Lionel 2343-100 F-3 Motor Armature help!!

[Fordiesel69]

Like an idiot I ruined the commutator on my F-3 motor.  The armature did not line up with the outer field, this caused it to be weak.  It was too low and the brush tension was too weak as a result.  It should have been pulled out, and shims added to it.  Rather I thought I could press the armature down a little, and ended up bending the commutator.  This priciple did work for me on many larger motors that were not lined up right.

 Anyways, how do I get the gear off to pull the armature, and do any one you guys have an F3 motor laying around or an armature that you would like to sell?

Thanks. Mike 

[Anonymous]

Mike,

        What I'd do to remove the armature would be to support the field over the open jaws of a vise being sure to leave room for the armature to come out, then use a punch to drive the other end of the shaft out of the gear. The Motor Doctor (http://www.themotordoctor.com/) can probably rebuild the damaged armature, or you could contact Jeff at The Train Tender to see if he has a replacement (www.ttender.com).

[cwburfle]

Tons of those armatures hit the market as Madision Hardware (Detroit) was clearing out stuff.
Most of the ones that I have seen have good heads, but the very ends of the shafts, where they are splined to accept the gear, are bent to varying degrees.
I don't know whether they are useable as-is, can be straightened, or are just junk.
(Madison had a lot of defective / factory second parts).
This is just something be be aware of, should you buy a replacement.

As far as removing the gear goes, my first choice would be to use a gear puller, or to slide something behind the gear and use a pin punch to drive the armature shaft out.

if your shaft is OK, you might be able to remove the head from one of the bent ones I described above, and put it on your shaft. I've done that with other armature types.

[Fordiesel69]

Question:

How much do you think themotordoctor would charge for a commutator replacement, and where would I get a small enough punch to press the shaft out?

[Anonymous]

Mike,

         When I talked to him a few years back about replacing the commutator on an armature from a 681 Turbine, he wanted about $60 to rewind the armature and replace the commutator. Given the labor and skill involved, that seems very reasonable.  Lowes has a very nice set of various sizes of punches.

[lionelsoni]

I have a motor you can have for postage.  Send me your address, and I'll put it in the mail.

[Fordiesel69]

Thanks. 

Email sent thru forum.  If you don;t recieve my email mine is [e-mail]

[lionelsoni]

Got it.  I'll mail it as soon as the post office is open again and let you know the postage.  The motor looks like it's been run, but very little I think.

[Fordiesel69]

Thanks again, let me know if I can ever return the favor somehow.

[lionelsoni]

You're welcome!  I'm sure you will sometime have the chance to help someone else with a needed part.

[ADCX Rob]

green97probe

he wanted about $60 to rewind the armature and replace the commutator.

 

You can buy 2-3 complete running motors for that price.

Rob

[Fordiesel69]

Yep, but prewar stuff or other motor stuff that is not sourcable, I bet it is worth it.  Or if you want a custom wind.