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Post by azdutch on May 26, 2024 21:48:45 GMT
I recently bought a brand new, unopened Lionel 1672 set. This is the 1976 Service Station Set. The locomotive is a Great Northern GP9 with one powered truck. It’s not working well.
I lubricated it before putting it on the track. It works, but poorly. It goes forward-neutral-reverse and runs. It goes forward way better than backwards. But it goes very slowly and is obviously struggling. It seems to be getting worse rather than better as I continue to run it.
I don’t know anything about working on trains. What might the problem be? Are the postwar repair guides applicable to this engine? Are they internally similar?
Thanks for your help!
Mark
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Post by Adam on May 26, 2024 22:18:31 GMT
My guess would be that the old grease/lub they use inside the gears has gone bad and solidified.
When you say you lubricated it did you open it up to lub the gears?
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Post by rtraincollector on May 26, 2024 22:22:26 GMT
Going from Adams statement, When you get a set that old even new in box:
1) take apart Remove motor from power truck(s) and clean all old grease out and put in fresh ( I use red N sticky )
2) inspect for anything that might not be right, " gears crooked "
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Post by harborbelt70 on May 26, 2024 22:36:01 GMT
I agree with the above and recommend that you access, clean and lube the motor gears before trying to run this any more. Even if it's new/unrun in the original box, after 40 years plus in there the gear grease will have gone bad as in probably solidified. I've had this happen with engines that have been in storage in the original box only about a third of that time because grease perishes/hardens over time if it is not worked/replenished.
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Post by david1 on May 26, 2024 23:08:55 GMT
The advice above is very critical for those old locomotives. Also take off the top of the motor
and clean the brushes and the copper commuter and between the sections.
If you think you cannot do this I would take it to a local shop or club if any to help you out.
Dave
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mopac
Full Member
Posts: 142
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Post by mopac on May 26, 2024 23:11:48 GMT
Lets see it was made in 1976, so it's 48 years old and it's new that has been sitting in the box for a long time. I had the same issue with a new in the box Lionel 785 engine from 1987. Grease in the gearbox had solidified. Soaked the gearbox in Blaster overnight then used red & tacky in the gearbox. runs like new now
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Post by azdutch on May 27, 2024 2:16:01 GMT
Thanks for the input. I shall do my best to disassemble it. I assume I just pop off the shell to get to the motor or is it better to go through the truck?
For the record, this is my third brand new MPC locomotive and it is the first one that has not run like a top out of the box.
And yes, when I said I oiled it, I meant I oiled everything on the underside as per the instructions. There was no old grease on the gears. I presume it had evaporated.
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Post by azdutch on May 27, 2024 3:54:06 GMT
I took the shell off. The worst noise is coming from the E-unit. I turned the lever to the off position. I found three different shorts - two at the E-unit, one at the Pullmor. That quieted the E-unit some but it's still pretty loud if I turn it on. It does function correctly though.
I removed the little threaded plug from the top of the motor and oiled it. I can't believe I had a .050 Allen wrench. As best as I can tell, it is not filled with hard grease. Everything just looks clean and dry from what I can see, but I did not disassemble the motor. I can't find a diagram of the thing. Still fiddling with it. Does anyone know where I can find a diagram or more specifics about where to put oil or grease?
EDIT: I have it back together and running. It's dramatically better but the E-unit is still quite noisy so it's off. It doesn't seem to run nearly as well as the Santa Fe FT from my 6-1383 set. That's also a single-powered-truck design.
If anyone can direct me to some specifics about the Pullmor, I'd appreciate it. I don't know what is supposed to be lubricated internally and I can't find a diagram of the thing.
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Post by david1 on May 27, 2024 5:14:52 GMT
Pulmore is the name of the Motor!
What you need to do is take the top off the motor (two screws), once off the brushes will normally drop out. (The cap has wires attacthed)becareful not to pull off those wires. The brushes are little round pieces of metal in the black top you just took off.
Then pull the commuter (copper top) that was under the cap. This will give you a view of the truck block and gears.
Take a Q tip and clean out any grease around the gears. When done RE grease the gearing (dont go overboard).
Clean the copper top item and grooves, you can use alcohol or eraser.
Put it back together and it should run like new. It can be tricky getting brushes to stay in when putting the cap back on. One trick I use is to turn the engine upside down once you line it up.
If any questions please ask, its a fairly simple task but doing it the first time can be confusing.
The steps I used can be used on almost any MPC engine!!
Btw the e units are normally noisy like buzzing etc.
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Post by david1 on May 27, 2024 5:24:15 GMT
Btw Quite a few of the early MPC engines came without grease so its best to check.
Also alot of the diesels only came with one Motor but I had a few diesels built in early to mid 80's that had one motor. Also if you have a non powered unit it was best to put the non powered in from and the powered behind it. According to Lionel at the time the powered was better pushing than pulling. It does work though!!
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Post by azdutch on May 27, 2024 16:13:37 GMT
Thanks! I saved this post so I can use it as a guide. I ran the thing for a while this morning and it runs very well now. Struggling with the brushes is my greatest fear. Turning the locomotive over is a great idea. I have struggled with that with slot cars plenty in the past.
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Post by BobS2056 on May 29, 2024 3:16:43 GMT
These diagrams and parts list may help you Bob EDIT: This information is for locomotive #6-8666. |
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