Legacy engine roller ticking? Need opinions

You could order a replacement roller assembly from Lionel (when their parts department reopens next month.)  But if it's not getting snagged on the track, I don't personally hear anything in the video that would give me cause for concern.

Did you try removing the roller and see if the noise went away? Is this the same truck you had problems with before?

Doug

trnluvr posted:

Did you try removing the roller and see if the noise went away? Is this the same truck you had problems with before?

Doug

Good idea Doug, this is a quick test if the rollers are the source.

Ted S posted:

You could order a replacement roller assembly from Lionel (when their parts department reopens next month.)  But if it's not getting snagged on the track, I don't personally hear anything in the video that would give me cause for concern.

Ted,

If it turns out to be the roller, I'd just exchange it for another. The risks in sending the pair of units themselves back to Lionel would be way too high.

James, the roller could be the issue. Looks like it is not square with the truck frame. Easy fix to straighten it out. Make sure the roller comes in complete contact with the center rail. 

trnluvr posted:

Did you try removing the roller and see if the noise went away? Is this the same truck you had problems with before?

Doug

Doug, I'm afraid you are dealing with someone with 2 left thumbs! Never even took off a roller before. I see just one screw...is it as simple as just removing that one screw and the assembly comes off? And it's ok to run the engine with the assembly removed to check if the ticking goes away?

Have you tried in on tubular track?

Don't have any anymore Marty

Sounds like the wheel flange is hitting the little nubs on the ties.  My 3751 does the same.

James, yes it's the one screw and the roller and a plastic insulator will come off. You can run it to test it,your just loosing one point of power pick up.

Doug

Thanks Doug! Appreciate the help!

Good news! Lionel parts department has reopened. Does anyone happen to know the part number or exact name of the pickup roller assembly for a Legacy diesel? So far searching I'm not finding anything that looks like what's on my Alco.

Actually I found 3 that look right...all look the same to me!

Is that where the noise was coming from?

This one looks like it's used on a lot of the 6 axle LionDrive trucks.

Doug

Yes I think that's it. And I thought I had proof that it was the roller but now I'm frustrated. When I took off the front roller which I thought was the culprit the sound didn't go away completely. Then I took off the second front roller and the sound seem to go away but on closer inspection it was still there but seem to be coming from the back truck! I ended up taking off each roller one by one and the sound never completely went away in any case. So either there's a problem with all the rollers or it's not the rollers at all! I am not a very good detective! Here's a close-up video. Can anyone figure it out? By the way the rear unit makes no noise at all when I put it on the track by itself so even though you still hear the sound and the video when the rearunit passes buy real unit passes by it's not coming from that unit.

Finally some good news..since I couldn't figure out which roller was making the noise,or even of it was the rollers, I decided to go ahead and oil all of them.  I was expecting a bottle of Bachmann conductive lube today but the UPS truck broke down. All I had was a bottle of the light oil that comes in the Lionel maintenance kit, so I applied just a tiny amount with a toothpick to each roller.  The problem did not go away completely, but is no longer constant or as loud, so I think I'm on the right track. When the Bachmann comes I might just give them a touch of that too.

I still say its possibly the wheel flange on the fast track.  While it never hurts to try oiling the rollers, if it persists, I would get a section of tubular track and try it there to see if it goes away.

Out of curiosity, have you attempted to just run the unit while resting upside down or on its side powered via alligator clips so as to eliminate the track or movement associated w/ the roller(s) or wheels?

It think we can close this one out. Received the Bachmann contact lube tonight. One drop on each side of each roller. Here is the result. Thanks to everyone for all the helpful suggestions and concern!

Tick-free Alco pulls into the station!

Nice find.  Maybe I should take another look at my 3751.

James,glad to see you got it figured out.  I honestly didn't think it would be the roller but you proved me wrong. 

Doug

Marty...let me know if it works on your 3751.

Doug...let's see if the fix is permanent....have a feeling I may need to replace rollers eventually 

James,

well I lubed up the rollers and no joy. I popped the shell and the source of my ticking is the timing wheel hitting the board sensor.

J Daddy posted:

James,

well I lubed up the rollers and no joy. I popped the shell and the source of my ticking is the timing wheel hitting the board sensor.

 

The black timing / sensor wheel is hitting on the inside sensor. I lifted off the flywheel by loosening the allen head screw and had to bend the sensor a slight amount so the wheel would not hit it.

JD...that is advanced! Way over my head.  I don't even feel confident taking off a shell. I wish I had your skills....the way things are made today you have to become your own repairman!

Update! Ticking sound slowly but surely returned.  Another drop of Bachmann conductive oil silenced it again.  But it came back again. So I did a little experiment...I switched all 4 rollers of the ticking engine with those on the non-ticking rear engine and....voila! : front engine is now super quiet and rear engine ticks! So the ticking sound is undeniably caused by the rollers.  Unfortunately, the response to oiling them us temporary. I have asked Dean at Lionel to send me a new set of rollers at no charge since it is a brand new engine. Haven't heard back, but I understand he is very busy at the moment so I will be patient. At least I know for sure now there is nothing more complicated causing the noise.

As much as we all hate to, you really need to send it back to Lionel for overall repair. If not, you’ll certainly end up with a beautiful shelf queen. Let Dean analyze the situation for a perfect repair.