Need Help with 2343 Worm Gear

I carefully nudge the worm gear on the brass bushing side to gently lift it up. Once the bushing is out, you can remove it from the worm gear, and then slide the worm gear and bushing assembly out from the coupler side.

Are you sure the bearing on the left won't lift out, enabling you to pull the worm shaft and opposite bearing?  I thought that's what I had to do on my 2343.....about 50 years ago!!

However, BE FOREWARNED....  The worm gear shaft bearings are NOT symmetrical.  That is, the shaft hole is not in the center of the sintered bronze bearing block.  ERGO, take note of whether the hole is 'up' or 'down' in the assembly.  It WILL make a difference........from the School of Hard Knocks And Pulled Hair (I'm fairly bald by now at 70+ years, BTW.)

Anyhow, if the shaft can't be tilted to remove it from the right-hand (your photo) bearing, someone else will have to chime in.

FWIW, always....

KD

Hello ZACH K

I had one of those about (#2333) 40 years ago, you will have to drill out the rivets (2) then able to take out the shaft out as this would be a goodtime to replace the axle bearing bushings as might as well replace both worm gears while you at it.  remove the old grease and use red & tacky # 2. you can get replacement rivets from thetraintender.com or replace the rivets with the 4-40 pan head machine bolt and nut.  That's what I did and nice thing about it is that you can remove the bolt to service it again in near future. hope this helps

Tiffany

dkdkrd posted:

Are you sure the bearing on the left won't lift out, enabling you to pull the worm shaft and opposite bearing?  I thought that's what I had to do on my 2343.....about 50 years ago!!

However, BE FOREWARNED....  The worm gear shaft bearings are NOT symmetrical.  That is, the shaft hole is not in the center of the sintered bronze bearing block.  ERGO, take note of whether the hole is 'up' or 'down' in the assembly.  It WILL make a difference........from the School of Hard Knocks And Pulled Hair (I'm fairly bald by now at 70+ years, BTW.)

Anyhow, if the shaft can't be tilted to remove it from the right-hand (your photo) bearing, someone else will have to chime in.

FWIW, always....

KD

I was able to get the bearing on the left out after lifting up the worm gear on that side, however the worm gear won't come out as the vertical gear on the worm makes contact with the truck body before the shaft exits the remaining bearing and will not move any further. I should point out I do have a donor 2343 that has a much better worm on the rear truck (I assume it was fairly low mileage), should I just swap the truck bodies instead? Thanks for the warning on the bearings, I have kept note of how they are positioned as a friend warned me previously when he serviced his own!

I just did one that was hard to get out also. Clean all the gunk off both bearing blocks(behind too) as best as you can. I used tuner spray to degrease. It will come out pulling with a hooked tool on the exposed shaft end.  Good luck!

franktrain

My 2367 F-3's gearbox

Zach,     The shaft bearing towards the rear of the truck, on left in picture, WILL lift out.  After so many years and dried grease, it may be stubborn, but it does simply lift up and out.  Carefully apply prying to that end of the shaft and lift up.  Perhaps you may need to soak with an application of a lubricant/release agent.  It is not necessary to drill out any rivets.  Yes, it can be done that way, but in the 50 years plus I have worked of Lionel PW F3s, I have never had to do so.  I actually put new bearings in both trucks (4 bearings total) of some used F3s and repainted the frames/pilots for my new Burlington F3 shells done by L&L Model Train Restoration in Rutherford, New Jersey.  Cleaned out all the old, dry grease, very thoroughly, and with new bearings, some shims (due to years of wear) in the bearing housing, it was as good as new.  Over the years I have rebuilt countless Lionel F3 trucks, probably in the area of 50 engines worth, my own and for friends.  A little patience, soak with a good release product, and slight prying on the non-couple end of shaft/bearing should be good for removal from the truck housing.

As KD noted above, it does make a difference in the installation you have the new bearing shaft hole in correct position.  Yes, make note of what side of the bearing goes up when installing new/removal of old.  Check for yourself and know for certain when removing old bearings, but I believe the shaft hole is towards the top of the bearing when installed correctly.  As Leslie West stated.... "If my memory serves me well....."

Jesse   TCA  12-68275

SUCCESS! I nearly jumped out of my chair with excitement when the worm came out!   I soaked the inside of truck with WD-40, let it sit for a few minutes and gave it another go, seems to have indeed been dried grease holding it in as franktrain and Jesse suggested. Now to drop in the new bearings and reassemble! Thank you everyone for all the help!

I worked on a postwar 2343 some years ago and had the same issues. The old grease was solidified and had to be softened up with solvent before I could maneuver the worm shaft and gear out of position for servicing.

Great advice. I had a #2343 when I was still a kid and not able to perform actual motor servicing, and am gearing up (pun intended) for another one, this time from the ground up. Have trucks, a decent frame and have two or more junker shells I will have to sand, prime and paint in whichever road strikes my fancy. Now I will have a good idea how to do an excellent fix. Thanks to all who contributed here.

Very helpful post. My 2353's were running poorly and the shaft with the worm gear from one truck has a noticeable bend.  The result was that the motors heated up quickly and the rollers sparked excessively. I'm sure there are parts dealers where I can get a new worm gear shaft. After replacing the shaft, I'll add new brushes, clean the commutators and lube everything up. I'd love to get the old growler running smoothly.

Yes, to hear the ole' Post War F3 dual motor growl is something into itself.  To remember and think of growing up when the loudest thing on my layout was the reverberation of the plywood, the growls of pullmor motors, and the air whistle in tenders, the funky horn in the F3s.  The F3s trucks/frames I recently rebuilt and repainted are a great example.  Even with the new custom painted Burlington shells on them, they still give that wonderful PW growl as the magnatraction digs into the tubular track.  Yes, there is nothing like it, and this is only part of the O gauge train experience.  And, yes, the dual pullmor motors are fine with the aluminum 12 car consist of K Line 21" (18" baggage) California Zephyr around 72" curves and several 3% grades over 90ft of mainline.

Jesse   TCA  12-68275 

Your bearings will be easy to put in the right way, the notched corners always will be on top, and only one corner of the bearing is notched, that is the angle you see.

Marty