Lionel 3472 milk car door springs.

[David1005]

There are four dfferent door springs for the three different, 3462, 3472,and 3482, small milk cars.  Getting the proper spring is always a challange.  Also in the service manual, Lionel warns that some of the door frames have flash on the inside of the frame that may prevent the doors from closing completely. They recommend inspecting for flash and removing it wth a small file.  Another problem they identify is excess clearance where the truck attaches to the car.  This may allow the car to lean which can keep the doors open a little.  They recommend adding a thin washer on top of the truck to reduce the lean.

[TRAINCAT]

I am not sure of how many winds or shape of them, but I do know that there are many springs being sold aftermarket for Lionel trains that are junk. Contact Dr. Tinker and see if he can help. Or, call Chuck Sartor at Mizells trains in Denver. He will fix you up.

Roger

[RRaddict]

I was in the same boat with those springs they are very hard to set in correctly but they are the only ones that you will find. The trick is patience and perseverance because they need to be set in a certain otherwise they won't hold.  The other thing you could do is check the bay for some preassembled ones.

[lionel1666]

Hi all, I need some help. I have a 3472 Lionel milk car that I am struggling bad with on the door springs. I have repro door springs that no matter how I put them in they don't seem to hold the doors tight or the doors hang open. I have tried putting them in relaxed with no success and I tried putting them in wound one time around but they shoot out once the door is opened. To me it looks like the bend put in the end of the spring comes out further than the radius of the spring therefore causing binding once open. Are there springs out there, repro or nos that are better than others and where can I get them. Also are they suppossed to be wound one time or not. Any help at this point would be great.

Thanks

Daniel