Hello,

I had my 26730 out of the box for a few minutes on my test track. I have been preparing a photo inventory of my collection and wanted to take a few shots. I noticed that the set of wheels on the slider end of the locomotive were jammed and are very sluggish to turn. I oiled the axles and the mounts for the rod as indicated in the instruction booklet, but this has not improved things. Since I acquired the unit, it has not seen much use (a test lap or two) and I do not think it was used before I bought it. The motor drive is working fine. What is my best option to find out whether it needs a cleaning or needs more oil in a specific spot to get moving again?

Thanks

Mike C

Mike,

26730/28730 sets were produced in 1998, so it is very likely the old M oil has gone hard and locked up the axles in the truck chassis

I would wait and see if the oil you have applied allready soaks thru and frees things up. Meantime do not force the wheels to turn by turning individual axles with your fingures, otherwise you may bend the rods !

If they dont free up the best way would be to dismantle the Lok and remove the front truck from the Lok, and the rods if you have the tools and the skill, and give the truck a deep soak, over night at least, in something like shelllight as we know it here, or some old type lighter fluid, most of these products are highly refined petrol without additives, so should not harm the paint work.
You could also use isopropyl alcohol
Anybody in the US or Canada familiar with the local product names There has been threads on this subject in the forum allready IIRC, I'm sure, so a few searches may turn up somemore info

If this works, and you can be bothered, you may want to do the same for the rear powered truck after removing all the electrics and armature etc as well, as the famous old M oil clogging process will have been at work there too, but the power of the motor has overcome it. The powered truck has all those gears as well so extra care is needed !

Then before reassembling the Lok give each axle an oil, I use Labelles 107 , with the rods still removed and check they are rotating freely, but apply gentle, only, turning forces to both wheels on each axle at the same time otherwise you'll could have them turn on the axle get them out of alignment. If there is any resistance, put the truck back in the bath

The rods should be at exactly 90degrees to one another, just the same as a Dampflok

Good luck

For some time Märklin used a "motor glue" type of oil at the factory. My 26730 also suffered from hardened oil (OK, I bought third hand or so).
I've also had this problems with "new" items from dealers (items the dealer had in stock for 10+ years).

My locos from the ’70s that I had stowed away for 25+ years had no problems with hardened oil.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have not seen any improvement half a day after oiling the axles.
There is only once screw on the base of the assembly, which seems to hold the outermost axle and coupler in place. Once this is removed, can I remove the bottom panel and will I have access to the main axles and the drive wheel from the inside? This is the first time i have seen this kind of problem with a Maerklin lok.

Regards

Mike C

I had similar problems with my 3300 Swiss Crocodile from 1985 and one of my 3756. 3756 needed only oiling and then it was ok. But 3300 needed an full maintenance to bring it back to working order. In this topic is good advices how to do it. It should not be too complicated.

I have bought most of my locos second hand "like new" or "new", but around 8-10 years old. Many of them have had jammed motor or gears etc. That oil or better to say grease Märklin used back then is the cause of this jamming. I have maybe fixed around 10-20 locos from this by dismantling them, cleaned the old grease away with new lighter oil and by turning the gears/wheels and at the same time cleaning the gears to get all that old grease off. When doing these locos maintenance I have found out that almost every time that grease is jamming some gears behind them and motor frame so that the gears can not turn at all or not as easy as they should. By putting some small drops of Faller light oil behind these gears have helped me every time.

Many locos front trailing truck wheels are also not turning as freely as they should. Many BR 86's I have and Bayerische EP 3/6 for example. Some drops of oil, turn the wheels first by hand and then put some pressure (weight) on this axle(s) by pressing it lightly towards the track to get it turning. After it begins to turn then some high speed running to free the axles even more. Here the problem is with very light loco axle weight and a bit old grease (or oil).

Regards,
Janne

Edited by user 01 May 2013 18:48:20(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I removed the rods and was able to narrow down the problem to the drive wheel on one side. All wheels in contact with the rails turned freely although the second one did not seem to remain in contact with the rails at all times and was therefore slipping ever so often. The drive wheel worked fine when one side was reconnected to the rod, but the other side seems to be gummed up.
I have concluded that the cover can be removed by looking at the 3756 exploded view, but I am not sure how to get at it. Can somebody please provide more detail on how to open up the crocodile? I have removed the screw to remove the cab, but am not sure how to remove the rest of the shell. The instructions seem to indicate that you have to release them from the bottom, but not sure exactly how to do this.

In the meantime, i applied a little more oil to the suspected troublespot and will let that soak in overnight. I will give it another go tomorrow.

Regards

Mike C

If you want to remove Crocodile front or rear hoods you dont need any tools in newer (smaller) Crocodiles. Just press the hood outwards. It can be quite stiff to remove, but should be possible without help of any tools. In older bigger Crocodiles (CCS 800, 3015, 30159, 36159, 31859 and 31860 green and white versions) there is a screw securing the hoods.

As far as I can remember the hood (front or rear body) must be removed to be able to remove that plastic part near wheels and blind wheels. It was quite simple thing to do anyway. If someone can post a exploded view picture of Crocodile it is easy to see what is needed to dismantle it.

Cheers,
Janne

Mike,

Any progress with this Crocodile project? Do you still need help from Forum to fix it?

Cheers,
Janne