Marx Windup repair

This may sound like a stupid question, but I have to ask.  Which way are you trying to wind it.  To wind the spring, it needs to be wound counter-clockwise, and not clock-wise, as you would expect.  I recently bought a similar Marx wind-up to adapt to a Lionel 1588 shell, which I am still playing around with.  I soon found out that to wind it, it is counterclockwise.  Just a thought!!

Actually I've tried it both ways as I was not 100% sure of which way to wind it. I took the shell off and don't see anything that looks broke so I don't know what to do... If it can't be fixed it's no big deal as the engine is really not worth much.. On a positive note I took the engine from the streamline set I bought and tore it apart, took the brush plate off, cleaned the armature, brushes and wheels, gave it a little light oil and it runs like a bear..

The lever has to be pushed forward, to wind the motor.  Insert a key, or whatever will fit, to wind it, and turn that counterclockwise.  Then push the lever toward the back, and it should run, IF it can be wound.  Something may be jammed in the gearing, or it could be rusted, to prevent it from winding.  Just play with it before tossing it.  As you said, it is no big deal, as the streamline got working.  

I'll give that a try Teledoc.. Thank You

So, a few questions... with the brake disengaged, can you move the wheels by hand?  If so, with the brake disengaged, can you get the wheels to turn by turning the key (either direction)?  If you can't move the wheels, then something is probably jammed in the gears or the governor.  If the wheels move, and you can also move them using the key, then the ratchet is probably jammed up.  You should be able to tell if the spring is wound up or not... unwound, the spring will come all the way to the bottom of the motor, against the back axle.  Wound, it will be in a fairly tight circle in the center of the motor.  Pictures would help, as Marx used 3 distinct types of windup motors in a variety of configurations.  Let us know what you find...

Edit... Marx Ratchet motors and riser gear motors wind in opposite directions of each other, and both can be wound from either side when they are out of the shell.  So, without knowing what type of motor it is, I can't tell you which way it will wind.

James.. I'll post a couple pictures of it on Tuesday... Thanks for you advice..

Just curious, as my Hafner windup, which was never played with, as we had the two Marx electric sets, was probably given to my brother's kids, but would most of these suggestions apply to Hafner, also, or are they different?  I always admire the expertise on here, such as demonstrated in this discussion, even though I am not very interested in wind-ups.

Hafner motors wind in a different manner.  On the vast majority of non-Hafner windup motors, the outer end of the mainspring is attached to the motor's frame, and the inside end attached to a hub.  The hub rotates one direction when the mechanism is running , and has to rotate the opposite direction when winding.  However, Hafner has the outer end of the mainspring attached to a four-fingered "basket" that not only encases the spring, but also rotates with the key to wind the mainspring from the outside-in.  The basket has a ratchet mechanism so that it can only rotate one way.  So, when a Hafner motor runs, the key stands still, whereas when a Marx motor runs, the key will spin, too.  However, the rest of the Hafner motor is conventional, so you should still be able to turn the wheels by hand with the brake off (if it has a brake - some do, some don't).  But, the key will not spin when you turn the wheels.

I like Hafner motors - they are fairly reliable, well governed and run nice - but they are one of the more difficult motors to work on.  The basket makes mainspring replacement a bit difficult.  Any internal work on the mechanism will require cutting the back axle to remove it just so there is room to spread apart the motor sideplates, and then a new axle has to made and the ends peened over to hold the wheels.  Their main weaknesses are the mainspring (of course) and the mainspring hub - which is die cast, and being under a lot of stress, is prone to breaking at the first sign of zinc pest.  But, overall, they are still a good motor.