I never said Oil didn’t work all I ever said was the lube today isn’t what it was back in the 60’s it doesn’t get hard like it use to. You kept coming across that grease got hard thats why I have came back so hard If you read my last statement I even said Oil may work fine all I was saying was theres a lot out there and it all has it’s good and bad I’m not big on Oil as it can run a lot easier than lube would even sparently
No I’m not blowing smoke I state facts from my personal use I don’t care about all those fact sheets you talk about I’ve seen them fudge to make things look good to many times I go on persoanl experinces If I get good results I keep using it and again the harden grease in a 2343 probably from the 50’s or 60’s and I have repeatedly stated the grease today isn’t like the grease from then I still will keep using what I do and you will keep using what you do and we will go at this every time you decide to come in down grading lube as it gets hard which it doesn’t any more for the 5000 time the only lube that got hard was from 60’s and before and most of that is gone I would think althou if you get a attic/basement find first thing I would do is take it apart to be safe, even if its from the 90’s as you never know what someone else has put in a engine.
To me the first thing you should do when you get a used engine is take it apart and clean and relube/oil it properly. No matter what your preference is pure oil or a mixture of oil and lube I even know some that use just lube and do fine.
The bottom line is each preference and what works for them.
As Sir James wrote earlier, lubricant is needed regardless of the presence of a set screw.
I think it is clear that those early motors did not have a set screw or thrust washers. Lionel must have realized that there was an issue, otherwise they would not have added the set screw. IMHO, the postwar washers, pictured in the Postwar service manual pages I linked above, could be added to motors that do not have the set screw.
As I also stated I go by my own use not some piece of paper that paper don’t prove nothing to me if there hasn’t been a study you won’t find it you don’t hear of lube harding anymore in new engines do you? No because it doesn’t Does it need to be cleaned out maybe, I do. Do I really need to maybe not as it looks fine and thats after 30 - 40 years You want data you find it but doubt you will as probably isn’t any out there. Not needed. Oil is because its used on such a big industry.
There is lots of data, thousand’s of toy trains in all sizes have been running with Labelle type products for many many years.
Servoguy your use of motor oil is not the problem it’s your insisting every time this subject comes up that yours is the only way…Sorry but it’s just not so.
There’s nothing wrong with motor oil, and it is my preference, as I really cannot afford the Labelle children’s college tuition in addition to that of my own kid’s. I do use Mobil One(now ~ $5.09/qt. at WalMart - a substantial amount of product that will last several years) for oil applications, but there’s no way I’m relying on it for applications where grease is called for.
For grease, I have not found a better product than Lucas Red ‘N’ Tacky #2. It is super slippery and does not sling off - only a small amount is needed and it clings and distributes throughout the gear train it’s applied to.
For this application on the 8030-100 type II motor, and I have many of these, I use a tiny bit of the Lucas in the brushplate end of the armature and the lower bearing plate, and then a light application to the worm(transfers to the worm wheel) and the external drive/idler/wheel gears. Once done in this fashion, I have not had to service these diesels again, some going on 20 years now.
I bought a new little bottle of Labelle 107 a few weeks ago. First one in many years. These heated discussions about what kind of oil and grease to use go on frequently on the various toy train web sites. So I thought it was interesting what the Labelle oil says across the top of the package in large letters. It says “Synthetic Light Motor Oil Medium Weight”. As far as the white grease Lionel uses at the factory, since these are toy trains, my guess is the grease they use is safe for children to eat. It is probably a food grade lubricant. Since my grand children are not licking the grease off my trains, I am free to use the best grease available for the application without regards to its toxicity. In the past I have used semi fluid power tool grease from Black and Decker. In the future I will be using the Lucas Red n tacky #2. It is very similar to the Chevron Ultra Duty grease, which I have had very good results with in industrial and railroad applications in the past. I do not like the white grease. I had some one try it on some valves and it was hard as a rock in a year. All the valves reconditioned with the white grease had to be rebuilt again.
I agree with Synthetic. I have used Mobil 1 Synthetic since the mid 70s in everything I drive. Used it back then on slot cars I raced, it worked great. Mobil 1 Synthetic is great stuff and when my Labelle bottle is empty it will be filled with Mobil 1 5W-30W Synthetic. I also use Mobil 1 Synthetic grease on gears. It is red and will never harden. A single $7.00 tube would grease all of my engines for the next 100 years. I fill a carmex container with it and aply it with a small screwdriver to the gears. The rest is used on the car, truck and tractors. Works fine that way. I only have about twenty some engines and only run three at a time a few hours a week. Do the math.