To make a long story short I was into the gears on my Atlas HO RS-3 on one of the trucks and now it runs but there is high pitched rubbing noise now. Everything seems to be lined up as far as I can tell, I’ve taken it apart and put it back together a couple of times and again everything seems to be where it should. What am I doing wrong? Are they not lined up but ,m not seeing it?
Bruce
A “high pitched” noise sounds like metal/metal rubbing -axles to chassis, or shaft bearings?
RUN it with the shell off to locate the noise source.
It seems to be the gears themselves, I took them out and ran on my test track and there was no noise. When I put them back in it sounds like they are not meshing right but I can’t tell why, everything looks ok. I know I’m messing up but can’t figure it out[:(]
Bruce
Send to Atlas describing problem.
They will test it on straight track. If it only does it on curves, you’ll get it back…
Was there a particular problem with this RS3 to begin with? Usually, especially on an Atlas, the only thing those gears will ever need is a dab of grease (Labell 106) . Gears will thump, growl or grind,I never had a squeal. The problem is something else that you disturbed.
I just reset the gears again and its quiet in one direction but noisy in the oposite again sounding like they are not meshing. Anyone have any ideas?
Bruce
Well, short of sending it back to Atlas; Take the truck apart again, clean the oil and grease off all the gears and the truck frame. Check each gear, gear bearing, and truck bearing hole for flashing or foreign material. Check each end of the universals for flashing. Also, see if you can find any bad wear spots. Make sure the worm bearings are seated in their truck blocks properly. Count the teeth on the gears that are on the axles. They should all be the same number and if I remember correctly, there are 12 teeth per axle gear. Some Life Like loco gears have 14 teeth and look the same and may even fit the Atlas truck. While you have it apart, also check the plastic axle gear piece for a crack. Apply a small amount of oil on the motor bearings, one at each end of the motor. They may be hard to get to because the flywheel may be close. Use a pin or something small to carry a drop of oil on to them next to the motor shaft. Also apply a small amount of oil on the worm bearings. Then apply a small amount of oil to each bearing hole on the truck frames. Reassemble everything and apply some gear lube or grease to the gears. Also apply a small amount of oil to the bearings on the axles. If I remember correctly, Woodland Scenics has a nice lube kit that contains different weight oils that are plastic compatible. That’s what I use and recommend. Don’t use any oil that you can not verify as being plastic compatible. I bought a Life Like loco that had been sitting in a Hobby Shop for a few years and it started making noise because all the lubrication dried out.
If this didn’t fix the problem, send the loco back to Atlas and explain what the loco was doing, and all that you did to try and correct the problem. You could also buy another power truck if you are certain that is where the problem is.