American Flyer O gauge repair question

ok I'll take the first swing at this. You say the wheels are still hard to turn you have to find out why. Take the armature out first. Check the gears make sure they are not chewed up. With the armature out see how the wheels turn you can soak the wheels in oil for awhile then blow out the excess. Make sure the big gear that drives the wheels doesn't wobble too much. If the wheels now turn then insert the armature back in without the brushes. See if everything still turns freely. If so clean armature facing and put in new brushes. Hopefully it will work. The thing to do is to get it to work mechically then tackle the electric part. I wouldn't pull the wheels unless you are sure they are the problem. You should be able to get it working

look at the wheels are they disintegrating? Judging from what I can see by enlarging the pic it looks like you will have to replace them, that is what is most likely binding the motor. You can get replacements from Trainz.

@jim mcclain posted:

ok I'll take the first swing at this. You say the wheels are still hard to turn you have to find out why. Take the armature out first. Check the gears make sure they are not chewed up. With the armature out see how the wheels turn you can soak the wheels in oil for awhile then blow out the excess. Make sure the big gear that drives the wheels doesn't wobble too much. If the wheels now turn then insert the armature back in without the brushes. See if everything still turns freely. If so clean armature facing and put in new brushes. Hopefully it will work. The thing to do is to get it to work mechically then tackle the electric part. I wouldn't pull the wheels unless you are sure they are the problem. You should be able to get it working

Good advice on working on the mechanical part first.  I had not been thinking in that direction at all but it makes good sense. Thanks.

@John A in N.C. posted:

look at the wheels are they disintegrating? Judging from what I can see by enlarging the pic it looks like you will have to replace them, that is what is most likely binding the motor. You can get replacements from Trainz.

Yes, it does look like they are disintegrating now that I look closer.  If I can get it working I will definitely replace them.  You saved me a lot of time as I probably would have tried to save them somehow. I’m not trying to keep original parts, just having fun trying to make it run. Thanks.

@jim mcclain posted:

ok I'll take the first swing at this. You say the wheels are still hard to turn you have to find out why. Take the armature out first. Check the gears make sure they are not chewed up. With the armature out see how the wheels turn you can soak the wheels in oil for awhile then blow out the excess. Make sure the big gear that drives the wheels doesn't wobble too much. If the wheels now turn then insert the armature back in without the brushes. See if everything still turns freely. If so clean armature facing and put in new brushes. Hopefully it will work. The thing to do is to get it to work mechically then tackle the electric part. I wouldn't pull the wheels unless you are sure they are the problem. You should be able to get it working

Jim

i removed the armature and liberally applied oil.  I don’t know if this qualifies as ‘soak the wheels in oil’   The gears look ok to me.  The wheels turn but still with effort and certainly not freely  

My guess is that the wheels have started to expand and the hubs have expanded into the frame and are rubbing on the motor frame, which causes them to be difficult to turn.  A way to check this is to take a hammer and punch and punch the axles and see if you can get some movement of the axle.  Generally you should be able to move the axles a bit to basically spread the wheels out from the frame.  You may have to work at it a bit.  I find that this generally loosens up the wheels, so they move freely.  You would still likely want to replace the wheels if they are disintegrating, but this will help you test the operation of the motor, prior to replacing the wheels.

@Nation Wide Lines posted:

My guess is that the wheels have started to expand and the hubs have expanded into the frame and are rubbing on the motor frame, which causes them to be difficult to turn.  A way to check this is to take a hammer and punch and punch the axles and see if you can get some movement of the axle.  Generally you should be able to move the axles a bit to basically spread the wheels out from the frame.  You may have to work at it a bit.  I find that this generally loosens up the wheels, so they move freely.  You would still likely want to replace the wheels if they are disintegrating, but this will help you test the operation of the motor, prior to replacing the wheels.

I’ll give it a shot.  Thanks.

Yes I agree with the  others you should be able to use a punch to remove the wheels the harder part will be getting the new wheels on.