Cleaning wheels

[wgoth]

I'm a first time poster to this board, but after reading some of the other posts, I know there are a lot of very helpful experts out there.
I have a number of post-war Lionel cars, some with wheels that don't roll very easily. What is a good way to clean them so they will roll easy and not make my engine work so hard?
Thanks in advance for the good information that I am going to get. [:)]

[Anonymous]

Hey Ya'll

I am just 13 so I am not sure that I can answer your question correctley. If you look at my topic "Recipe For Track Cleaning Fluid" you wil see that I mention (Maybe this one or the one in Garden Railways) that I cleaned my HO scale wheels with that formula.

I don't recommend that you do that with your Postwar stuff unless you get more information. Don't clean locomotive wheels with this. I will decrase the Magne Traction power if you have locomotives that have Magne Traction.

Hope I helped
Nick

[lionelsoni]

I clean the treads by scraping off the black gunk with an Exacto knife. Some like to use a wire brush.

If the axle is actually dirty, I take the wheelset out and wipe it off. In any case, I put a drop of light oil on the bearing.

When the bearings get really loose, you can often improve things by putting a washer on the axle behind the wheel, between the wheel and the upset on the axle. If I remember correctly, a #4 washer can be forced onto a postwar axle and #6 for prewar.

Even with the best of cleaning and lubrication, prewar and postwar wheels don't roll nearly as easily as the modern ones.

[Anonymous]

What he said

Nick

[ben10ben]

I use a wire brush in my dremel tool. It removes dirt, rust, and anything else within a few seconds, and leaves a very smooth surface. Using this method, I can have an entire car(or engine) spotless in the time that it takes to do one wheel using a screwdriver or knife. It also lets you spot wheels that are badly off balance or loose, as they will vibrate quite a bit more when being spun at 15,000 rpm.

[wgoth]

Thanks for the information, I knew there were wise people on this board. I guess I did not explain the problem correctly. The wheels are clean, just don't roll free. I tried to lubricate the axel/wheel with WD-40, without much luck. What lubrication do you recommend?
Thanks again for the information.

[ben10ben]

It sounds more like you may have bent axles rather than dirty wheels. The old axles can be pried out with some patience, and then replaced. The easire solution, although not the most original, is to buy a set of Lionel die-cast sprung trucks for $12 to replace those on your poorly rolling cars. These mount very easily.

[Anonymous]

Lionel recommends that you use a clean rag and rubbing alcohol
(isopropyl alcohol) to clean moving parts such as wheels, armature
commutators, etc. By using this rather than a brush or knife, you can
easily remove built up crud without spreading stuff around onto
other areas as will happen with a roto-tool or knife. The alcohol
will dissolve the dirt and the rag will absorb the excess alcohol and
pick up the dirt at the same time. Be careful with using alcohol or
other solvents on or near plastics as they can sometimes cause
cosmetic damage to surfaces and paint.

Your suggestions about using small washers as spacers behind
worn wheels is very good and has been used for years by many
train nuts. Yes, check your axles and be sure that they are not bent.
I don't recomment that you spin your wheelsets up to such high
revs as that can actually damage some wheels and axles.

[Anonymous]

Regarding lubrication of Lionel rolling stock. Lionel recommends
that you use either Lionel lubricants or 3-in-1 household oil. This
oil is found in most hardware and home improvement stores.
One small drop at each wheel is sufficient. don't use WD40 as it
will only form a film that will attract the dirt that you just cleaned off.
WD40 is primarily a protectant and not so much a lubricant.