answers you need. Let me know if the chassis are not the same though.


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## MrMajestical (May 14, 2019)

GMDad said:


> I have 4 or 5 of the US-1 trucks and they need some TLC. Seem to be noisier as they run more but found a place that makes replacement worm gear which is suppose to quiet them down. I am not having a fun time getting them apart so looking for any articles or info on working on these. I don't believe brushes are available I have only been able to find pickup shoes. Anybody that can steer me in the right direction or who to contact would be appreciated.


There isn't a whole lot to these. I haven't ripped a motor apart but I think it's brushless. Or if it has them they wouldn't be serviceable. The biggest issue I have is the white gears end up getting hairline cracks in them. This causes the car to click when it's running. If it gets bad enough it locks the motor. I had to regulate around 10 cars as parts because of that. The brown gears don't have this issue. Another issue is tires. Some of them are slightly smaller, so the truck just spins. I am not sure if they are aftermarket. Of course they are hitting near 4 decades old now. Having clean pick-ups helps. The couple drops of oil in the bushings and gears helps. Clean track with the later 7.9 VDC power pack also helps. 
A couple precision screwdrivers in slotted and Phillip's is all you need to disassemble them. I think a #0 fits the pickup screw. A medium size to remove the body. Then a smaller to get the weight off. Pry toward the motor end of the weight, that's where the lock is. You can see the wedge in the chassis hole. Pry up one side then kind of force it out. It will move the axle gear a touch so you have to bar that slightly back in place. Then you can pry against the rear of the motor to get it out. It's in fairly tight. Getting the rear axle out is the least fun. About 50% of the time will have a crack in it. Sometimes you can pry against the chassis and the rim will move. Just be careful not to crack the rim. Then you have to pry the gear over, then push on the axle against a hard surface. Putting it back together isn't fun either, but basically reverse of removal, or course.


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## GMDad (Jan 21, 2020)

MrMajestical said:


> There isn't a whole lot to these. I haven't ripped a motor apart but I think it's brushless. Or if it has them they wouldn't be serviceable. The biggest issue I have is the white gears end up getting hairline cracks in them. This causes the car to click when it's running. If it gets bad enough it locks the motor. I had to regulate around 10 cars as parts because of that. The brown gears don't have this issue. Another issue is tires. Some of them are slightly smaller, so the truck just spins. I am not sure if they are aftermarket. Of course they are hitting near 4 decades old now. Having clean pick-ups helps. The couple drops of oil in the bushings and gears helps. Clean track with the later 7.9 VDC power pack also helps.
> A couple precision screwdrivers in slotted and Phillip's is all you need to disassemble them. I think a #0 fits the pickup screw. A medium size to remove the body. Then a smaller to get the weight off. Pry toward the motor end of the weight, that's where the lock is. You can see the wedge in the chassis hole. Pry up one side then kind of force it out. It will move the axle gear a touch so you have to bar that slightly back in place. Then you can pry against the rear of the motor to get it out. It's in fairly tight. Getting the rear axle out is the least fun. About 50% of the time will have a crack in it. Sometimes you can pry against the chassis and the rim will move. Just be careful not to crack the rim. Then you have to pry the gear over, then push on the axle against a hard surface. Putting it back together isn't fun either, but basically reverse of removal, or course.


Thank you. I have kinda put them on the back shelf for now and working on my T Jet. for awhile but your info will help me


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## NuAlpha94 (Oct 7, 2021)

GMDad said:


> I have 4 or 5 of the US-1 trucks and they need some TLC. Seem to be noisier as they run more but found a place that makes replacement worm gear which is suppose to quiet them down. I am not having a fun time getting them apart so looking for any articles or info on working on these. I don't believe brushes are available I have only been able to find pickup shoes. Anybody that can steer me in the right direction or who to contact would be appreciated.


Replacement brushes, barrels and brush springs for TYCO and other HO scale slot car motors are available for purchase on eBay.

TYCO US1 worm gear sets are now available for purchase on eBay as well. These gears work great.

Place a drop of oil on the armature shaft where it exits the front and rear ends of the canned motor housing. This will help the motor run quieter and more smoothly. Also place a few drops of oil on the worm and axle gears.


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