Locomotive squeaking, already oiled the rods. What else could it be?

Grab your owners manual, and read the part about lubrication. Familiarize yourself with the lubrication points as outlined in the manual. Adding grease to the axles with a toothpick from the backside isn’t going to accomplish anything but make a mess,…..there are specific grease ports on the engine, that should be spelled out in the manual. The grease should be applied by syringe, or similar device so it gets pushed in the grease port. Also lubricate the axles on the lead & trailing truck. Sometimes not spelled out in a manual. Lastly, look at things that can cause odd squeaks, such as brake arms rubbing on wheels, etc, ….notorious squeakers are the brake arms nearest the drivers with traction tires.

Pat

Don’t forget to oil the pickup roller ends.  I had a squeak in one in the past.

Also, we don't know what you are using to apply the oil. A needle tip applicator is extremely useful.

Did you check the brake shoes just barely rubbing against the wheels.  I had one that had nothing to do with oiling axles or rods or anything.  The brake shoe was misaligned and barely (I mean barely) rubbing the traction tire.  Yes, the rubber can make a squeaking sound.   

I’d suggest a repeat video with the sound off.

Hi i would suggest using turbine oil on the wheel axles NOT GREASE, and red thick n tacky on the gear mechanism, the turbine oil will work and it's excellent.! you only need one tiny drop on each axle to stop the squeak!

Alan

A drop of oil on the armature shaft should help. Side rods don't usually squeak.

@RON ARNDT 091718 posted:

Don’t forget to oil the pickup roller ends.

Yes. I have had this issue on a few of my locos. I lubricate the pickup rollers on all of my locos and rolling stock with conductive oil as part of my maintenance routine. No squeaks since I started doing that. Bachmann EZ Lube 99981 is the conductive lube that I use. The bottle comes with a needle tip.

For my light oil I bought some small plastic bottles with long metal needle tips to get into those hard to reach places. It makes the lubrication process much easier and less waste. Can't remember if I got them on eBay or Amazon. I think they were less than ten bucks for a pack of four or five.

3rd Rails have the worst squeakiest rollers. I use Bachmann EZ Lube on them. The sound is a pretty consistent SQUEEEeEeeee going down the track.

One thing that might be worth looking at is the axle wipers if this has them. I just had one on a passenger car I could not quiet up before I made a little concoction of grease and EZ Lube applied with a toothpick to the offender.

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

I’d suggest a repeat video with the sound off.

I agree, it's very difficult to hear the problem with all the other noise.

Run the engine around the curve in the opposite direction and see if the noise occurs. May give you an idea which side of the rods/wheels/trucks is causing the squeak.

MELGAR

Thank you all for your advice. Next time I will make sure to turn the engine sound off first, sorry about that. The Labelle kit we got came with a needle tip applicator. As suggested, I lubricated the axels of the pilot and trailing truck with a drop of oil. This seems to have been the solution. I also put a drop of Bachman EZ Lube on the rollers, just to be on the safe side. One of these two things worked, or both, because now the squeaking is gone!

My bet is on the rollers, they are the fastest moving rotary item besides the motor.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I agree, it's very difficult to hear the problem with all the other noise.

Also by turning off the sound you will find out if it is train sound or need for oil. I went nuts with a Hudson than listened again no sound, it was the sound………lmao

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