I just picked up set #8130, with the 8899 4-6-0. I knew in advance that the engine didn't run, but I figured I could get it going, based on all the great info available on this and other sites.

This is my first time dealing with the dreaded "Hardened Oil Syndrome"; boy, you all weren't kidding! After I got all the gears freed up and the motor cleaned, it (the motor) does run, but the wheels don't turn. I figure it's one of two things, and I'm hoping someone here can help.

1. The worm gear is worn, and needs to be replaced. I read a similar thread on this forum about this issue...

2. The gear and shaft of said worm is still frozen. Now, I have not taken the motor off the frame to check this, and so here is my question: do I need to unsolder the motor from the "capacitor" (what is that even for?) and pickup tabs before the motor can be removed?

Any and all suggestions are most welcome! Thanks.

Mark in Oregon

Mark,

I have the 8899, it had the same issue, the gear right under the motor was totally stuck on mine, I would start the search there. Also, when you remove the motor, you can check the wormgear while you are at it.

Kristof

Okay gentlemen, this is what I found.

In this case anyway, the contacts were indeed soldered to the motor, so I did have to un-solder before I could remove the motor from the frame.

It was still a very tight fit, and took a good bit of wiggling to finally get it to come loose. I suspect the motor had never been removed, and it had some "gunk" that made removal more difficult. A good cleaning of everything took care of that issue.

The worm looked fine: I think I saw just a bit of wear on the gear that is set well within the frame; once again, a cleaning and careful oiling seemed to free it up nicely.

I re-assembled everything and, with fingers crossed, hooked up the leads from the power pack and it did indeed run. A little rough at first, but I'm hoping with a bit of a break-in it'll be better.

Final thoughts: first off, I appreciate the engineering that went into this design that makes it possible to actually work on something this small. Very cool. Second, it's also nice that Marklin has a support system in place to help with "do-it yourself" repairs, such as that link to the parts diagram. Third, I am once again impressed with how quiet this mechanism is. And lastly, that "Hardened Oil Syndrome" is a real bear...I'm happy I read about it before I began this project! I'm guessing almost any used Marklin loco one purchases will have this condition.

Lots of patience, I think, is the key to working on this small stuff.

FWIW, here's a photo of the lok and its set:



My thanks to all who weighed in...

Mark in Oregon