PW 2353 Santa Fe motor binding

Still looking for ideas to check on.

Dave,

Try cleaning the armature shaft, flush the motor,  with WD-40 contact cleaner or Deoxit. I have a 2353 that sat barely used for decades and the lubrication had stiffened so much it bound the motor up. Its a quick check that will take just a few minutes. When things are wet from cleaning, turn the armature and see if there is any difference. Mine required  3 or 4 cleanings. Good Luck

@Trainfamily posted:

The front motor won't work under power.

Is this a new to you engine?

I’ve had this engine for many years but have not run it for a long time.

Is there a chance the motor trucks were torn down for cleaning & lube some time ago resulting in the problem?  It's very common, & an easy fix, to orientate the pillow block bushings in the trucks wrong resulting in a binding condition.

I've had it long enough that I may have taken something apart to lube and don't remember, except I probably would have noticed it whenever I tried to run it in the past.

If that is the problem, wouldn't the wheels be stuck now? They rotate when I have the motor detached. That's why I thought it might be a motor only condition to address.

David

ADCX Rob, the pillow block bearings have a notch in them to show how they should be installed. I have some of these bearings without the notch. Was there an earlier version that came without the notch?  Thanks, David Johnston

If that is the problem, wouldn't the wheels be stuck now?

It can be deceiving with the torque vectors involved.

Also check the forward/aft movement of the double-worm shaft in the trucks, sometimes the bearing balls in the pillow blocks shift and allow the worm shaft gear to interfere with the truck casting or truck frame cover requiring shimming.

Where can I find a wiring diagram and something that shows the trucks and pillow blocks etc.

My first foray into cleaning made some progress. The armature can be turned by hand but it's still  stiff. Then when I tried putting power to it, the rear motor works but the front made a couple of jumps (don't know how to describe that) but wouldn't run. Then I saw that I broke  wires off the thing that holds the brush on one side, hence the need for a diagram.

I noticed that when I took off the piece that holds the brushes, it is labeled 2343 and my engine says 2353. Could this be a prior repair/substitution?

Not a great afternoon of train repair.

David S

@Trainfamily posted:

Where can I find a wiring diagram and something that shows the trucks and pillow blocks etc.

The Greenberg manual reprints are the go-to source.

when I took off the piece that holds the brushes, it is labeled 2343 and my engine says 2353.

Lionel part numbers are designated with the prefix of the first piece of equipment they were used on, so that's normal. The frame of your diesel has a 2333 part number cast in plain sight on the bottom.

Hi there is a good chance that the lithium grease ha gotten hard a as a rock, and you'll need to flush this old grease out and replace with thick and tacky grease!

Alan

Rob,

I found my Greenberg repair book. Glad you reminded me. This will help as I continue to work on the engine.

Thanks