running an engine after 29 years


K

knorrmlmotive

New Member
I have a question. I'm getting a Bicentennial train (N&W U36B #1776 or so it appears) that has been sitting on a shelf since it was bought.
Will I damage it by running it as soon as I get it, or do I need to take it apart first?
 
If it was me I would take it apart and clean it thoroughly and re lube it before I ever put it on the tracks. Grease has a tendency to loose its lubricating abilities after it sets for any long length of time. That is just my opinion but I have gotten cars that have set for long periods and they had to be re lubed before use.
 
At minimum check to see if the lube that is still there is, well, still there. As Larry mentioned, the greases used often cake and dry out over time. Turn the motor by hand a few times to see if things are frozen or gummed up. Older dry grease can usually be 'rejuvenated' (altho temporarily) with the addition of some light oil and gentle turning by hand. If you are up to disassembling it, that would give you a better chance of doing a more thorough job.

After 29 years, used or not, it is due for a lube job regardless.
 
I disagree. The very FIRST thing I want to know about an engine, regardless of age, is IF it runs.

There's no point in disassembling, cleaning and lubing an engine, only to find out the motor is burned out.

I'm not advocating running the devil out of it for an hour. Just enough to see that the engine runs forward and back. A few inches in each direction, a few changes in direction. Then I'm satisfied that any work I put into it will be productive.

But that's just me. Maybe I live out on the edge! LOL

Darrell, quiet...for now
 
It took me a while to think about it, but that was my concern. The motor. If rust had developed, and if there is something I could do before running it and causing any damage. Maybe i'll just give it a go. Damn the Torpedos!!
Thanks
 
if the gears are gunked up with solid grease, you just may burn up a perfectly good motor.....if the grease is solid it won't go a micro-inch in either direction. If you want to check just the motor you need to remove the drive shafts 1st so that the motor isn't afffected by the solid grease.

rejuvenation the grease as i mentioned will take all of 30 seconds, turning the motor shaft by hand maybe another 30....and as I said, after 29 years of non-use I can virtually guarantee the grease is more than a little caked.
 
Great question, knorrmlmotive. I was wondering that myself. I'm learning alot from everyone's responses as well.
 
Yesterday I took a couple of Rio Grande Atlas RS-3's over to the club layout and after having them for years and not running them, they ran roughly at first, but I had the speed up, and after ten minutes they loosened up, settled down and ran like they should. I did nothing to them before doing this. Just what I did, I'm no expert, just a modeler.
 
I basically treat it the same as a new loco I'm breaking in...I run it forward and reverse many times, with many stops, and varying speeds, starting with short distances in each direction and getting progressively longer. Don't know if this is the best way but it seems to work for me.
 
I got it, and that's what I did. After opening it up I found that the gears aren't in a closed case like I thought, so I put a 'temporary' lube on them (until I get the right stuff) and ran it. It was pretty sparky at first, but after some running time back and forth, it settled down and ran quite nicely. After the wheels cleaned off the traction diminished quite a bit. The cars still don't roll very well. It's cool to look at, though.
 
ATTACH]

Well, let's see if this works.
 
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