Postwar grease= garbage!

[3railguy]

As others say, 50 year old grease dries up. They did not have the addatives back then to preserve it over time. Tear everything down, soak, scrub, and, rinse with mineral spirits until everything is free of the old lubricants. Relube and assemble everything. White lithium automotive grease is ideal for postwar Lionel gears because it holds its body for years and sticks to the gears and won't sling all over the track like standard stuff does.

[1688torpedo]

 Hello Heli!    The only thing that was wrong with the Grease was that it had dried up over the last 45-50 years. Any Engine that old & in mint condition should be taken apart & the old grease cleaned out completely & fresh grease used on the gears & oil on all moving parts. I've had to do this myself on new old stock 10-30 years old & would never run anything without fresh oil & grease at all. This would be like trying to start up a vintage car that has been in storage for years & expect it to run right away with no trouble. What I'm wondering here is why you ran the 2383 anyway knowing that the grease & oil were dry. You learned a expensive lesson here the hard way. Anyway, ANY Engine that has been in storage for a certain amount of time(Mint in Box) or has dry gears cannot & should not be run at all until the aforementioned situation is taken care of period! Take Care all.

[msacco]

I've read about this lube getting a like a rock but never heard of a first hand account. Sorry, and hope you can get it going again.

 

Mike S.

[LS1Heli]

 

Guys!

I have a NIB 2383 Santa Fe F-3. I took her out of the box and just wanted to do a "test" run. I new it would be dry but when it didn't move I knew something was up!

Turns out the back motor, the grease in the axle gears turned into some epoxy/glue like material and sealed everything shut! I mean like some poured super glue on it! The front was bad as well but at least I was able to save the original gears. Show is tomorrow and I will need to set some new gears!

I would highly suggest that if you do purchase a tube of 925 you do it only for collectable reasons!