2243 Runs Great in Reverse but Slow in Forward.

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

Hello,

Picked up an Very Good (V.G.-) AB 2243 set today at the local hobby shop for $80, but with a little work I can get them to V.G. to V.G.+. Anyway, they run great in reverse but slow in forward. The bearings are clean and oiled, and I replaced the brushes that were down to nubs. Question? Will a bad armature cause this behavior? Also, I tried a different power truck (the truck the motor mounts to) and it still runs slow in forward.

Thanks,

George

2

This kind of problem is often caused by bad thrust bearings. Your locomotive should have a 2028-100 motor, which has two thrust bearings, both below the armature. The sequence, from top to bottom is washer, bearing, washer, bushing, washer, bearing, washer, e-clip. Since only one bearing is loaded at a time, a bad bearing can slow the armature’s rotation when the locomotive is going in one direction, while working fine in the other. A missing bearing or too much play in the bearings can let the armature move far enough to rub on something other than a bearing.

I would take the motor out of the truck and turn the shaft while pushing in and while pulling out, to see whether there is any difference in the resistance to turning.

The 2243 is an excellent mechanical design; and the early ones had about the best-made drive train of any Lionel vertical-motor locomotives, in my opinion. It is worth fixing. Your B-unit (2243T), by the way, could be worth more than the A unit, since there is demand for them for use with the later 2383, for which a matching B unit was never made.

3

Sounds like you may be missing a thrust washer in your motor. My 2023 has the same motor (I think) and there’s two thrust washers (comprised of ball bearings between casing halves) which react the thrust created by the motor’s output worm gear. If you were missing one of these that might cause your problem. I linked the 2243 sheets below:
Olsen’s parts breakdown for your Loco

And here’s a link to the sheet for a 2023 that shows where the bearings are. (for some reason the 2243 sheets don’t show this detailed view.
Olsen’s sheet on my 2023 with similar if not same motor

Good Luck,
Roland

EDIT: Nice Bob…you beat me to it! Actually I had to redo my whole post after pop-up blocker snafu erased everything. At least now I’m more confident of my diagnosis.

4

Thanks for the feedback. I have in fact checked the bearings and washers. They are as you described. I swapped the upper and lower bearings and still the engine runs poorly in the forward direction.

5

Did it pass the push-or-pull-while-turning-the-shaft test?

6

Bob,

It passes the push pull test you suggested. The gears mesh smoothly and the armature rotates by turning the drive wheels forward or reverse. This is a puzzle to me why she does not want to run forward with any speed, but takes off in reverse. I’m pretty sure it is something to do with the motor. Since I got a great deal on this AB set I can afford to put some money in it.

Thanks,

George