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Post by bigblow69 on Sept 1, 2024 11:12:28 GMT -8
I have a few OMI models that are 30yrs old that zi want to rebuild the gearboxes on. My goal is to:
Disassemble the gearboxes
CLEAN THEM OF OLD GREASE
Apply new lubricant label 106?
Reassemble and test.
I ve had luck with one so far but used simple green which is way to caustic for cleaning. ( removed black plating on gearboxes and plating on wheels.) Anyone know of anything else that works. Old grease is caked on those gears.
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Post by nsc39d8 on Sept 1, 2024 11:43:22 GMT -8
On th last few Proto 2000, Walthers Proto and one Atlas I let the gearboxes soak in Dawn dish detergent for several days and then scrubbed them with an old toothbrush.
Even the hardest caked on grease was loose or to the point where I could scrape it away with a dull blade.
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Post by ncrc5315 on Sept 2, 2024 4:53:11 GMT -8
On the Proto 2000's I've repaired; dawn dish soap in Ziploc bag along with very warm water and the parts. The bag then goes into an ultra-sonic cleaner, fill the cleaner's tank with water, will clean the gears, and gear boxes right up.
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Post by bnsf971 on Sept 2, 2024 5:45:25 GMT -8
I've used Goo-Gone with good results.
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Post by prr 4467 on Sept 3, 2024 10:26:12 GMT -8
Especially if they are the tower gear drives, they should run really well after cleaning out the gearboxes (excepting of course that typical tower gear drive whine that so many of us got used to the sound). They also should quiet down a great deal after even a few hours of run time.
Perhaps once you are done and have them back together you could share some photos of your models? I always enjoy seeing photos of what other people collect.
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Post by bigblow69 on Sept 3, 2024 15:24:12 GMT -8
Especially if they are the tower gear drives, they should run really well after cleaning out the gearboxes (excepting of course that typical tower gear drive whine that so many of us got used to the sound). They also should quiet down a great deal after even a few hours of run time. Perhaps once you are done and have them back together you could share some photos of your models? I always enjoy seeing photos of what other people collect. Will do I have 4 SF 8-41cws I put DCC. They seem to have lost all pulling power hence my delema |
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Post by prr 4467 on Sept 3, 2024 17:56:07 GMT -8
Well, the clean out should do wonders for them. I only have a few locos so they all get run more often, but the Overland Models stuff from back then...well I had a young family and simply needed the money for other things, so I don't have any of those models remaining, and no Boo Rim steamers either.
There was a point where most of my friends switched to Genesis-level plastic model trains in lieu of brass.
Let us know how things turn out.
Best Regards--
John
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Post by tony on Sept 6, 2024 16:32:46 GMT -8
I've never run my OMI models at club events - just my Athearn stuff which is easy to get replacement wheelsets as running 3 weeks, 8 hours per day, starts to wear the wheel surfaces off. Because - where do you get Ajin replacement wheels and or gearboxes. Never liked the 6 wheel OMI/Ajin truck set up with finger wire pickups. Maybe someone will design replacement trucks.
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Post by win70rob on Sept 7, 2024 14:28:31 GMT -8
I’ve cleaned up a few noisy brass gear boxes using wheeler engineering 600 grit lapping compound, but only if you have brass gears and only a tiny tiny amount, after cleaning the gears throughly and greasing them, I had very good luck with operating many brass models and taking much of the coffee grinder noise out. Depending on the model and how much you plan on operating it, sometimes it’s easier to upgrade the gears with North West Short Line gears
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Post by prr 4467 on Sept 8, 2024 9:24:27 GMT -8
Hi tony--
Permit a devil's advocate argument.
Howard Zane loves to tell a story about how he ran a PFM steam locomotive more than a year, 8 hours + per day, in the train store he once owned, and it never failed. He still has the loco.
Back in the day I did put some mileage on Overland diesels, and they never failed on me. I had a friend, now gone, who put a lot of time on some Overland diesels but of course he had tons of spare parts--he could convert the drive through fuel tank engines over to the tower gear drive because he had so many parts on hand. Screws, gear boxes, you name it, he had it.
I've seen brass locos that were run enough such that the drivers show bare brass and yet they still run fine. The wheel plating of course helps electrical conductivity a little bit but is not truly required to be there. With brass steam I'd be more concerned with excessive rod wear. I've seen a few locos where the rods were starting to wear (to daylight through the screw hole) but they still ran just fine.
I think with proper care and occasional lubrication and maintenance that brass locos will do just fine as long as you are not running them in 8 hour shifts day after day.
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