Lionel 397 repair question

Should I be able to turn the belt by hand?

Here's a parts diagram that may help you. This is from Olsen's train parts website.

franktrain

397

Olsens397

I was doing searches and I found where coal can be lodged.  I took needle nose and twisted on shaft as I worked with conveyor.  I got a piece of flat plastic out.  Now belt somewhat works. Any ideas?   

It's running more consistent.  A few more pieces of crap came out. Somemetimes it hangs and takes off again but occasionally I have to give a push.  Am I hurting anything by running to see if kinks come out?

Seems to be working well.  $30 well spent!  

The postwar 397  coal loader is known to have problems with coal getting under the belt. I think the problem is worsened when your bits of coal are too small.
The Lionel factory service manual discusses steps you can take to minimize the problem: 397 Service pages

Thanks CW.  I haven't tried coal Any coal yet.  I purchased coal tipple 6-24148.  Will that type of coal be ok with the 397?

Lionel also recommended a light application of talcum powder or coal starch inside the belt.

A drop or two of light oil at each end of the idler pulley on top and the driveshaft on each side of the belt at the bottom may help.

Has anyone successfully replaced a belt on a 397?

Bill

Has anyone successfully replaced a belt on a 397?

Sure, it's not a big job. See the service manual. 397 Service pages

if I can do it, anyone can. I just had mine apart because it was sluggish, runs like a top now.

C.W. & Dave:

Thanks and I have those service manual pages.  The diagrams show you how the parts go together but the text doesn’t tell you how to take it apart which needs to be done to install a new belt.  How do you remove the shaft from the tray as it apparently requires some special tools to pull the driving roller off the shaft?   Because I was working on one for a friend I didn’t want to force it and possibly crack the plastic tray. 

Bill

no special tools Bill. The metal hoop that goes thru the beam assembly needs to come out of their holes in the red tray, simple hand pressure. the cover plates need to come off the ends of the shaft, small screwdriver. You need to loosen and maybe take out the two mounting screws for the motor to let the shaft come off the motor.then the shaft will slid thru the beam. note the direction that the cams go on the shaft.and while you have it down, might as well clean and check the brushes and armature face as normal.

How do you remove the shaft from the tray as it apparently requires some special tools to pull the driving roller off the shaft?

They should slide off without too much force. But I have run into coal loaders which had those bearings frozen in place. I've tried various methods to free them.
On the last one, I had to cut the shaft in half and find a replacement. I think I replaced the cams too.
Another problem area are the little screws that hold the shaft bearings. They can get stuck too.

The best method to ensure no coal jams is to use only postwar coal, which has a larger and more consistent size and shape. I think they must have seived it during production for quality control.

Modern era Lionel coal is less processed. Looks like a bunch of bits and slivers from reject coal tenders which were hastily fed through a chipper. Lots of small fragments and odd shaped slivers that jam up the belt. It's ok to use, if you go through the painstaking process of seiving out the small pieces and hand picking out the slivers. 

Dave & C.W.

Thanks again.  I'll give it another shot when I get a chance.

Bill

chinatrain99 posted:

Seems to be working well.  $30 well spent!  

So what made it run so nice?

Not sure.  I just kept running and when it stopped, I'd help it.  Looks like there were a few links that needed worked out.  I haven't used any coal yet.  I have ctipple 6-24148 coal which is large.  I hope that will work.