I need to do some serious locomotive maintenance. I recently bought some labelle 102 gear oil. I could use some recommendations for other oils or lubes and what uses they may have.
Thanks and Happy New Year!
We use Dexron III Mercon Automatic Transmission Fluid for most lubrication of axles, motor bearings, etc. at our HO scale club. ATF will withstand extremes of operating temperature and is plastic compatible. It won't gum up or harden over time like some oils do.
Whatever you select, make sure it is plastic compatible. Some of the LaBelle and other brands of hobby oils are not. This should be clearly indicated on the label.
I read somewhere on these forums a few months ago that 3-in-1 is something that should never be used on models, but I don't remember why it was so stated. Perhaps it is not plastic compatible.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
ATF is not used as gear lubricant, only on motor bearings, axle bearings, drive shaft linkages, etc.
I use 3-in-1 for bearings, and Vaseline for gears. I should probably find something better than 3-in-1 though, since it seems to disappear over time. The Vaseline works great, and seems to last forever.
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bogp40 I have heard of so many using ATF in place of the plastic compatible lubes, but have never tried using it. Most new units are factory lubed using a light grease on gears and worms. (Not talking about the jammed packed cases of the Bachman and others that always need to be replaced) Should the factory product be completely removed before adding ATF? I have run Katos, Atlas, BLI, Stewart,and P2Ks for quite extended time before any "relube" has been nec. Actually my Stewart/Kato F units have run for close to 15 years with only a dab of light oil on the axles and motor shaft. I have found that on older Athearn and some noisey RTRs that the heavier viscosity Labell 106 has really helped to quiet the gear noise. I can't say that ATF would do the same on those units since never trying it. To clarify, has anyone done this and found any marked improvement over the Labell? Does it make any sense to wash out the origional grease to use the ATF as well?
I have heard of so many using ATF in place of the plastic compatible lubes, but have never tried using it. Most new units are factory lubed using a light grease on gears and worms. (Not talking about the jammed packed cases of the Bachman and others that always need to be replaced) Should the factory product be completely removed before adding ATF? I have run Katos, Atlas, BLI, Stewart,and P2Ks for quite extended time before any "relube" has been nec. Actually my Stewart/Kato F units have run for close to 15 years with only a dab of light oil on the axles and motor shaft. I have found that on older Athearn and some noisey RTRs that the heavier viscosity Labell 106 has really helped to quiet the gear noise. I can't say that ATF would do the same on those units since never trying it. To clarify, has anyone done this and found any marked improvement over the Labell? Does it make any sense to wash out the origional grease to use the ATF as well?
I first heard of using ATF from the guys who ran Lionel display layouts at shows. It was the only lubricant that would last running 8 hours a day for several days in a row. Those who used Labelle or other quality lubricants found that the heat and extended running would cause the Labelle to dry out in the course of about 8 hours, and had to be reapplied every night.
ATF is of course made to lubricate, cool, and transmit power (as hydraulic fluid) for several years without change-out in an automatic transmission. It clings well to gears and sliding surfaces, which is where I have used it. ATF also has detergent additives to keep dirt in suspension. It doesn't cake like most greases over time. I ended up using ATF on the minivan side door rollers as the only lubricant that didn't gum up the works with sand and dirt. But it did/does need reapplication about every 6 months after multiple use of the doors everday.
I do clean out any old lubricant before applying ATF as a precaution against contamination.
I've always wondered about ATF being too viscous for motor bearings in HO models, but apparently that's not a problem to other posters. Since my models don't do the extended running at displays, I have used the lighter Labelle for motor bearings, generally reapplying once a year for active models.
just my experiences
Fred W