Howdy all. Maybe you can help. I have a Kato 44-9w and it makes the most mind scrambling noise. 1 Check the shell to see if rubbing, it is'nt 2 Decoder installed, trimed shell to fit, good to go 3 Checked drive train to see if binding, works freely The noise comes in spurts, on either straight or curved sections. At low or high speeds. I could trim my era to not include these loco's. I do not want these to be the bain of my existence. Maybe I will just soak the sucker in 90W gear lube,LOL. Any help would be greatly appriciated. Adios fer now wyatt
If this is an intermittent whine that sounds something like fingernails on a chalboard or a dentists drill, it is most likely just in need of some simple lubrication in a few key spots. You may also notice a slight slowing when the whine occurs if the loco is running by itself and the whine may even be worse when the loco is not pulling anything or is running down grade. Disclaimer!: <big><big><font color=red>ATTEMPTING TO LUBRICATE A LOCO CAN RESULT IN LUBRICANT ENTERING THE MOTOR AND FRYING IT! I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY IF THIS OCCURS AND AM ONLY FORWARDING INFORMATION THAT HAS WORKED FOR ME!</font></big></big> OK, now that that is out of the way, this is what I do..... 1) I apply a tiny (when I say tiny, I mean a drop on the end of a thin wire) to the spot where the shaft enters the motor bushing on both sides (I use Labelle 108 Lite Oil here). 2) I then apply Labelle 102 (gear oil) to the worm gears on each end, but also put a tiny (remember what I said about tiny!) drop of 108 between the worm gear and the mounting blocks. 3) I then slowly run the loco drive back and forth for even distribution and to see if the noise stops, continues or returns. Sometimes it stops briefly but then returns after a few seconds of running. A repeat of the steps above (again, in TINY amounts) usually does it. My theory of the origin of this whine is ultra, ultra rapid vibration of drive components. I think lubrication may actually reduce this vibration or cushion the vibration so it does not resonate. Hope this helps! Give us an update Russ [ 27. July 2004, 17:03: Message edited by: tehachapifan ]
