Lionel 671 whistle tender question

The grinding sound is usually, if not always, caused by the armateur shaft needing oiled. You have to oil both sides of the shaft. One side is easy to get to, the other not so much. A needle point oiler is my prefered method. The other method is to flood the area with oil, then run the whistle with the shell off and let it fling the excess oil off. Clean up the mess as best you can, put the shell on, and enjoy perhaps the best whistle sound ever.

You may never get all of the grinding noise out. Give it a try.

Rob

Use high pressure compressed air to get all the cobwebs, tinsel, and 60-year-old cat & dog hair/fur out of the whistle chambers.

Thanks for the suggestions!! I'll give them a try.

Either way some little guys are going to be very excited to see their grandpa's trains running. And maybe we'll gain two more train hobbyists!

Yes, a needle oiler strategically inserted between two of the three armature poles is the way to get to the lower bushing.  Use Mobil 1 or other synthetic, and let the whistle motor run for several long periods over an hour or so to work the oil in and get the oilite to absorb the oil.  The whistle motors are usually still very tight - as new - due to really not having many "hours" on them.

What weight Mobile 1 do you use? I think I saw some SAE10 at one of the auto parts stores recently.

I usually use 5W-20 or 5W-30 in a LaBelle oiler.  Whatever there's a few drops of in the garage when I refill.