D1 oiling.

[Peterm]

Hi all,

I’ve got the Bachman D1 with the nice smooth centre motor and it recently started that familiar screeching bearing noise. I’ve had this before and tried to use a long needle to wick oil on to the motor bearings unsuccessfully. Having to strip it down to gain proper access.

This time I decided to make it easier for next time. In the pic’s below You’ll see where I’ve elongated the opening in the chassis to make it possible to oil those bearings by only having to take the body off

No 1 is before any cutting which I did with a junior hacksaw and a Dremel with a file to tidy it up. As usual the camera is cruel and it doesn’t look so bad in the flesh.

2 is after. 3 is after from a different angle and 4 is finished.

Hope this helps someone. I've put this on MRF too.

[Bigmet]

Good practical job, who cares what it looks like inside, when it's all concealed in operation. Of course now you have done this, those motor bearings will never scream again...

[D605Eagle]

Peterm, Some of the later Bachmann locos you need to remove the covers at each end of the motor to actually get to the bearings. One in particular is the blue pullman which you think you've got to the necessary part only to find you need to delve deeper. Considering the way Bachmann often lather their mechanisms in oil, you'd think they'd have managed to get some on the motor bearings!

[Bigmet]

... Considering the way Bachmann often lather their mechanisms in oil, you'd think they'd have managed to get some on the motor bearings!

The motor bearings are probably sintered bronze with the lubricant integral, as this has been standard on decent quality low voltage can motors since 'forever'. (I don't have a start date for this becoming the expected standard. Anyone?)

Alarmingly, by dint of having now somehow acquired slightly over 100 RTR OO mechanisms over the past 20 years which perform on the layout, all certainly of at least largely Chinese manufacture with can motors powering them, my report of screaming motor bearing in RTR OO is just under 1%.

Bachmann K3, Kader's in house motor after ten years in service. A dab of oil has 'fixed it' for the five years since.

[Peterm]

Good practical job, who cares what it looks like inside, when it's all concealed in operation. Of course now you have done this, those motor bearings will never scream again...

Of course not, but all others will, so I've probably wasted my time.

[D605Eagle]

... Considering the way Bachmann often lather their mechanisms in oil, you'd think they'd have managed to get some on the motor bearings!

The motor bearings are probably sintered bronze with the lubricant integral, as this has been standard on decent quality low voltage can motors since 'forever'. (I don't have a start date for this becoming the expected standard. Anyone?)

Alarmingly, by dint of having now somehow acquired slightly over 100 RTR OO mechanisms over the past 20 years which perform on the layout, all certainly of at least largely Chinese manufacture with can motors powering them, my report of screaming motor bearing in RTR OO is just under 1%.

Bachmann K3, Kader's in house motor after ten years in service. A dab of oil has 'fixed it' for the five years since.

I've just had to do a friends newish bachmann class 47 which developed the bachmann bearing scream. Just a drop of oil on each end of the motor cured it.....however getting to the motor was not a job for the light hearted as it had to be totally dismantled.

[Bufferstop]

It's down to the production process of the bearings, I doubt it's done in "house" so there's always going to be the ones that are under cooked.

[Bigmet]

Old story, unless carefully managed and only directed where useful work can be done on immature technology, a purchasing function will be constantly in search of suppliers that can produce the parts, assemblies, etc at the lowest unit cost; and product based on fully developed technique only becomes cheaper one way...

[Peterm]

Nail on head there Bigmet.