Smoke unit on my Hudson J3 Legacy is starting to fail....help!

Send it to @harmonyards.

Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Thanks!

- Mario

See for yourself, Lionel is NOT listing a lot of parts and sometime none at all for newer engines 2019 and up. That's Lionel as they apparently want you to send them more work.  https://www.modeltrainforum.co...ice-stations.197527/

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...5405-Locomotive-Only

That said, it's pretty much a standardized smoke unit system and that is a known group of parts and no, you just replace the fan motor and impeller not the entire unit.

So it's most likely one of these 2 https://www.lionelsupport.com/...20%20MINIATURE%20FAN

And then again, just a good idea to replace or have a spare impeller in my experience.

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...ch?keywords=impeller

Probably one of the 2 sizes in stock

I've also known that if it fits (length is slightly longer than the short Lionel version)- you can substitute the MTH common smoke fan motor.

And they sell single units or 5 packs

https://www.mthpartsandsales.com/shop/search

It seems that for many years Lionel uses motors that just don’t have the same long term reliability as those used by MTH.

Why can’t Lionel use the same motors as MTH, I can’t believe they are bespoke to MTH.

If they used a better motor they would get less returns for warranty and later future repair work.

Thank you all very much for this information.

I originally called Lionel earlier this year when the problem first started to appear.  They said that they no longer take in repair work that is out of warranty.

I'll try the suggestions posted here to get this engine fixed.

Hugo, you haven’t mentioned if you are comfortable tearing into your engine. If you are then it’s an easy fix. If not then certainly contact one of the guys here on the forum that do this kind of repair.

@romiller49 posted:

Hugo, you haven’t mentioned if you are comfortable tearing into your engine. If you are then it’s an easy fix. If not then certainly contact one of the guys here on the forum that do this kind of repair.

Thank you for this suggestion, Rod.  I'm very mechanically inclined but unfortunately, my dexterity limits me from working on anything smaller than an aircraft carrier....lol.

When ever I can, I use the MTH smoke fan motors, they've been more robust, at least for me.  If the smoke unit requires the short motor to fit, then I'm stuck with the Lionel motor.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

When ever I can, I use the MTH smoke fan motors, they've been more robust, at least for me.  If the smoke unit requires the short motor to fit, then I'm stuck with the Lionel motor.

Thank you for this suggestion.  I'll try to implement it as part of the repairs.

Right from MTH Parts.

If you just need one...

Or maybe you want to stock up?