I got a 4-wheel Lionel motor over the weekend. It was seized up to the point that the wheels wouldn’t turn, which meant I got it for almost nothing. The fix isn’t always this easy, but it’s common enough to be worth taking a chance on these neglected motors.
In my case, the problem was dried-out lubricants. It happens. I didn’t analyze what was in there; I just wanted to get my motor running again.
This motor was out of a Lionel 2034, so the armature comes out if you remove the brushplate. I found this out because the armature was stuck to the brushplate like glue. Very strong glue at that.
By twisting it, I was able to free the armature. I cleaned the bearing and the axle with contact cleaner one it was free, and re-lubed with Labelle 107, which is a good medium-weight synthetic oil.
Then I spun the wheels to verify they were free. They were. I cleaned the gears up a bit with contact cleaner, then re-lubed those with Labelle 106 grease, and added one drop of Labelle 107 to all of the other axles.
While I was at it, I also cleaned the commutator, which was filthy. It may have been the worst I’d seen, caked on with brush dust and mysterious oils.
But once I put it all back together, it ran with minimal protest. It’s not a glamorous motor, but it was pretty well put together, and it fits a lot of common Lionel shells.
The other common reason for a seized motor is steel wool bits in the gears. Usually this is a problem that requires a trip to the repair shop, as most people won’t have a wheel puller and a press to properly replace the wheels.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.