Got Lube?

Ralph i know what you mean just about every williams powered engine i've gotten.I have taken shell off and motors out check grease. 9 times out of 10 they was dry so i'm getting the habit of every new williams powered engine i get i check them now. 

Good information here!  I just purchased a brand new set to Williams by Bachman AA F3s.  I did grease the axle gears but did not check under the hood so to speak. I will now.  Thanks for the info guys and gal!  Much appreciated!!

This seems to be  a manufacturer issue not a seller/re-seller issue. The units I've described *were* factory sealed and yet not properly lubed.  I went back through and checked *all* my Williams locos because they're the easiest/simplest  to disassemble. 

Some of my MTH diesel locos require removal of the body in order to remove the side frames in order to replace traction tires (great design BTW).  This provides another opportunity for inspection & lubing since once you've gone this far dropping the trucks is pretty easy.

-RM 

chessie1971 posted:

Ralph i know what you mean just about every williams powered engine i've gotten.I have taken shell off and motors out check grease. 9 times out of 10 they was dry so i'm getting the habit of every new williams powered engine i get i check them now. 

Same here. Sometimes the blob of grease is there, but has entirely missed any contact with the gears.

I don't have any Williams engines, but I do think you are right about checking these things. I am guilty of lubricating only the manufacturers recommended areas and not checking the gear boxes when putting a new engine into layout service. From reading this post I now think it is a very good idea to check everything on all new or used engines we get just to make sure everything is as it should be. 

I have command control only and some forum members even take the shells off to check for loose or pinched wiring or other things before running their new engines. Some have reported finding problems in doing this as well. I think that is also probably a good idea for the command control folks or maybe even everyone ans most engines these days have some sort of electronics in them. Sometimes you can't be too careful and these checks could save you some headaches later on.

How is this possible? I can't think of any other product in this world where when you buy it you have to perform maintenance on it before you can use it. Geez!

NJCJOE posted:

How is this possible? I can't think of any other product in this world where when you buy it you have to perform maintenance on it before you can use it. Geez!

A number of Lionel Legacy steam models came without lube also. My Legacy SP GS-4, from some years back, squealed like crazy until I opened it up and lubed the motor shaft, and everything else. 

Hot Water posted:

A number of Lionel Legacy steam models came without lube also. My Legacy SP GS-4, from some years back, squealed like crazy until I opened it up and lubed the motor shaft, and everything else. 

Some VL Big Boys were fairly dry too.  I've made it a point to make sure grease is where it's supposed to be before running anything.

Am I out of line thinking these engines should be ready for service from the factory? I can understand oiling the axles so the oil does not get all over during shipment, but lubrication in the grease box.......

You get what you pay for ??

jim pastorius posted:

You get what you pay for ??

So,,,,,,,are you intimating that some Lionel steam models should be even MORE expensive in order to have lube in them?

Jim i don't care what you pay for the trains. Thats down right stupid get what u pay for if they can't afford 2 to 3 dollar tube of grease.  

  Every engine I get new or used,any make. Gets lubed up with Red & Tacky before it hits the rails.

Idk. I've had some engines look pretty messy from factory lubrication. I don't mind doing some lube work before I run it. 

I never heard of a post war Lionel needing lube, new out of the box !!!

jim pastorius posted:

I never heard of a post war Lionel needing lube, new out of the box !!!

Aren't all the Legacy and Vision Line products "post war"? Not only are they AFTER WWII, and the Korean Conflict, but also after the Viet Nam War! 

No. The term "post war" means from 1946-1969 in most  train  collecting/operating.

If they aren't going to lube them, then they should put a grease port on the truck block.  That would save the user from having to take the shell off every time they wanted to do maintenance.

Gene Anstine

"How is this possible? I can't think of any other product in this world where when you buy it you have to perform maintenance on it before you can use it."

British automobiles?