The rotating fans on the top of my Centipede make a loud "rattling" noise.
I have added a drop of oil to the small rotating axles (?) that you can see between the fans. No effect.
is there a solution?
Can it be done without removing the shell?
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There was some discussion several months ago and one suggestion to oil, another to disconnect. Mine is doing the same thing.
Then the discussion thread got into the question of Lionel quality and the conclusion seemed to be that a 20% failure rate is acceptable. Interesting to read if you have not seen it. I remember when we used to laugh at the Russians for this kind of stuff, now it's us.
When we get back from vacation, I will probably call Lionel and see if they have a suggestion. I do not want the noise. Have another still in the box and better try it first. May need to solve two with one call.
If you find a solution, please post.
Yes, there was a discussion and had to send my engine in for an unrelated repair (smoke output failure) and also asked Lionel to look at the noisy roof fans. They acknowledge that the noise is level and no amount of lubrication will lessen the noise. Basically it was built that way.
Yep, like the huge amount of smoke failures on Lionel locos ya just have to live with it or take a gamble with the UPS loco cruncher and send it in for repair. UPS just love's Lionel.
Bill T.
Take a look at the MTH passenger cars, they should match up reasonably well, and they have 18" cars.
Jeff,
I posted a reply to the same question you asked on another thread but I can't trace the much older thread where I described my fix for this issue in more detail. However at about the same time I wrote to someone reviewing the Centipede set to describe what I had done and here's the essence of it:
I was bothered enough by the fan noise to buy a complete spare unit with the motor etc. from Lionel to tear it down and see what the problem might be. I was a little skeptical of the fix Lionel posted (oiling the spindles the fan blades are attached to) and the remark that there was bound to be noise as it's metal engaging metal.
Thank you very much for your response to both threads. I need to get the unit to our local Lionel service technician to replace the defective smoke fans and I'll also ask him to try out your fix for the roof fans. Anything will be an improvement!
thank you.
Thank you very much for your response to both threads. I need to get the unit to our local Lionel service technician to replace the defective smoke fans and I'll also ask him to try out your fix for the roof fans. Anything will be an improvement!
thank you.
You might not get a technician to try what I did because as far as I know there is no factory authorized solution and some engines have the problem and some just don't. With mine I had to spend a long time trying out adjustments on the motor fixings until the noise abated. Another option is just replacing the entire fan and motor assembly but that costs $ and may or may not produce a better result.
Nonetheless good luck and let us know what happens!
I'm surprised this topic is still open. I have posted in the past that one of my Lionel Centipede's fans are relatively quite but the other one's fans are loud enough to drown out the engine motor sound. Lionel would not fix these under warranty ("this is normal"), and the only fix I can find is Hancock52's. I have decided to just disconnect the fans on the offending unit.
My question is how difficult is it to take off the shell to get at the plug? If it is really involved, I may send to to a repair person to disconnect it.
Thanks.
It is in fact no more difficult to take the body shell off the VL Centipedes than most other Lionel diesels, and as the shell is not crammed with electronics reassembly is not difficult either. From memory there are 6 or 8 screws holding the shell to the frame. They are easily spotted as they are the fairly large round head type found on most other Lionel diesels I have worked on. The fan motor and gear assembly are screwed to the top of the body shell and there is a single connector to the motor.
FWIW my “fix” didn’t altogether cure the problem but I have learned to live with a bit of background noise when running my set. It’s the multiple plastic gears rattling around as they turn (relatively slowly). The mechanism is not as good as the old K-Line motorized roof fan assembly, which used a pulley system.
I'd think if I had that issue, I'd have to take one pass at using a small motor to turn them directly. I've picked up some really tiny gear motors at times, I suspect I could fit them in there. 
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