I have worked on several of the semi scale 0-6-0 switchers in the 227 family on locomotives. On almost all of the locos the wiring from the plug on the brush plate to the front coupler has the insulating falling off. This wire connects to the coil wire inside a metal box staked to the coupler shank. Major disassembly is required to get the coil out so a new wire can be attached. To get the coil out requires unbending the tabs on the sheet metal tube that runs inside the coil, and then working the tube out, which releases the coil so it can be removed from the metal box. After reassembling all of this I usually have trouble getting the plunger to work freely.
Does anybody have any recommendations on how to do this job so the plunger works freely in the metal tube. I have used a small rat tail file, tapered pins, lapping compound, solvent cleaning, and dry graphite, but I just can not get the plunger working freely enough. Does anybody know if there is a source for replacement sheet metal tubes? A few of the tubes I have looked at would appear that Lionel was kind of hard on them when they were installed originally.
See photos below to get an idea of what I am talking about. Thanks, David Johnston
