Atomic engine issue

I am sure you are going to get a fair amount of responses to this...Without having the motor in ones hand, it is going to be fairly hard to diagnose...But some things you can do, make sure the field is tightly held to the motor housing; the studs that hold the brush cap on do over time come loose and cause excess vibration and noise.  If you have a vise, just rest the stud on it and re peen it to make sure it is tight.  Getting the bearing out is a somewhat an easy to do job, since the armature is out and you have all the small bearings out, use a small punch and insert it where the armature shaft goes and lightly tap out the bearings at both ends.  Order two new ones from The Train Tender, he should have these, and also ordr new bearings, I would say at least six or seven for each end and new washers.  I would think all these would be less than $20.

Make sure to pack them good with fresh grease...In your pic, it looks like the motor has been run awhile fairly dry and that may have caused the problem...  When you get your new parts, make sure they match the old part and putting them back in is fairly easy, just lightly tap them back in place and dry fit the armature, if the fit is tight, you may have to reem out the hole a tad, install the bearings and lube and washers and you should be good to go.  If the brushes and springs look worn, get new ones of these also...Good luck, you should have this puppy running like new in no time...

Marty

Thanks for the info. Everything seems in good shape except for this little issue. The whole thing seems tight and the motor spins freely. In my hand it seems it should purr like a kitten but under a load the vibration kicks in. I'll look into punching out the old one and replacing it along with the bearings and washers. I just don't want to ruin something knocking out the old one 

The bearing in the picture is already ruined, so you can't hurt anything...

Marty

LOL good point.

Thanks to you I've got it done. I didn't have a punch but I did have a small torx driver and a vise. They popped out much easier than I thought they would especially since I only used a small old upholstery tack hammer. Thanks again for all your help. Keep an eye out for me as I have what I think is a 1939-WWII American Flyer that was my dads that's a wreck!

When I worked at the local Sunoco station years ago (many!), we had had a special set of tools, that were used to install automotive starter bushings in the drive end and the brush ends of the starters. I would love to find one of these at a flea market or sale, it would make this job a snap. Well done, let us know how the loco works after you are done. You could tighten the rivets a bit on the field, that might help with the "growler" you experienced. 

Found the bearing/bushings at the lone train store here in town. Put it all back together and the noise is history! This pretty much completes my two lionel locos a 2018 and the 726 except for cosmetics. The last thing is my Dads old American Flyer 484 which is a true basket case. Thanks for all the help!