Quaxo76

Thank you all for your replies. The boom and LA's are connected properly, I double checked, so that can't be the problem. And the boom does actually touch the roof, but only because the crane body is "bent" forwards, and it can't be "at rest". It's not a whole stud gap, just a few millimetres more would do. I might add a small plate to the roof of the cabin, where the boom contacts, to relieve the strain to the body at rest. Another thing I just noticed: when the boom is completely retracted, the wire loop that moves the inner part is "slack" and not tight, so that I can manually move the inner portion in and out slightly more than a stud. The wire loop becomes tight after the boom is extended at least partially. Is this normal? For the "frictioning" wheel train, I partially disassembled the crane to get access to part of the drive train, and "moved" the wheels around a bit, but I only made it worse... I suppose I'll have to rebuild the whole crane body. Good project for a rainy afternoon! Also... I see that everybody refers to a 6-booklet instruction set. I have a single book, of 424 pages. And I didn't get a spare 32 axle. Is this a new revision? Are there other differences?

Hello, I just completed the 42009 crane, it took me about 12 hours spread over a week. I'm quite "rusty" with Technic but I used to play with them a lot as a kid, so I encountered no major problems during the build, just 2-3 small mistakes, easy to fix, especially because I always check for functionality as I build, so I can detect problems soon after making the mistake... :P Anyway, the crane is finished and looks wonderful, it's by far the best and most complex set I've ever built, but I have a couple of doubts. All the functions work, including the outriggers (which I hear are a common problem), albeit quite slow. Here's what I'm not so sure about: 1) When fully lowered and retracted, the boom does not contact the roof of the cabin, so the crane body has to constantly support the weight of the boom. I think it should be allowed to "rest" on the roof, so that the strain on the structure and LA's can be relieved. Did I do something wrong or is it supposed to be like this? 2) Whenever the motor is on, both with the clutch disengaged, and with whatever function is selected, the wheel train for the boom extension moves. Not very fast, and with not much torque - I just have to touch the wheels and they stop, without stalling the motor - but the torque is enough to actually retract or extend the boom, very slowly, if it's not loaded. Any idea where the problem might be, without having to disassemble all the crane body? 3) When the large LA's reach the end points, both raised and lowered, they start making a scary clicking sound. I suppose it's the internal clutch, but it's not as graceful as the white clutch wheels: when this happens, the whole structure actually shakes, and the wheels driving the LA almost seem to skip (but they don't). Again, is this normal? Is it going to damage some wheels, or something? 4) The knot to secure the winch cable to the pulley... If I leave the knot outside, it rubs with the gear and stops the movement. If I leave it inside, it messes up the winding of the thread. How did you secure/tie it? I think that's it for now... thanks in advance for any reply! :) Cristian

Hello, My name is Cristian, I live in Italy in a town not far from Rome. I'm almost 40 years old. I don't remember what my first Lego set was (I was too young), but my true love is the Technic series, and I remember very well my first Technic set: I was 9, I had just had serious surgery, and my parents bought me the 8848 truck. It was love at first sight, and I almost never bought a regular set anymore. Not being rich, my parents couldn't buy me many sets, but I remember buying the helicopter (8844), an used excavator (8851) with some parts missing, and much later I got the 8417 motorcycle. Especially the first sets (the truck and helicopter) have been my very favourite toys for years. I assembled and disassembled them dozens of times. I believe I was able, at last, to assemble the truck without even looking at the instructions. I still have those sets, assembled... of course the bricks look "well loved" by now, and many parts (especially the small grey technic parts) have cracked, rendering the models quite fragile. But that doesn't matter. Fast forward to a few months ago, when my wife gave me, for Christmas, the 9394 jet plane. That re-sparkled my love, though I was somewhat confused by the totally studless philosophy. Then a few weeks ago I found a nice deal on the 42009 crane truck. I couldn't resist, and bought it, and it felt like being 10 again, just looking at that huge box and all those parts! I assembled it in about 12 hours. Anyway, this is how I got in touch with Lego again, and I found this forum while looking for info about a doubt on the crane, so... here I am! Cristian