2024 Repair

From an engineering perspective 'squishing' the bearing is not going to give you a new tighter bore that will be 'true'. In fact it is going to give more problems than you have now as it is virtually impossible to know what the new bore could possibly be and will probably end in the armature shaft binding.

Is it not possible to press out the bearing and simply press a new one in, I would think these are an interference fit.

With regards to the worm gear, I have seen worse and it probably has lots more mileage left in it as is. Of course you could replace it to know you have a new one installed but another option is to take it off and turn it around so that you start driving on the opposite face of the teeth which have probably less wear.

Lastly, it is always a good idea to use shim washers to remove end float on the armature movement, just need to get it right, a bit of trial and error is involved here.

The bearing looks fine, I wouldn't mess with it. The engine/motor is only going to be able to pull 4-5 light weight cars, so the bearing is not going to be under heavy stress. You're not going to see any added performance by changing it, if it is even available. My opinion is leave well enough alone, just reassemble and a light coating of grease on the gear when done and a couple of drops of oil on the bearing.

Ukaflyer posted:

From an engineering perspective 'squishing' the bearing is not going to give you a new tighter bore that will be 'true'. In fact it is going to give more problems than you have now as it is virtually impossible to know what the new bore could possibly be and will probably end in the armature shaft binding.

Is it not possible to press out the bearing and simply press a new one in, I would think these are an interference fit.

With regards to the worm gear, I have seen worse and it probably has lots more mileage left in it as is. Of course you could replace it to know you have a new one installed but another option is to take it off and turn it around so that you start driving on the opposite face of the teeth which have probably less wear.

Lastly, it is always a good idea to use shim washers to remove end float on the armature movement, just need to get it right, a bit of trial and error is involved here.

Your points are well taking with regard to the infamous squishing technique...

Yes it's possible to punch out the old - the problem after that will be finding a new bearing - I have no part number list, no drawings, and generally Lionel didn't provide repair parts that are part of the frame assy, so.... not sure where to get a new one. I suspect my machinist friend could make a new one if I leave this one intact enough for him to measure.

The 2nd issue will be insuring armature alignment of the press-in bearing. No clue how to insure the match since the pressing-in would be done from the top side of the frame, right where the armature will be.

Great idea on the worm gear - in fact that part will quite likely be available new, so I will search that one down - might even use a Delrin gear just to start a new debate on the virtues of metal vs. plastic

Chuck Sartor posted:

The bearing looks fine, I wouldn't mess with it. The engine/motor is only going to be able to pull 4-5 light weight cars, so the bearing is not going to be under heavy stress. You're not going to see any added performance by changing it, if it is even available. My opinion is leave well enough alone, just reassemble and a light coating of grease on the gear when done and a couple of drops of oil on the bearing.

Chuck, your suggestion was my real 1st choice ... and may well be my last choice .... sometimes I just have to realize when the efforts and cost aren't worth the learning experience. I might still turn the worm gear around for a "fresh face" for the worm to wear on, and shim the worm gear axle to take out side play - relatively easy steps.

I suspect my machinist friend could make a new one if I leave this one intact enough for him to measure.

I original bearing is almost certainly an Oilite.
According to what I've read, Oilite bearing are difficult to machine.
I've seen other reproduction bearings made from brass.
I don't care for them, they seem to have more friction, but maybe that's my imagination.

C W Burfle posted:

I suspect my machinist friend could make a new one if I leave this one intact enough for him to measure.

I original bearing is almost certainly an Oilite.
According to what I've read, Oilite bearing are difficult to machine.
I've seen other reproduction bearings made from brass.
I don't care for them, they seem to have more friction, but maybe that's my imagination.

I think the bearing replacement is probably not going to happen - I will run it by my friend just to see what he says, but likely not....

As far as reversing or replacing the worm gear, the worm gear axle doesn't seem to show splines the way I'm used to seeing them - it almost appears that the axle was pinched, swaged, clinched (whatever) once the gear was in position - have you seen this before?

You say this is a learning excercise more than anything else, so if you have a micrometer you can measure the diameter of the armature shaft that runs in the bearing, measure the outside diameter of the old bearing and finally measure the amount of bearing that protrudes on the armature side.

With these measurement go look for some oliite bearing suppliers and look for one that has a flange one end, bit like a top hat, I would be looking for one that has a flange thickness as close to the same amount that protrudes the armature side and if it is thinner then add shims and if it is a bit thicker you may be lucky that there is enough original free end play to it not being a problem. The length the other side doesn't look as critcal as there seems to be a good distance from the this side to the gear.

The good part of using a flange bearing is that once pressed in place it should be in a true position vertically for the bore and not cause binding once the armature is refitted.

The splines on that shaft are the deep groves in the gear axle, that run the length of the gear.

GeoPeg posted:

As far as reversing or replacing the worm gear, the worm gear axle doesn't seem to show splines the way I'm used to seeing them - it almost appears that the axle was pinched, swaged, clinched (whatever) once the gear was in position - have you seen this before?

 That view looks entirely normal & as such. The axle was upset before the gear was pressed on.

Thanks everybody! And now I have to put things on hold for a while so I can attend to family matters. I'll be back at it late at night or later in the week. I appreciate the advice!!