# oil/grease options



## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

Ok guys and gals one of my steamers is being quite the racket and I want to shut it up literally, I tried oiling all the moving parts as I am supposed to but it still makes a noise kinda like a grinding wiring noise...gears...so what i wanna know is what grease is best to shut them darn'd tootin' trains up? Lithium grease?? oil Is good for lubing the wheels and what not but i want to silence or quiet down the plastic gears in them trains as much as I can, I don't mind getting dirty fingers but I want to keep the mess (and insides) as relatively clean as possible....so yea ideas?


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Servoguy converted me over to 5W-20 or 5W-30 motor oil ... doesn't dry out over long time.

If noise is a real issue, lithium grease could help quite that.

Is something misaligned, though? Things shouldn't be too noisy to begin with.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Agreed----gear clatter can mean misalignment of the gears. Look for a loose mounting screw. I'm old school, so I'm still using lithium grease.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

I have a Mantua that the gears wore over time. Had to realign then to correct for the wear. If you have greased / oiled everything properly then as TJ said above check the mesh. If it is not that check that there is not a worn out bushing in the motor. A had one with a pitman motor that the bushing was worn and allowed the shaft to move fore and aft. This changed the gear mesh when changing from forward to reverse. That also caused noise for me.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

i think its just needing lithium for now and I was told any WD40 oil will eat plastic, doesn't that mean the 5w40 would do essentially the same??

also what about heat sync paste for a CPU would that do any thing or no?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

New Berlin RR said:


> i think its just needing lithium for now and I was told any WD40 oil will eat plastic, doesn't that mean the 5w40 would do essentially the same??
> 
> also what about heat sync paste for a CPU would that do any thing or no?


Heat sink paste will just gum everything up!
WD40 and 5w40 are no where near the same formulation of oils.
5w (weight) 40 is a medium light oil.
WD (Water Dryer) 40 is a water displacing oil.


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## ravex1049 (Dec 19, 2011)

I found some 3-in-One oil made for electrical things/motors. Quieted down my squeaking GP-7


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

ok so will the 5w40 eat plastics like its WD40 counter part? or are we talking about motor oil 5w30?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

No it won't eat plastics, and yes it's motor oil!
Oh and I was wrong the (w) is for winter not weight.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

3-in-One oil seems to turn gummy after a spell, I'd stick with the motor oil. A couple of bucks buys you a lifetime supply.


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

I read somewhere about using Pearl Drops, the toothpaste, to run in new locos gear drives. Yay or Nay? 

What about sewing machine oil?
Next question, where can you find sewing machine oil anyway?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I would say no! I'd stick with the light motor oil, it has a good track record.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> 3-in-One oil seems to turn gummy after a spell, I'd stick with the motor oil. A couple of bucks buys you a lifetime supply.


well it looks like im off to vatazone again, as im gonna need to get oil for my truck anyways  oh darn....guess I found train oils there too  boy will the boys there be suprised when I ask them for one bottle of train oil in 5w30  oh wait I did that already and they just gave me the "what the fire truck" look....but hey if it works ill get a bottle 




JackC said:


> I read somewhere about using Pearl Drops, the toothpaste, to run in new locos gear drives. Yay or Nay?


toothpaste? uhhh id stay away from that unless you like a mess in side your poor engine...




JackC said:


> What about sewing machine oil?
> Next question, where can you find sewing machine oil anyway?


IIRC this stuff is so light its runny, no consistency really or well at all for the matter....


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## Robes (Jan 5, 2011)

I use some lub oil that came with my Wahl horse clippers....... Kinda the same thing the barbers use on their clippers.....


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## ravex1049 (Dec 19, 2011)

This is what I found


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

For the price of that dinky little can, you can have a quart or two of 5-30 motor oil, and it'll do as good or better a job of lubricating.


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

what if I was to use 10w30 oil,would that work, would it be the same as the 5w30? or would it harm the plastics?


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## [email protected] (Jan 30, 2012)

Where's the dipstick on my El Cheapo Deluxe engine?

My school is old, too...


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

[email protected] said:


> Where's the dipstick on my El Cheapo Deluxe engine?
> 
> My school is old, too...
> 
> View attachment 15842


in the engine silly!

on a side note, tested on the engine that I really don't care for (if it breaks big deal ill replace it) and figured what the heck, its not my nicest one anyways, so I got the 5W30 (to be safe) and a syringe from targay  and well ill let the pics talk for me, as for the squeeling it made, ahhh its music to my ears, I can run her longer and not hear it  and only needs 35% throttle to run 10 cars YAY!!!! im happy, the true test is going to be time!

The Victim....err volunteer...ol faithful...









The Oil used









How I applied it to the engine (hey it worked!)









Before

















After









Testing

















She even managed to pull fast enough to cause a car to derail!!! good girl!!


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Yep 10w30 is also fine.
Oh and putting whitening tooth paste like pearl drops into the gear case of a noisy engine will quiet it down!
You clean all the grease out of the gears install tooth paste like grease, run train at moderate to moderate high speed about 1/2 each direction, clean all of the tooth paste back out of the gear box and install white lithium grease, all done!
The tooth paste will polish and mate the gears enabling it to run better and quieter!


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

EWWW! Not Good!







:laugh::laugh::laugh:


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## New Berlin RR (Feb 11, 2012)

HAHA tell that to my 1995 F150 that is beaten on each and every day as its a work truck and it is used to haul just about any thing I need to  oops....oh and you know what they say about Can Hear Every Valve Rattling After Very Long Extended Trips or Chevrolet  lets not get this type of thread started here....unless were talking in HO scale...but anyways its been running for the better part of two hours quiet as can be, yea I hear the motor turning but its no longer making its horrid squealing noises...


On a side note anyone know how to tear down the SP cab forward from Riverossi? shes having issues moving around my curves too  and ive tried her on both large (40" curves) and smaller curves (18" - 22") and shes having a heck of a time running steady...loves to stop and go all the time  two weeks ago she would pull at least 5 cars, now shes lucky to pull her self, and that was before I let someone else "oil" her up...so yea how do i get it apart...?


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## Rangerover (Feb 8, 2012)

Most manufacturers of model trains and almost every RR modeller, and me, will tell you not to use petroleum products on your models. It has been known to soften plastic gears and shells and railroad ties. The only exception I've heard of is automatic trans fluid, which I don't use either. Hair clipper oil (labelle) is recommended, sewing machine oil too is safe, and I use lithium grease in older gear boxes. Bachmann also sells grease they use. Petroleum oils and grease also have a tendency to get gummy and it attracts dirt and dust like a magnet. I put the oil on with a nail tip, and that's all that's reqired for the motor bushings. some folks oil so much it runs in the motor and you can smell it burn and will destroy the brush's and armatures, and the motor. It also, if applied too much, will mess up the electical contacts on the wheels BIG TIME. When you think you haven't put enough on, stop because you got enough on. One of the worst places to put oil is on your rolling stock axle ends. If your axles don't spin freely, especially plastic trucks, invest in an axle reamer, deburring tool to clean them out. if you do lubricate them use fine graphite only. Jim


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## Southern (Nov 17, 2008)

On the Rivarossi, make sure the tender wheels are clean as they are a electrical pickup.


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## jaydv (Dec 10, 2011)

Good thread but...just exactly where/what do you oil/grease. I'm new to this and I haven't got a clue! Any pics??? (I have a plain, vanilla, noisy Athearn GP-38 Switcher)


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

This may be overkill for what your asking, but here's a nice how-to explanation on servicing an Athearn desiel ...

http://www.mcor-nmra.org/Publications/Articles/Athearn_TuneUp.html

TJ


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## jaydv (Dec 10, 2011)

Not "overkill" at all, TJ! EXACTLY what I was looking for...THANK YOU!!!


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