So I read here a while back where someone had a Lionel 726 Berkshire. He was experiencing a shifting of the axle gear from left to right, he had a fix of a "shim" that he placed on either side of the brass gear. How did he get it to stay in place? I'm worried that such a "shim" could loosen up and wind up getting caught in the worm gear and destroying my gearing. I've got a beautiful 726rr and I'm just trying to get the "gear mesh" perfect to reduce wear and tear. Any advice? Thank you!
Gotta love the smell of smoke!
Use spring steel horseshoe clips:
They are actually quite difficult to remove.
Keep the entire gearbox & axle lubed well with a synthetic HP grease(Lucas Red 'N' Tacky #2, eg.).
The proper fix is to replace the worn axle bushings, but that entails removing two sets of wheels, then re-quartering and re-gauging them after pressing out the old and pressing in the new.
Rob
Thank you Rob- One per side to keep it even? Do you happen off hand to know the size of the proper clip? I'm just looking for a temporary fix until I can find a qualified person in my area to do the work. Usually, I do everything myself but I do not want to damage this engine.
I was using Labelle 106 grease but the Lucas "Red N Tacky" is better for the gear boxes? Can I find that here on the west Coast? LOL.... sounds like a Nascar type lube.
Thank you for your help-Jim
I use white lithium grease. Seems to work well.
FWIW, I made shims from bread closure clips, they're the perfect material and they won't wear anything. Punch a hole and cut the slot, you can then just slip them on.
You only need the shims on one side to keep the worm wheel centered for good forward operation. The right rear axle bushing is always the one that wears out first, pushing the axle left, the right rear wheel into the frame, and the worm wheel off center.
Use one(or two or as needed) 671M-22 clips/retaining rings and snap them on to the drive axle to the left of the worm wheel. You want to have between half to the full width of a 671M-22 clip of end play in the axle for best performance.
If you can source some clips with the same inner diameter, but larger outer diameter, that would be beneficial. The bread closure clips is a great solution - I will try that on the next one. Very little friction with that method, and the Lucas will make it even slipperier and run cooler(although the clips are not likely to melt, anyway).
The Lucas grease is available at NAPA(the parts store, not the Valley!) on the west coast.
You can use plain washers as axle shims. Just use tinsnips to cut a slot through the washer very slightly narrower than the axle diameter; so that you can force the washer onto the axle. There is no incentive for the washer to come off; so only a slight interference with the slot will keep it in place. The advantage is that washers can be found in a wide variety of thicknesses.
Bob Nelson
Thank you everyone for the responses! I reverted back to my radio controlled car racing days as well as all of the comment you guys left for me- I bought some nylon axle washers,cut a slit into them and pressed them over the axle.... WA-LA! Now I have about 1/32" play in both directions and there's no binding of the worm gear and don't have to worry about excess wear caused by metallic spacers. I ended up using one per side to center up the brass gear and my Berkie runs awesome now without hesitation! This forum is invaluable! Thank you again!-Jim
I have used the E clips on a 2046 that was having axle end play issues. The axle had enough end play that the wheel was rubbing on the magnetraction magnet. Needless to say, the friction was very high.
The magnet was also loose in the motor housing. There is a standoff near the magnet. I drilled and threaded a hole in the standoff and put a screw in it which pressed against the magnet to hold it in place.
How does one go about removing the old axle bushings from the frame?
A press with the appropriate mandrel(s) is the best method.
Tapped out the bushing then used a short nipple, bolt and a couple of washers to extract the bushing. I was surprised at how easy it came out.
I had to do this one my 671. I put the washers between the driver and the outside of the frame.
Dave
It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody from Toy Story)
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