American Flyer 3162 steam engine.

3162 is an observation car.

Pictures of your motor would be helpful, but if it is the style I think it is, the brushes are held in place by the wires going to the brush tubes. There should just be one spring per tube, but it should work fine with the two shorter ones.

Put the plate on first, then put the brushes into the tubes, then the springs, then the metal rivets (smooth side out). Stiff wire (solid or tinned stranded) through the holes in the end of the tubes hold it all in place (I use a large toothpick or a small screwdriver to compress it all so that the wire can be put through). Put a bend/ twist into the free end after it goes through so it can not pull/ work back out. The wires are connected in the "normal" manner to the rest of the locomotive wiring.

In my experience, the reverse unit is temperamental and should be left alone if it works, locked in forward/bypassed if it does not. Wheels are available, but can be hard to find. Be aware that the AF engines sometimes operate at lower voltages than Lionel (6-8 vs. 10-12).

Thank you for the quick response. I do believe your answer was exactly what I was looking for. After my post and before going to bed I took one last look at the motor and thought about the wires through the tube. Not wanting to damage anything I decided to wait for an expert opinion, just like yours  I will probably get to work on it this week.  I will let you know how it went and maybe post a few pictures, if I am allowed to. Thank you so much for your help!

Henning's has some wheels. See their website or give them a call. They will need to be replaced. Just to {test} get the motor running hold loco in your lap and tap the axle with a small punch to loosen the wheels. Use same method to remove wheels also.

Chris

I am hoping to get the engine identified, the tender is marked 3199.   The engine is an 0-4-2  I don't know if the 3rd pic (brushes springs etc) is visible, but the springs don't match. The 4th pic is a bronze bushing that fell out while I was trying to remove the engine shell. I can't locate where the bushing came from. If and when I can get the motor to run I will order wheels and replace them. 

I want to thank ÜBERSTATIONMEISTER , your information invaluable for me. Thank you! 

Thank you CAA. You Have saved me a lot of searching for the wheels. 

I am still looking for any help or information on this engine. The more I am finding out about prewar AF the more I am liking AF. I am no longer a Lionel snob, lol,  

 I would love to feature this engine on our club train board. 

A great  thread 67 pages for prewar AF is on  CTT forums : Prewar American Flyer Pictures- An Invation. Started by Northwoods Flyer. I started like you then found this thread. I now have a pretty good collection of AF prewar. There are a couple of other parts dealers for AF prewar when you get ready let me know. Have fun, Chris.

CAA,

Thanks for the plug.  I am always happy to hear that someone has discovered Pre War American Flyer trains.  I hope you are enjoying building your AF collection.

From what I can see Bob C's engine looks like it might be the 3315 with the ringing bell, except the brass overlay on the running boards isn't present.  I'll have to do some research to be sure.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Thank you Greg. The overlays were removed because I couldn't separate the motor from the shell. Before I started the teardown I couldn't find anything about the engine (erroneous engine #3162 didn't help) so I went about it very slowly.    My first problem was trying to remove the shell without causing damage.   After an hour of struggling with it, I just pried the motor out. I then realized the previous owner must have over tightened the rear retaining screw, pulling the lower cab housing inward, which prevented the shell from slipping off.  Up until that point, anything thing resembling a screw came out. lol. I was not going to let this AF engine get the best of me, at least not this early in the game.

Thank you for the much needed info. Right now I have 2 questions.    I posted a pic of a bronze bushing that fell out of the engine before I took apart anything other then the screws passing through shell. Do you recognize it?

My 2nd question: do you think the motor can run with the brushes and springs that came with the motor?

Again, thank you so much. Everybody on this board is amazing!

Bob

This is what Bob's engine looks like when it is all assembled.  

Bob,

By now I am sure that you are aware that the 3315 is actually a 2-4-2. You will also need a leading truck to complete your restoration.  I am not much of a repair or parts person so I don't know the answer to your questions. That is an aspect of the hobby I hope to indulge in once I reach retirement.  If the motor ran before you disassembled it I don't see why it wouldn't run with the same parts back in place.  I think if you ask the same questions over on the other thread you might get some helpful responses there too.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg