well
some considerations:
years old?
amount of running? (you can often tell this from how worn the wheel treads and pick up skate appear)
your 2010 may have what called a clamshell motor case-if so-its a bit of a job to take it apart compared to later D style boxes (which have a D molded on the bottom )
i have purchased very old -10-12 or more years old unrun or lightly run locos-no worn parts
they work fine-even with old grease-but new grease improves things
but
2 major issues come to mind-fresh lubricant and removal of grime and collected old lube and dirt
simply, an older, well used loco can be taken apart,
the wheels (tread surface and inside and outside edges can be cleaned and polished-i use a very fine non scratching metal polish -do not use anything course like steel wool-in a pinch a pencil eraser can also be used
new brushes can be fitted (if needed) (these protrude against each of the 4 wheels on the inside edge-they are sprung and care need to be taken when removing wheels to avoid launch and especially re-fitting behind wheels to avoid inadvertently guillotining and breaking the brush
new pick up shoes can be fitted-these shoudl be ligthly sprung and travel freely
IF you remove the motor MIND the tiny thrust bearing seated in a pocket at each end of the motor shaft in the plastic housing (motor block)
and the motor will have a small lug which seats it in the motor block -pay attention to this-otherwise things wont fit back together properly
older wheels are hard to come by-the older wheel have screws into the axels-later ones are simply press fitted-they are not interchangable as i understand things
the traction tire can be carefully pulled out of its groove and cleaned with lighter fluid and replaced-or a new one installed-if very old and no replacement tire-leave it alone to avoid breaking it
the best thing, on the older locos with simple electronics like your 2010. is to simply clean parts, such as axles and drive gear, and other parts (not the electrical parts) in a strong liquid detergent to remove all dirt and old lube-use a soft old toothbrush
(things not to use:lacquer thinner, denatured alcohol-both of which can damage the plastic if they stray from metal-havent tried mineral spirits but suspect it might be ok-)
rinse and thoroughly dry, re lube-
lgb grease is my preference, but labelle also makes a variety of model RR oils, as well as a top notch teflon grease-possibly better than LGB grease-the key is to do this sparingly -you want lubrication but you dont want it going anywhere else-lube the gears, the place where the axles touch the chassis, the rotational parts of the drive rods /gears-or better still for drive rods IMHO is dry graphite-it doesnt collect grime
to do this, you should get an exploded diagram of the loco to guide you
work over a bench without interruption so you don't forget things
use good light
it is essential to perfectly quarter the wheels on each side of the loco before replacing the drive rods-ie the hole for the screw must be at exactly, say 12:00 oclock on one side and whatever (3 oclock?) on the other- if not properly quartered the engine may bind and slightly lurch-and you have to disassemble and get it right-not a disaster-just you have more work
LGB never takes force to remove or to install any part-if it does its likely you havent fully understood how its assembled (take it from me)
make notes of what washers, screws go where in what order etc (DO THIS-you cant believe how easy it is to forget)
if you have slipping gears--it may be a much bigger issue-if so, ask and ill try explain some considerations and pitfalls ive experienced)
good luck and be bold
OTOH if it aint broke.............it is unlikely any real damage will be done with old lube
im sure someone will provide a link to the exploded diagram-
