Hi. Love those railbuses! From your question you have one of the older railbus models with 3 or 5 pole motor. I think that model was first released in 1973.

It is likely best to remove the shell first. You will see right thru that clear insulator to the worm gear.

The instructions says to lube the gear after 20 hours of use. That is probably the standard set for use with the thicker Marklin oil. With 108, you may need to add lube a bit more often but I cannot give you a number of hours to repeat the process. The 108 oil is thinner. So you will need to consider this.

If the black plastic wheel frame on the bottom is removed, the worm gear should be accessible. Be aware of which way you remove the wheel frame because it needs to go back in with the same orientation. There are little molded spring or overhang that have to be the same on each side. The only problem, reassembly will be a challenge as you will need all of the wheel contacts behind each wheel. I usually use a sponge type cage to keep things together and press lightly in on the contacts with a plastic bag tie to keep it behind the wheel. ( if that could possible make sense to you). When you get into it, you will understand what I am trying to describe. This is a time when four hands would come in handy. Don’t worry, you will get better at it after a time. Just keep at it.

I looked for a diagram for this railbus model on the Marklin site, but did not come up with it. Maybe, it was dropped because these are old models. Darn. I will see if I can find it if you think you need it.

Best wishes.

Dwight

P.s. found it.

https://static.maerklin....61e59cffcf1434542510.pdf

Some spares dealers / Märklin repair centers will have buffers in stock... Even one in the USA has them.

Hi.

Here is a bit of information about the different railbuses produced if you are interested. (Just scroll down in the link and you will find the article)

http://ztrainsweekly.com/category/siding/page/9/

This article gives the impression that the first railbus was introduced in 1988, but I can assure you, they were first cataloged in 1973.

Regarding your comments, you are correct, the railbus in the brown wood grained box is normally some of the oldest around. Sometimes sellers don’t know, and sell newer models in the older box. Better a wrong box than no box at all. An 8112 was sold in the box introduced in the early to mid 80s which has a photo of the model on the sliding cover. The 8112 was sold together with a powered unit and a matching non powered trailer.

There may be some slight variations in the red railbus, comparing the older models, but essentially it has not changed until recently. (Now has more detail added). With first production in 1973, what I find amazing is that they still work and if you look hard enough, you can still find parts and maintain them. With a bit of TLC, who knows how long they will keep going. Take good care with maintaining that motor, they are as rare as they come. Replacements are few and far between, even the newer 5 poles is sold out everywhere. I keep hoping someone will uncover a pile of old store stock motors someplace.

On a schedule for complete cleaning, I would say to depends on your running conditions. A clean track may extend your interval for cleaning. I think it would a
also depend on your visual inspection. Fuzz and dirt will give you the signal, excessive, unusual noise or poor performance are all indications a deep cleaning is necessary. On this, you will have to use your own judgement. When the time comes. just be careful not to damage or lose parts, they can be hard to replace.

I have some missing buffers too, but I think they are available from the parts sellers. Some buffers are now sold as universal replacements. These might work on the railbus and since new versions are being made, you should find something.

Sorry, I could go on and on about the railbus. Hope I helped.

Best wishes

Dwight

Thanks Dwight for all the info, the more the better! Interesting read on the different railbuses Marklin had produced, I didn't even know some existed. I'm going to be very careful with my railbuses for sure!