The old style bottles of E-Z lube are still available on ebay. My self, I actually like the new stem, because I can see the oil approaching the tip and control my squeeze accordingly.
A tiny drop on each side of the roller. I don't know how much actually spreads but I've had no issues.
Dave Zucal posted:The old style bottles of E-Z lube are still available on ebay. My self, I actually like the new stem, because I can see the oil approaching the tip and control my squeeze accordingly.
The seller may be still using a old photo, I remember buying Labelle 106 with a photo showing Teflon on the tube and received the newer tube with PTFE on it which is the same thing anyway.
I think I will try the EZ Lube as well. I am not having any problems, but it definitely sounds like it's worth a try to prevent any in the future. Everything on my layout is about due for a lube job so it's a good time to try it.
A drop of any good light oil will do - sewing machine oil for example, or Whal's clipper oil, just enough to keep the pin for the roller oiled.
3 in 1 gunks up pretty well if left idle for years. I think modern oil formulas are much more stable.
..not likely with you folks, regular running and oiling should help tons.
I oil some rollers, but not all. As soon as I see black dust form near the pin, I clean and oil it. Some have gone decades with no oil, others needed oil after just days.
Oil never degraded operations a noticable amount for me, but I have needed to clean off 50 year old 3in1 gunk dried onto old axles and bearings.
Still beats no oil if it is needed.
I've seen guns "oiled" with 3-in-1 oil and WD-40, both turn into a gummy mess after a few years! The WD-40 is really bad, I had one that I had to soak in solvent for several days to loosen stuff up enough to disassemble it and clean out the goo.
I've never seen motor oil turn into goo, it'll probably outlast me.
Motor oil won't gum up because it contains detergents to clean carbon residue and other additives to keep dirt molecules suspended in the oil. The dirt can then be carried to the filter and caught there instead of settling to the bottom of your oil tank. I've been told that the weight (thickness) is actually how much weight it would take to compress the oil between two pieces of glass to make them touch together when it is cold and then when it is hot. Additives are also added that will cause the oil to thicken as it heats up. Now this info came from an oil salesman that use to visit my sawmill, so I don't know how much of that to believe.
I noticed a flickering in most of my passenger cars, picked one up for inspection and one of the pick up rollers was not moving and was grooved and both had some black build up that had to be removed with a knife.Checked all of my other cars and most had the black crap on the rollers .Removed black stuff used Dremel wire brush to clean rollers oiled same flickering now at minimum.I service my Engines once a year, I guess my passenger cars need it also once a year
Yep, power rollers do need periodic service, and as noted, the type of oil you use does have a bearing.
Dave Zucal posted:Interesting video on oiling pick-up rollers.
IMO, he's using WAY too much oil, three drops on a roller is truly excessive!
I use a 0W20 synthetic motor oil to lube mine. I figured that it would be light weight enough. I also lube the side gears and their pivot points on the trucks. I was told to do this by an Eastside Trains service technician that retired several years ago.
Larry
Use an oil designed for the application I.E. a conductive oil.
After getting a nasty burn from picking up a Williams loco and touching a hot roller, I always lube rollers. The postwar Lionel instructions to not oil rollers are not appropriate for modern trains where cheaper metals are used in the roller. The small diameter of the roller means the rotation is faster than the wheels and friction happens. I use my normal oil - sewing machine oil - in a hypodermic needle applicator to put a minimal drop in the roller axle. Works well for locomotives and lighted cars.
David Farquhar describes why a minimal amount of oil improves conductivity here. Corrosion is the enemy of conductivity. Conductive oil or grease has an additive (graphite, or a metal compound) that improves conduction, but I haven't seen a need to use a specialty oil yet.
Jeff Noll posted:Use an oil designed for the application I.E. a conductive oil.
What brand do you recommend??
I use BACHMANN E-Z Lube, Conductive Contact Lube, No. 99081. I think most conductive oils on the market are pretty much the same. I bought this because my local train store sold it.
I would never use a synthetic oil!! A quart of Mobil 1 is $ 6.50, and Walmart's "Super Tech" conventional oil is only $ 2.70. That would cost you an extra $ 3.80 to lube your trains for the next 300 years!!
Mike, no one ever said running model trains was inexpensive. I think Backmann's conductive oil is ~$6.00 an ounce. Fortunately I still have a half ounce left!
Mike Wyatt posted:I would never use a synthetic oil!! A quart of Mobil 1 is $ 6.50, and Walmart's "Super Tech" conventional oil is only $ 2.70. That would cost you an extra $ 3.80 to lube your trains for the next 300 years!!
Are you sure? Mobil 1 is a synthetic oil! 
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I've been using Labelle 107 for all my oil needs (wheels, contact rollers, etc.). I've had the same bottle for 8 years and it's maybe half empty. I maintain 8 locomotives so it's not anywhere near the "fleets" some of you have, so that could explain why it has lasted me so long.
Lou1985 posted:that could explain why it has lasted me so long.
Nope, you're just not oiling them often enough! 
This is my lifetime supply, I'm about 1/4 of the way through it. 
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Mike Wyatt posted:I would never use a synthetic oil!! A quart of Mobil 1 is $ 6.50, and Walmart's "Super Tech" conventional oil is only $ 2.70. That would cost you an extra $ 3.80 to lube your trains for the next 300 years!!
Labelle’s 107 oil is $9+ for half an ounce, which equates to $576 for a quart. $6.50 for a quart Mobil 1 is pretty doggone cheap for enough lube oil for a lifetime.
Larry
Well, as to the "conductive oil" claims, I believe it is "conductive-contact" oil not conductive oil. Unless i am doing something wrong, my meter does not show the Bachmann conductive contact oil as being conductive. In all seriousness I have learned a lot on the forum and am curious why people imply this, so I tested it myself but would like to know more about "conductive oil" and if it is good, bad, necessary etc. I guess I would be hard pressed to switch to an actual conductive oil however since I have not had a need for it, and therefore even if there is such a thing I would be concerned about unintended consequences.
Maybe not the best or well known, but I've been using graphite oil normally used for motorcycle cables I think it was called something like dri-slide. The bottle's label has since worn off, had it for years. It includes a 4 inch metal extension to get into the hard to reach areas.
I've used it for everything, rollers, axels, motor bushings etc.
Only problem is if you spill it, the black/grey is somewhat of a mess, lol.
The mess is why I tend to avoid graphite unless I have a specific application like locks. However, it probably works well for rollers, it is certainly conductive. 
@C W Burfle posted:Below is a picture from the Postwar Lionel service manual.
Quote: "Locomotive rollers which turn on fixed axles should not be lubricated at all".
Cleaning the gunk out of the center of the rollers and cleaning the axle was commonly required when servicing a locomotive that was brought to me for repair.
Do as you wish.
Just came across this reply and don't understand what the " L " lubricant is if the " O " is for oil 🤔
If I remember the post war repair guide I had,L was grease.
I use CRC "2-26" for a conductive lubricant.
Lasts a lifetime. There are dozens of different types of precision oiler empty bottles on Amazon to fill yourself. I have one with 2-26 and another with 5w20 and another with smoke fluid.
John
Personally, I think the old PW instructions were incorrect! The little roller rotates much faster than the wheels, and running it completely dry will result in quickly wearing the hole in the roller and the shaft causing the roller to wobble and create a really poor connection. I've oiled rollers for a very long time, I'll I'll keep oiling them until I drop.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Personally, I think the old PW instructions were incorrect! The little roller rotates much faster than the wheels, and running it completely dry will result in quickly wearing the hole in the roller and the shaft causing the roller to wobble and create a really poor connection. I've oiled rollers for a very long time, I'll I'll keep oiling them until I drop.
Yep John! Just picture a guy towing his small boat on the interstate and the very high rpms the small trailer tires are subject to versus the tow vehicle tires. Like the pick-up rollers, those trailer wheel bearings really get abused!
This:
or this:
I've found this virtually eliminates passenger light flicker as well.....as long as my track is clean of course
I guess I'm the only one who has never oiled any pickup rollers.
@Dennis Rempel posted:I guess I'm the only one who has never oiled any pickup rollers.
Whatever blows your hair back.
After all of this ,I'm almost inclined to use Amsoil Sythetic transmission fluid . 
@Dallas Joseph posted:After all of this ,I'm almost inclined to use Amsoil Sythetic transmission fluid .
See my previous post.
From one of many MTH Premier locomotive User Guides...
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@gunrunnerjohn posted:Whatever blows your hair back.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:See my previous post.
From one of many MTH Premier locomotive User Guides...
I am trying to figure out where my hair did fly back to John. 🤤
Yep, I'm still looking for what happened to all my hair as well.
Oh geez. I'm sorry I read this thread. Now I got somethin else I gotta lube!
@Jeff Noll posted:I use Bachmann's E-Z Lube Conductive Contact Lube. It works great and will really eliminate the old flickering lights as the coach is rolling down the track.
I tried this, but after a relatively short time the plastic bottle just cracked and the oil leaked out. So, I went back to Labelle light oil .
Alan
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Personally, I think the old PW instructions were incorrect! The little roller rotates much faster than the wheels, and running it completely dry will result in quickly wearing the hole in the roller and the shaft causing the roller to wobble and create a really poor connection. I've oiled rollers for a very long time, I'll I'll keep oiling them until I drop.
Maybe this is why so many Postwar engines spark and arc so often.
Alan
