Cleaning the Gunk out of loco's trucks

[Santa Fe all the way!]

I've been trying, and failing to speed match an older run Athearn Genesis F3 A and B unit with an Athearn Genesis F9. After much frustration, a light bulb went on and I thought, "what if it's Gunk in the gears that is the problem. So my question is, what is the best way to remove the gunk(old grease)?? Alcohol on a Q tip??

[hon30critter]

Santa Fe all the way:

You can't get into all the crevices and gears with just a Q tip. My suggestion is to remove the trucks from the locomotive and take them completely apart. It goes without saying that you need to pay careful attention to the placement of the various gears so you can get them back together again. I don't have any experience with taking Athearn trucks apart but it should be pretty simple. If you can't figure it out just ask and the forum will help.

Once you have everything apart immerse all the parts in isopropyl alcohol, the higher % the better, and then scrub everything with a toothbrush (not the one your wife is currently using). I have a toothbrush which I have cut the bristles down to about half length to make them a bit stiffer. Its handy if the grease is really solid.

Once everything is clean and dry you can start to reassemble the trucks. You will need to add lubricant as you assemble the pieces so the sides of the gears get greased as well as the teeth, but you want to apply the grease sparingly. If you put in too much grease it will come out during operation leaving the inside of the frame and shell covered, and it will likely get onto the tracks which obviously you don't want.

I used to use LaBelle #106 plastic compatable grease which works great, but recently I invested in Nano-Oil. http://www.nano-oil.com/Products.html The endorsements for Nano-Oil are rather impressive so I thought I would give it a try. Since I don't have a layout yet I can only comment on the results I have seen on my test track and during assembly, but it seems to work pretty well. Others with more experience with the product will hopefully add their comments. I bought the set of three tubes with #5, #10, and #85 weights. I use the #85 for the truck gears, the #10 for the axles and the #5 for motor bearings. Its not cheap, but a little goes a long way. If you don't want to spend the money on Nano-Oil, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the LaBelle products. They have been used successfully for many years.

Its good that you are starting with the basics, i.e. tuning your locomotives before trying to speed match them.

Let us know how you make out.

Dave

[MisterBeasley]

Yes, the best solution is taking them apart.  It's a skill you will need anyway, and not particularly difficult.  Select a large, clean work surface.  There are a lot of small parts, and you don't want to lose any of them.  Do one truck at a time, so if you have trouble remembering how everything goes back together, you'll have the other one to look at.

Alcohol is the right solvent, and once the truck is apart, those Q-tips will help with the cleaning.  I use Labelle grease and oil for my locomotives.  It's a train shop product, specially formulated to do the job and be safe for all the common plastics in use in model trains.  There are non-train-specific lubes out there that can damage the plastic, so it's important to use the right stuff.

Now I will warn you about "mission creep."  That's the tendency of a job to get bigger once it starts.  As long as the trucks are apart, this is a great time to consider weathering the side frames.  I spray mine with a rust-brown primer (Krylon is my favorite) and then use some black and rust powders to highlight details, followed by some Krylon clear flat spray to seal the powders.

[Santa Fe all the way!]

Wow, Thanks for the great feedback. I have to admit I'm a bit scared to take the trucks completely apart on such expensive models(to me). I was kinda of hoping that the job could be accomplished by just removing the covers. Also, Thanks for the product recommendations, I will definitely check into those. I'm hoping this will 1.make the loco's run smoother. 2.creep at a slower speed. 3.consist easier.

[bogp40]

I agree with all the posters. It was mentioned to make sure you assemble the gears back to the original position within the gearcase. I only mention this, as you say it is an older BB, and presume has seen considerable use. If new or very little use, it doesn't matter where or which way the idler gears go. Wear patterns develop, and w/o a re- breakin of the truck it should perform smoothly. I had done the "Pearl drops" treatment to a handful of my older Athearn's after this proceedure it is nec not to mix up the gears or rotation. I have had the best performance w/ the Labell #106, (for even better slick prformance you may try ATF) if you are looking for better speed match to a genesis, repowering may be the better option.

Since you will be dissasembling the trucks, this would be an excellent time to change out the original sintered steel wheels for NWS replacements.

With the truck out of the chassis and the worm/ cover is removed, the truck will free roll. Check out and get a feel of the rolling quality before dissasembly. This gives some reference as to any difference after truck is reassembled. Also check the truck for any warpage by placing on solid flat surface to see if all wheels contact evenly. Some Athearn B trucks can show some slight "twist/ wrack" once the cover retaining clips are snapped on. I have solved issues like this by filing the diagonally(opposite) bronze bearing slots while checking on a piece of glass. Severely twisted trucks will only really have 2 of the 4 wheels (2 axle) applying traction.

I have a few slower locos, but will not slow all others to speed match just for those few. There's no CV for "speed it UP

Added: Regarding the Pearl Drops, it did make a very small difference in smoothing out the gear mesh, however, after all the work involved, I don't feel that it made that great an improvement. As long as the gears apear to be propely molded and show no flash, breaking in the truck will do almost the same.