hi all, i have a F3A unit and was trying to change the coupler to a rapido coupler, however there is a small plastic square that hangs from the back bogie, that broke and now i cannot hold any couplers there, I can perhaps glue it back but it is so tiny, what other couplers will this unit take?
You don't believe in giving much in the way of clues, do you? Okay. Rapido couplers come only on N scale. That's a start, but there's more than one brand of N scale F with truck mounted couplers. Besides the brand of your locomotive, or at least whether the frame is metal or plastic, it might help us help you if we knew if you own a drill, and whether you know what a tap is. Either that, or you could just respect its choices. Some of us would rather have a broke back coupler than wind up on Brokeback Mountain...
See here: http://www.pbase.com/atsf_arizona/kato_n_scale_unimate_install Which has photos of the 'tricks' that N scalers have developed over the years for putting couplers in the Kato F's and E's. I trust this will help.
Unfortunately, one of the weak points in the Kato F unit design is the rear truck Talgo coupler mount. The Micro-Trains coupler conversion chances breaking the draft gear box part of the truck side frame casting and that part has never been made available just the entire truck and then only sporadically. Body mounting is hard because of the length of most M-T draft gear and truck clearances. An ultra-short draft gear molded (like steam engine pilots) into a bracket that tongues between the split frame halves would work except Japan redesigned the old proven mechanism when they made the unit DCC friendly. Replacing the truck is the only solution short of a custom body mount. Body mount Rapidos are very difficult. Charlie Vlk
I wonder if a rear body mount like used by Intermountain would solve your problem? IM is usually good in selling parts, and their design is remarkably simple and effective.
