PW 2343 "idler gear" question

I suggest you go to Olsens Toy Train Parts website, and scroll down to the bottom of the homepage, and look for the "Library" link.  That will take you to a page with choices, for further searching.  Click on "Postwar Locos", and scroll down to the 2343 loco, and it has about 5 pages of information.  It will give you diagrams of various parts to this loco, and you can see the "Idler gear" that is mentioned.  It is two gears on the end of the motor armature, that would need to be lubricated.  The lubricant and choice of oils, is up to you, as to what works for you, or others have recommended.  This should take care of what you want to know.  Good luck.

Thanks. 

Great site, I'll definitely have to remember it.  Thanks for pointing me to it.  These 2 diagrams make it perfectly clear.  I found another that labels the 'worm shaft'.

I always grease those.

walt

Glad I could point you in the right direction.  Olsen's Library is my go to site, when I find something that isn't in my repair manual (K-line by Aurotech, which is abridged version).  Other sites of interest for Postwar stuff are Tandem-Associates, Postwar Lionel Library, and a few more that can describe variations, and what was available for Postwar.  Have fun.

Although a clean and freshly lubed idler is crucial, keep on going.  IIRC, with the motor assembly removed from the truck, access to the inner gearing of the axles becomes obvious.  With the access plate removed you'll see exactly where more cleaning plus grease and oil is needed to fully lubricate the entire drivetrain.  But then, I'm sure George would have mentioned this.

Bruce

Bruce,

George did NOT mention that.  Luckily for me, my Father taught me right from the get go how to lube the 2343 properly, which, yes, includes some dis-assembly such as you mentioned.

However, there always seems to be something new to learn, so I wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something.

thanks - walt