If the spray cleaner contains no alcohol, it should be safe. Electronics spray cleaners should be safe.
Larry
Thank you all for your advice.The axles do have indents/splines.Is it safe to spray an electronics cleaner on the armature such as CRC (instead of soaking in naphtha)?
TrainLarry It sounds like the axles have splines on the ends. If it is not absolutely necessary to remove the axle, don't. The splines may slightly score the bearing as it is pressed out. To get the axle out, tap it out with a punch and a hammer. To clean the armature, soak it in a small jar of naphtha and scrub it with a toothbrush. Do NOT use alcohol, as the alcohol may dissolve the insulation on the windings. Larry
It sounds like the axles have splines on the ends. If it is not absolutely necessary to remove the axle, don't. The splines may slightly score the bearing as it is pressed out. To get the axle out, tap it out with a punch and a hammer.
To clean the armature, soak it in a small jar of naphtha and scrub it with a toothbrush. Do NOT use alcohol, as the alcohol may dissolve the insulation on the windings.
Ooops! You're right! It does read like I was suggesting to soak the armature windings in alcohol! Don't do that!
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
According to Olsen's drawing, that axle, part SM-38, is a 1.715-inch-long plain 180-inch-diameter shaft--no bulge on the ends:
http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/partsbybin/bin013/Page0006.html
Perhaps the ends of the axle were mushroomed in pulling the wheels. If so, you should be able to turn them down by spinning the axle in a drill chuck while cautiously filing the end.
Bob Nelson
Becky's mentioned M.E.W. reproduction parts. You can find them through these folks:
www.henningstrains.com.
I thought about commenting on motor cleaning but I've never messed around with standard gauge, just O gauge, so I'm not sure of the differences between the two. Luckily the right person chimed in for you.
Well, I'm no expert. But I fixed-up a supermotor in recent years that had battery acid leaked on it. The motor frame sides and one of the large gears were etched as were the brass window inserts and parts of the shell (#8). Since it had been previously restored by a prior owner, there wasn't much accumulated gunk on the commutator or the axle bearings to clean off. And luckily the acid never got to it.
The wheels were swollen and I replaced them with M.E.W. reproduction parts. I have a gear puller on hand but the wheels were so rotten they just kinda exploded when I tensioned the puller. No big loss. However, it's been enough years that I don't remember if there was anything on the axle to prevent them from pulling through the bearing but it wouldn't surprise me either. Lionel routinely used a sort of "indent" on standard gauge car axles to keep the wheels on and if your motor is early it quite easily could have something similar. I'd say your best bet is to go ahead and pull the other wheels. You'll probably have an easier time putting them back on than I did whacking them with a hammer against a wood block and hoping they went on straight!
I cleaned off the etching and associated rust from the motor frame halves with a wire brush in my Dremel tool. (I also polished the brass window inserts, stripped the shell and repainted it 2-tone blue and restored or replaced anything bad or missing from the acid attack.) As mentioned, the commutator and field were both spared so all I did was a light cleaning with denatured alcohol (cassette player head cleaner).
But here's an important step you didn't mention doing. Always get a toothpick and clean out the 3 grooves on the commutator face. Gunk in those grooves causes a surprising amount of trouble.
Like I said, I'm no expert. But since none have chimed in yet I thought I'd give you the tiny bit of knowledge I have on the subject!
Becky
I recently got interested and started collecting Lionel Standard Gauge trains.What is the best way to clean a Lionel Super Motor? I purchased an engine with a Super Motor (manual reverse) that ran poorly so I removed the shell and took a toothbrush with some rubbing alcohol and gently cleaned the metal motor housing and gears. I then took q-tips with rubbing alcohol and cleaned the coil and everything else that I could reach. Next I took CRC Electronic Cleaner and sprayed the armature and other areas that I could not get to with q-tips. Is this the proper way to clean the motor?After the motor was cleaned and dried, I re-lubricated it. I used Model Power brand oil to put a drop on the wheel bearings and armature shaft. I used Red "N" Tacky #2 grease on the gears.The motor ran well after but I want to ensure this is the proper way to service the motor?I purchased a second Super Motor (manual reverse) last week that has original Lionel wheels. It doesn't run. I purchased a faucet puller from Lowe's and pulled the non-geared wheels but the axles will not slide through the bearings. It looks like the axles have small raised areas at the end where they went into the wheels. How can I get the axles out? I am hoping to reuse the wheels and axles. Also, the armature is covered in grease, once I remove it, how should I clean it?Thanks in advance for your advice, tips, and recommendations.
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