Does anyone know how you lubricate a Gmeinder Loco. I know how to remove the body but not sure which points to lube. Any help appreciated
What is the problem?
There is nouthing that can be lubricated by taking the body off.
What lubrication are you using?
I think you need to use silicone grease and not mineral oil.
PTFE oil may also be ok, but others may know more?
Brian Meldon
In my younger days I ruined a number of mechanisms by what I thought was necessary oiling and I have bought a few chassis through eBay that looked in good condition that have been similarly ruined. I resist the temptation now to lubricate and if one appears to be seizing it suggests something else is the matter. With new locomotives, modern lubricants and the general light use I put them to I tell myself a good assumption is they are manufactured with lifetime lubrication. Even in the days when lubricants dried out the guidance was still "too little oil is better than too much". With exhibition layouts that see constant heavy use it could be a different matter.
If the problem is dust, fluff or grit in the mechanism that should be attended to and lubrication without first cleaning may just make the problem worse.
Quote from: GraemeD on April 01, 2020, 16:44
In my younger days I ruined a number of mechanisms by what I thought was necessary oiling and I have bought a few chassis through eBay that looked in good condition that have been similarly ruined.
Agreed. This is true of many other models, and not just locos.
Several of my second hand locos were gummed up solid so the first thing was to soak just about everything in meths or IPA and then clean it with a child's toothbrush to get it completely clean. During re-assembly I only gave a slightest hint of PTFE oil to the moving surfaces inside bearings and just a pin prick to gears, but then wipe them again after a few minutes running. So far fingers crossed everything seems o be OK.
Thank you to all who have replied. The Loco is new and has been run in for about a total of 30-40 minutes only. Out of the box it has run flawlessly until now. My layout is located in a room that has a very warm temp through the past few months i.e. Canadian winter. I was wondering if this could have caused the mechanism to dry out. It started to run very intermittently and eventually stopped altogether. I am always leary of lubing but did not know what else to do. I have very lightly lubed my Roco's.in the past. As an update I took the body off and lubed the top of the spindle at the flywheel as well as the gears underneath. I hope I won't regret it but with a little coaxing it is running perfectly now. Thanks for your comments an insight. David Hunt
Quote from: David Hunt on April 01, 2020, 21:47
Thank you to all who have replied. The Loco is new and has been run in for about a total of 30-40 minutes only. Out of the box it has run flawlessly until now.
Have you checked the surfaces of the wheels? This sounds as if it could just be dirt. Try cleaning them with some Iso Propyl Alcohol (Rubbing alcohol) on the end of a q-tip. keep cleaning until it comes up clean on every wheel. If this doesn't fix it I would be tempted to see about getting it swapped, but good luck :-)
Stephen
I agree with the above, it sounds like the wheels and/or the track is dirty.
However, the minitrains locos are also known to occasionally have issues with the wheel contacts from time to time.
Before you start to try and mess about with it, if there is a problem you should think about returning it to the retailer you purchased it from. Once you start to mess with it you will not be able to return it.
I should have mentioned that I had cleaned the track as well as the wheels thoroughly no action. It is still running well but sound a bit noisy compared to how I think it was to start with. I have run it for about 20 min. each way. So far. I oiled very sparingly with a needle point.
That is even more worrying. Any mechanism like this will settle down after a while but normally they get quieter as brushes and bearings to bed in but getting noisier normally can sometimes mean that gears are not meshing properly, possibly something has broken or worn or maybe picked up some dirt.
I would have thought that it is unlikely to sort itself out now, so it may be worth seriously considering a return