Hi all,
My walthers turntable instructions say to lube the motor and gears but the instruction diagram shows that all lube points are open. Mine has a cover over the motor and gears.
Can I remove the two screws and pull the cover off or will that cause parts to come loose?
Gary
I would imagine you should invert and support the item so that the cover and screws are topmost, and then remove them, taking some care. From there, the rest should be rather clear. Remove, wipe clean, maybe warm water and soap in a pan with no drain under it and use a toothbrush...? Wipe dry, re-lube with lithium white grease or other suitable plastic-safe lube, and reassemble.
Hint: smart phones take great snapshots. Especially of things you have to put together in the future.
selector Hint: smart phones take great snapshots. Especially of things you have to put together in the future.
This, so much this - if working on something you aren't familiar with, take plenty of pictures, that way if you get confused when reassembling it, you have something to refer to.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Gary,
I have the original Walthers 130' non-DCC turntable, whereas you have the much newer Walthers 110' DCC turntable. So, when I first saw this thread, I did not think that I could provide a meaningful response. But, I managed to track down the owner's manual and instruction sheet to see if I could add something helpful to this thread.
In looking at the illustration in the instruction sheet, I think that I understand the issue. The illustration shows the innards of the bridge gear box with the cover removed. So, yes, you need to remove the cover to access the gears and, yes, you do need to be careful so as not to have parts fall out of the gear box.
This is very similar to the Walthers 130' non-DCC turntable and gear box. I can tell you from my own experience that the parts can and sometimes will fall out even if you are careful. So, act with a bit of extreme caution.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Rich
Alton Junction
Called walthers,machine says I can leave an email then sys good by. Sys they'll answer the eail in 2-3 business days.
Guess I'll wait. Like to know before i open it
Gary, I believe that you will have no choice but to remove the cover in order to lubricate inside the gear box. That said, I see no reason to initially lubricate a new turntable. Out of the box, it has already been lubricated at the factory.
richhotrain Gary, I believe that you will have no choice but to remove the cover in order to lubricate inside the gear box. That said, I see no reason to initially lubricate a new turntable. Out of the box, it has already been lubricated at the factory. Rich
Well that sounds good to me! Could have avoided this post if the instructions were clearer. No matter, thanks Rich
gdelmoro richhotrain Gary, I believe that you will have no choice but to remove the cover in order to lubricate inside the gear box. That said, I see no reason to initially lubricate a new turntable. Out of the box, it has already been lubricated at the factory. Rich Well that sounds good to me! Could have avoided this post if the instructions were clearer. No matter, thanks Rich
I have had my turntable in place for 16 years, and I have rarely had the need to lubricate the bridge gears.
That said, I have had to remove the cover on the gear box about once a year to remove ballast that has worked its way into the gears. This is an interesting issue. Although the ballast on my layout is, for the most part, glued down, when I ballasted, the turntable was already in place, so I was too careful in sparingly applying glue to the ballasted areas right around the turntable.
So, occasionally, a loose particle of balance falls into the teeth around the rim of the pit and is eventually picked up by the rotating bridge. Whenever the bridge seems to jump in a particular spot, it is time to immediately vacuum the pit and the toothed rim. If the loose particle of ballast works its way into the gears, the bridge will likely jam, and the only way to free the ballast from the gears is to open the cover on the gear box and loosen the gears so you can remove the problem ballast from the gears.
OK Thanks, Ill remember that when I get to scenery and ballast work.