Model Railroading > Gummed up Proto2000 Units

Yesterday and this morning I've been busy sorting out stuff to sell at a upcoming train show in Caldwell, ID (near Boise) on Sept 21st and 22nd. I've been testing the locomotives to make sure there is no running issues and also want to check the decoder address on DCC units and change it to the road number if needed. Well I started to run into issues with the later grey box Proto2000 Limited Edition units, namely several UP GP38-2's and a SP GP60. These DC units would just sit there and hum. Well I've been digging into them and found the worm gear bearings were gummed up. LL P2K was using a lube that has thickened and become sticky with time, but more over it seems to reacting to the bronze bearings leaving some green corrosion residue. Some of the bearings were almost siezed on the worm gear shaft, most others were stiff to turn. The trucks rolled freely with the worm gears removed.
I cleaned as much of the old lube off the worm gear bearing and drive shaft, and lubricated it with a Labell White Grease with PTFE. I worked on the bearings till they were spinning free. Now all the units are running well again. Sure wish the SP GP60 wasn't a duplicate number for me, as it's a great running loco. The UP GP38-2's are also duplicating my two runners. I think I will have to dig into the locos I'm keeping and lube them in the same manner.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/24 16:24 by funnelfan.

This is a common problem with not just Proto units but almost everything, even brass steam engines.    It usually causes the worm to be stuck.    I use non chlorinated brake cleaner or contact cleaner or now days MAS airflow cleaner and clean ALL the gears.   Be careful with brake cleaner as some can ruin plastic.   The safest to use is contact cleaner or MAS airflow cleaner they will not attack plastic.   BUT, I would never use any kind of grease as that will just dry out and harden over time.  I use LaBelle gear oil.   Make sure to use disposable gloves when spraying the cleaner.    Also while I have the loco all apart I remove the dumb square black plastic wire retainers from the tabs on the trucks and solder the wire to the tab.

Richard.

I've had gummy grease issues on a number of mechanical products and found that either 70 or 90 isopropyl alcohol works well.
I've used either spray bottles for larger areas or q-tips dipped in it to apply. It doesn't work fast, but it usually works. Apply it 3x-4x in the evening and then see how things operate in the morning. 

Richard
(Not the same one as above though)

Ted:

Your post was quite a surprise. I'm accustomed to seeing lubricants that have turned to road tar in brass models built in the 60s/70s/80s that have been on a shelf for decades, would never have expected that in a new model. "New" meaning maybe 10 years old or newer. I'd have figured out the manufacturers would be using contemporary formula lubricants with significantly better functional lifespans. Shows what  know abouty today's diesels.

When I encounter the dried cruddy lubes in an older steam model I dig the worst out with a small chisel-tip tool, rinse and dissolve the rest away with laquer thinner, and replace it with the appropriate weight lube from the workbench.

Jeff Johnston
thesugarpineshop.bigcartel.com (now Visa and MC)

 

We recently had an O27 Lionel FM Trainmaster (never run) from about 1962 donated to our club.  We put it on the track and applied power, only to get a hum.  So one of the guys put some oil on the gears, cleaned the wheels and contacts,  and then it started moving.  Only short spurts at first, but after screwing around with it for about 15 minutes, it was running nicely.  Then we added a battery and the horn was working too.  Since it had never been run at all, according to the donor, it must have had only the lube that they were sold with back then.

Worm gear bearings in the earlier P2K engines* aren't the greatest -- they will stick to a magnet and sometimes squeak whereas identical Athearn "bronze" bearings do not and don't need much attention. Once they are cleaned up I try to slip in Athearn replacements when I have them.  There's a crate of P2K Geeps in my basement from cheap sales or people getting rid of them after being seduced by Athearn Genesis and Scale Trains stuff.
The completely froze-up items are tagged with a red dot, functional rollers get a yellow one, and locomotives with fresh axle gears, decoders, details etc. get a green one.

*maybe the later ones too. I don't know.