Grinding noise from loco

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DRG11

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Hi all,

Ive got a Bachmann thomas loco but when it moves its making a grinding type of noise, Ive oiled the gears but it still happens ?,

Do you think this could be the gears on there way out ?,

Any ideas please.
 
It's not the mechanism to move the eyes from side to side is it?

Edited 08/08/19. Joking aside - Mine was sticking and clicking so I dismantled it. Cleaned and lubricated with silicon grease. Eventually I took the unit and face out and replaced it with a modified Bachmann B/H smokebox door. I sold the unwanted bits - can't remember if it was on here or eBay.
 
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DRG11 said:
Hi all,
Ive got a Bachmann thomas loco but when it moves its making a grinding type of noise, Ive oiled the gears but it still happens ?,
Do you think this could be the gears on there way out ?,
Any ideas please.
Click to expand...

Did you inspect the condition of the teeth?
On the gears I mean, not the face.
 
Hi, the eyes are fine as ive checked them,
Will look at the drive gears and cog on the drive wheels as it seems that could be where the trouble is,

many thanks
 
The quartering is how the connecting rods connect to each wheel one side being 90 degrees different from the the other hence quartering. so with the connecting rods at 3, 6, 9 or 12 o'clock check each wheel is the same.
 
Does the Thomas-type motor block have all three axles driven from the motor, or just the front and back ones?

Jon.
 
I don't specifically recall but I'm pretty sure it would be just from the front and rear.
The center driver needs to float from side to side to get around corners and motor shafts only have two ends. :nod:
So if it is like that, you need to mesh the gear on each driven axle so the rod pins for the same side are at the same o'clock position. One tooth out and it will bind on rotation and limp along.
Quartering is usually done by the D shape on the axle ends so foolproof.
I can't remember how the gearing is set up though but it will be simple. :think:
I do remember the gears were fairly chunky. Chunkier than any Spectrum ones ironically.
 
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On most three-axle loco's, the middle axle is only driven by the rods.. - So there will be some 'slop'.

If you think about it.. The body of the motor tends to sit where the drive to the middle axle would be. :nerd::think:
 
PhilP said:
On most three-axle loco's, the middle axle is only driven by the rods.. - So there will be some 'slop'.

If you think about it.. The body of the motor tends to sit where the drive to the middle axle would be. :nerd::think:
Click to expand...

Yes, I know that's how they work with LGB 6-wheel gearboxes - but never having opened (or even owned) a Bachmann one, I wasn't 100% sure they were the same.... some Bachmann power units I've seen in pictures have had a vertical motor at one end rather than LGB's longitudinal motor, and on those I didn't know how many of the axles were then driven by the geartrain....

Jon.
 
It looks like Thomas is driven from the center axle. I've been in there but could not remember. :think:
Try removing the gearbox and listen if the growling comes from within. You may need to load the gear a little somehow to induce any noise.

 
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