How do you fix a noisy MTH smoke unit fan?

jt mega smoke sells a good product for that problem it gets in there and Lubs the smoke unit look it up.

Replace it with a Lionel fan that doesn't spin at all. 

Eric

Eric's Trains (forum sponsor) has a video on how to add a drop of oil to the motor shaft. You'll be taking the unit apart to do it though from what I recall. Also keep in mind that fan noise may be created by airflow through the fan since the little devils spin at very high rpm. What confuses me is that no two engines are alike when it comes to fan sound. Some are almost silent and some are so loud it's not worth it.

Thanks Eric for the laugh . . .

Mine had a high pitched squeal that I fixed with a drop of oil on the fan motor shaft.

Clem k

Good evening Brad, funny you posted this question.

I had to move some trains around last night so I could cover the layout up for some light construction work and I noticed the same buzzing noise from the smoke unit on my MTH Imperial M1A.

My I1 Railking did the same thing and a drop of oil did the trick.

Got a project for this weekend!!!!!

Great engines though!!!!!

Yep a drop of oil has fixed 99.99% of any noisy fan issues on any brand, EXCEPT those fans part of the recent Lionel epidemic

( Come to think of it my very first noisy fan was on an MTH)

Remove the shell, take the screws out of the corners of the smoke unit top, remove top.

GENTLY pull off fan impeller with a pair of needle nose. Put a drop or two at the base of the shaft on the bushing, reinstall impeller.

Any decent light oil should work. I use labelle 102 for fan motors and everything else. Its a thicker light oil that stays better and lasts longer.

That's a good one!

If you oil the fan, after you remove the impeller, make SURE you get it on the shaft at the proper depth so that it doesn't hit anything when you reassemble the smoke unit.  That's a fairly common issue if you haven't taken a few of these apart.

Thanks guys! A little Labelle 107 cured it. I loosened the impeller screws but I didn't take it off. Seems very delicate and with the screws loose I was able to get enough room to get my needle oiler in to the bearing. What is the trick to get the impeller off without destroying it?

I was going to say run a new Lionel unit with the fan that still works and you will never hear the MTH fan........

No real trick, you grab one of the fins toward the center and just pull up with a pair of needle-nose pliers.  The come right off, they're just pressed on.  The trick is when you put them back on, make sure they are not pressed in too far, but far enough to clear the top gasket.