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The E-Unit on my 2337 has failed. I got this locomotive for my birthday in 1965, and has never failed until now.  I have replaced some of wires, the original wires got brittle and broke.  ( The horn relay works but the horn has never made a sound )

A tooth on the drum in the E-Unit has broke off.  My Greenberg Manual calls out part No 100-4.  The E-Unit in the locomotive has a straight lever.  When I look to the section in the Greenburg Manual on E-Units, that page tells me that the 100-4 could have a straight or curved lever.  When I look for E-Units on line I find that the 100-4 has a slight bend on the end of the lever,  The 100-5 has a straight lever.

 Brasseur Electric Trains Parts does not show a 100-4.    Smitty's Toy Train parts has a 100-5 straight lever.  Just Trains show E-Units 100-4 and 100-5.     Smitty's go for $ 50 bucks,  Just Trains go for $ 43    Dr Tinker 100-5 $ 45

So  ..........   Are the 100-4 and 100-5 the same except for the bend in the lever ?  Can I get just the drum and repair my existing E-Unit ?   Looks like replacing just the drum could be a headache.

Steve

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Get a 259E-1 drum for about $5.00 and an ST-303 E-unit spreader bar for about $3.50.

Drums are not that hard to replace.
I like to remove the e-unit, to do so you will have to unsolder and solder wires. But you would have to do that with a replacement e-unit too.

There are a number of good videos on YouTube, and plenty of written advice here on how to do it.

I suggest picking a parts vendor and buying your parts there. EBay parts tend to be very expensive.
One of my favorite parts guys is Train Tender.

Inspect the contact fingers on the e-unit. You may want to change them too.
Careful, they are easily bent.

You may want to order an extra part or two.
I keep e-unit renewal parts on hand.

Besides 'snapping' it all back together, you will need to bend the contacts on the fingers to about a 15% angle before assembling. If they are too straight, the drum will rotate 'past' the contact point. If too tight, it requires more current to rotate the drum. Be prepared to take apart several times when doing your first unit. If you are buying 'unwired' fingers, make sure you solder the wire leads BEFORE 'snapping' the unit together, as you could easily 'melt' the drum if you solder the wires after assembly.  "DO NOT BE AFRAID", just use some 'patience'.   Harry

I sent my order into Jeff at the Train Tender and received the parts  Tuesday Sept 6 .   Thanks to Jeff for his prompt response.  Putting the drum into the e-unit was tricky, but after several tries got it fixed.  Also fixed the horn.   I also got some replacement brushed for the motor.  And got some replacement buckets for my 97 coal elevator,  have several missing.  Will get to that project later.  Going to Boulder this weekend to go to the CU Buffs football game with my son.

Steve

Good job! If you aren't careful you will be cruising train shows looking for "fixer-uppers", which is fun. I got a 2328 Burlington, which looked like someone used rubbing compound to help the paint. It didn't. I bought it at an auction for cheap, when I got it home, it was like new under the hood. My friend Marv stripped the paint, primed it (3 times) then painted it with Testor's silver, lettered it and gave it a light coat of Dullcoat. When he was close to done, I stripped the paint off the frame, straightened it and did minor body work, then sprayed it with an older can of "frame red" and it looks super. More fun than fixing electronics, in my book. 

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