Thanks, that worked great! I was a little paranoid after my first attempt with an NW2 resulted in breaking the shell. I foolishly thought that following Kato's directions for the NW2 shell removal would prevent that, but at least I can replace that one for $15 ($10 for a replacement shell, $5 for shipping). On the other hand, I don't think the SD45 shell can be replaced, so I wanted to avoid a similar mistake.
Thanks again for your help.
That is actually quite easy. Hold the loco under the chassis with you left
> hand (this applies to right-handed). Squeeze the shell over the rear truck
> almost at the walkway, and pull the shell gently upwards. You will find that
> you have released the two locking tabs at the rear end. If the front end of
> the shell doesn't budge, squeeze the shell just behind the cab and you
> should see the same result as at the other end. No hassle with removing
> coupler boxes or anything else.
>
> Now for the decoder. Once yu have removed the shell, you will find that the
> existing circuitboard is fitted with an 8-pin plug. Remove the jumpers, and
> plug in your DH163IP. Put some double-sided tape on the underside of the
> decoder, and tape the deocoder onto the frame just rear of the rear LED.
> Make sure that the wires from the decoder do not lie on the LED, and replace
> the shell, making sure the you do not jam any wires between the shell and
> the frame. Push the shell onto the chassis and it will click back into > place.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Nicholas
>
>
> > Hi, I'm trying to install DCC decoders and I have two questions: first, > how
> > do you safely remove the shell from a (HO scale) Kato SD45? Second, for > you
> > Digitrax experts, their web site lists two decoders for the SD45: the
> > DH163K0 and the DH163IP. Which one is a better choice and why? In case it
> > matters, the SD45's that I'll be installing decoders in are from the first
> > (1997?) run.
> >
> >
>
>