I've come up with some ideas but nothing like getting rid of the general noise. Märklin has tried to overcome that noise with adding a plastic cog gear between 2 metal gears, but there is also noise coming from the rod mechanism, my answer to reduce noise was to install ball bearings on both sides of the armature shaft and also with the 3 or 5 pole motor (drum armature) I have corrected the line up between brush holder (both sides) and the armature to a true 90° angle it reduced the noise but didn't get rid of., mind you there isn't any oil or grease within the gears

John

Hi,

If you are going to use MoS2 I suggest that you try this: Red Line CV-2
It contains red molybden which in better than the black one.

Åke

Ake,

Interesting, I could use the rest on my Austin 7. Did MoS2 make any difference or did it just make a mess?!

I have managed to get steel and brass worm wheel gears to run much more quietly with the following method but have not tried it on spur gears. So for those who wish to experiment this is a suggestion and a starting point not a step by step cure.

If you want to try it then I recommend that you experiment on a low value "junk box loco" before trying it on anything more valuable.

1. Dismantle the locomotive and remove the drive rods.

2. clean any and all grease or oil from the gears. (Use a solvent like WD40, gasoline, lighter fluid or similar but be careful. You don't want to strip the paint on the chassis)
If the gears are tight smear a small amount of valve grinding paste on the gear teeth and run the motor for 5 - 10 minutes in each direction. Clean the valve paste off the gears. Something like denatured alcohol or contact cleaner works well. If the gears are not tight don't use grinding paste go straight to step 2.

3 Redo above but this time use toothpaste instead of valve grinding paste. Clean thoroughly.

4. Redo again this time with metal polish.

5. Thoroughly clean the gears and surrounding areas.

6. Lubricate with the appropriate grease or lubricant.

This method needs constant vigilance. The aim is to bed the gears in and take off any rough surfaces not wear them out prematurely.

I use good quality clock oil for rods and shafts.
For gears I generally use chain bar oil designed for chain saws. Chain bar oil is designed to be thin enough not to clog up the chain but has an additive that helps it stay where needed and not get thrown off by centrifugal force.

From what I recall of the chemistry of it is that the oil is in long strands and the adhesive properties are physical rather than chemical but I am going from memory so maybe well off the mark.

I am aware that there are many new high quality lubricants no the market so others with more experience of them may light to make suggestions. I am just going on what has worked for me till now.

Cheers
Pete



Anyway these are just a few things to ponder and maybe try out

Ok.....so I got the gears back from the coating place, a bit upset, I didnt realise the wheels were made of some kind of low melting point alloy, and so the 2 drive wheels I left on the axles with the gears have flattened and melted a bit. I was still able to do a quick test run but the poor E40 is a bit wobbly with 2 wheels in such a state. I deffinatley would say the teflon has eliminated the chainsaw grindy noise but has dampened it. I must now secure 2 new traction wheels and fit these to finish tests. Anyone know much about the maxon motor conversion ?