noisy motor

I did not look up the specs for this engine so my response is very general.  Grinding noises are usual the gears but, to be sure, loosen the motor and run it by itself.  If it makes noise you need to look at the motor bushings and consider replacing it.  If the motor is quiet your problem is, most likely, the gears.  Typical problems are: dirt in the gears, damaged gears, incorrect gear lash (space between the gear teeth) and when was the grease cleaned off and replaced.

Bob,

The CC 726 is a remake of the original postwar 726 angled pullmor universal AC motor design. Product ID 6-18053

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...tive-Only-6108053001

It's going to be noisy- that's an inherit trait of that style of motor- the pullmor meat grinder growl.

You can always send it off to @harmonyards and maybe shoehorn a pittman DC can motor into it.- Actually, that's not super practical in this design with these angled integrated worm drive locos. You might just have to go to a more recent purpose designed can motor based modern release.

My advice- enjoy it for what it is- a remake of a classic with modern electronics but the motor and mechanics mimic the original postwar design- and thus sound and act like the postwar design. To find an original 726 in the condition and blemish free paint is more expensive than one of these CC 726s, which go for very reasonable prices. You get that Ozone smell and the growl of the original, and the bright shiny modern paint and added electronics of the new.

If you want modern can motor slow speed and quiet operation- you have to then only buy modern can motor designed locos.

In lionel's product number scheme for steam, ideally you would be looking at 6-28xxxxx or 6-38xxxxx product number series (or even higher recent year code releases, LC+ and LC+2.0 or Legacy) to get into modern can motor designs.

FWIW, I personally own 2 of this exact model, one I run often, the other is for show because I got them so cheap. One to keep super nice and mint, the other to run and enjoy. In fact, I have much of the series- the CC 726, the PWC 726, the CC 773, and the PWC 773, and even at a trip to York, picked up a Timko modified PWC 773 with ERR Cruise and a can motor- albeit not a more desirable Pittman.

Thanks. I too love these engines  I have a '46 726 in excellent unblemished shape and '47 some way, plus the PWC remake plus the CC version.Im considering the upcoming Lionchief version Probably one of my favorite engines

What Dan said is spot on.  It may be that the lash is incorrect. Missing washers?

But for sure clean and replace the original grease.  I have a CC that I bought and the original grease was hardened.  Clean thoroughly and replace with Red N Tacky grease.

I kind of remember a time when these motors were produced with the wrong size armature bearings that had too big of a hole and caused them to be loud right from brand new. Later Lionel corrected the problem. I searched to try to find the post on here about ordering the proper bearings and their part numbers, but had no luck finding it. Hope someone here has a better memory then mine and can help.

Dave, the 6-18001 Rock Island 4-8-4 was notorious for the motor bearing issue.  It was made sometime in the latter half of the 1980s.  I would hope that by the time the Century Club debuted, those issues were sorted out.  If not, it's also possible to replace the Kughn-era motor with a vintage postwar 681-100 motor.

If you're going to replace the motor, I'd certainly consider a Pittman upgrade, then you can also add cruise control.

I wish it were that easy GRJ.  Now that Timko is gone (RIP), the 681-100 is probably the best-quality bolt-in replacement.

To put a Pittman in one of these, you would probably have to destroy the original motor. Then you could use the armature shaft with the worm gear cut into it as a stub shaft, and connect it to a Pittman motor with small-diameter vacuum hose.  (Shhh don't let Harmonyards hear that!)

Then you could really cheap out and lay the motor itself on the tailbeam in a bed of RTV silicone or multiple layers of double-sided tape.  Drill a couple of holes, anchor it with zip ties, and you're done.  That's not a quality installation but it would probably hold.  A large 9000-series Pittman won't fit.  You would need a smaller one, probably the 86xx, and they are all getting expensive and HTF.

To me, one of the Holy Grails of this hobby is a high-quality can motor retrofit for common Postwar steam locos.  It has long existed for S gauge American Flyer, and it would have happened in O also if RailKing hadn't come along when it did!

I’ve done a couple 8000 series Pittman swaps in these traditional sized locomotives. However, you’d have to be madly in love with it to proceed with such a swap. It is not exactly a cheap swap. Not to mention, swapping to a DC motor requires a revamp of the electronics to run the new motor.

Pat

What's needed is a bolt-in replacement that fits where the existing motor fits so you don't have to do surgery on the chassis to do the swap.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

What's needed is a bolt-in replacement that fits where the existing motor fits so you don't have to do surgery on the chassis to do the swap.

No surgery on the chassis John, ….I have a large supply of dead AC motors, and I machine the housing to accept a Pittman, and sleeve the shaft to mate the stock gear. Doing a Pittman swap on an expensive scale model, especially one that isn’t offered in modern times, is far more palatable than the cost of the usually lessor expensive traditional sized stuff, …..although I’ve had customers that were absolutely in love with them, and made the commitment……One was the postwar celebration series Berk with the Irvington cars, the other was a warhorse N&W J set ( basically a PW 746 ) ….like I said, it’s doable, but the total cost factor comes into play on these “toys” ……

Pat

This might be easier:

@Vernon Barry posted:

It's going to be noisy- that's an inherit trait of that style of motor- the pullmor meat grinder growl.

There is no reason in principal that a universal motor is any more noisy than any other type of motor. If the oilite bronze bushings are properly matched to the shaft diameter the universal motor will be whisper quiet. ACDX Rob has posted many videos on the forum of tuned up locomotives.

@WBC posted:

There is no reason in principal that a universal motor is any more noisy than any other type of motor. If the oilite bronze bushings are properly matched to the shaft diameter the universal motor will be whisper quiet. ACDX Rob has posted many videos on the forum of tuned up locomotives.

There is a reason. There’s only 3 poles on most every AC motor Lionel ever made. They can’t help themselves make noise at lower rpm’s. There’s not enough segments to make the “jump” to get to the next one. Sure, some are more quiet than others, but you’re comparing apples to oranges trying to compare an open frame motor to a can motor, …..when most can motors have a minimum of 5 poles, & some are 7.

Pat

@harmonyards posted:

….like I said, it’s doable, but the total cost factor comes into play on these “toys” ……

I hear you, I've done conversions that cost wise sure don't make sense to me, but as long as the customer wants it...