Having discovered last Tuesday, thanks to the information and advice given on this forum, that my Berk motor had just slightly more life than the proverbial door nail, I decided to order a new motor from Lionel. I did this Wednesday morning and was pleasantly surprised to see it at my door this (Sat.) morning. This evening I unsoldered the old motor with the intent of putting the new one in tomorrow.
The plan is this: put a small amount of “red and tacky” on the motor worm gear (there is still plenty of clean grease on the wheel gear and in the resevoir, screw the motor into place, solder the leads, put the engine on the rollers and let ‘er rip. This is my first time doing such a thing and would appreciate any advice.
Pack lots of the R&T grease in there well.
Thanks. I coated the worm gear with a thin layer and put a bit in the reservoir. Is it possible to put too much?
In my opinion, no. This is the most common failure point on these steamers.
Thanks again Rob. I opened ‘er up again and put more grease in the reservoir and on the worm and wheel gears. After a successful heart transplant, I’m super happy to say the Berk Jr. is alive and well and “on the road again”.
1 Like
I’d say it is possible to put too much in, but I think that you’d need a much larger canister of grease than most of us deal with, so there’s little risk.
But I’m glad to hear that your loco is rollin’ again!
Thanks, Mark.
You’re welcome!
I have 4 14 oz tubes of the Lucas Red “N” Tacky #2. I pack it in like crazy, even before running for the first time, as the little factory “blob” of grease often gets placed without even touching the gears.