Getting Postwar 2353 F3 Ready

If it was me (and I have a bunch of PW F3 sets), I'd pop those horizontal growlers off their trucks and relube the gearing (and clean off the old lube if it's hardened). Then I'd pop off the brush plate and clean the commutators and if the brushes and springs have never been replaced.....swap them out. And it wouldn't hurt to clean the e-unit fingers and drum with contact cleaner. If the wheels are dirty, I'd also clean them.....and the rollers.  You should be good to go.

Roger

I concur, a full service on both motors and the worm drive in both trucks. I give the trucks in my postwar F3's a WD-40 bath to flush old oil out and since WD-40 is somewhat of a solvent, it will help get rid of some of the varnish the old oil leaves behind.  Then set the trucks aside on a paper towel to drain/dry while I service both motors and clean the E unit drum.  Once that is done, I wipe both trucks down with a soft rag, using Q-tips to get into tight spots and down by the axle gears.  I then relubricate with light machine oil on the bearings, and for the worm drive and pinion gears I use a thicker oil that is ment for the ways in a CNC machine.  Works real well and doesn't gum up with age. If the motor brushes have lots of life left, then I clean them up and reinstall them, otherwise I replace them. I clean the slots in the communtator face with the tip of my pocket knife or a tooth pick.  I use Q-tips that I soak in isopropyl alcohol to clean out the brush tubes.  Once back together and running upside down, I use a brass wire wheel in my dremel to polish the wheels up. Only use a brass one or non magnetic due to magnatraction.     Mike

Thanks for the thorough review and instruction. It has been a longtime since I have done all this. I will have to check my repair manuals to see how the trucks and motors come apart.

Joeg