Wow, glad I had a day off, I needed every minute. First, let me start by saying thanks to AJCkids.com for having a motor in stock! Ok, you all know I really love those MT moguls, well, this last weekend one bit the dust. old motor ran hot and no cleaning and brush adjustment could fix. So I ordered a replacement. Now I read the do it yourself Z scale site on how to replace, but I don't have a gear puller and no store in my area has one so I had to pound the old motor out through the worm gear ala broken drill bit or as I wound up using cut off safety pin.. It sucks. Suuuuuuuuuuuucks period. I was so afraid of breaking the frame it took hours, Tap tap tap tap tap... Good lord I thought I should just buy another loco mechanism. Nope, too arrogant. Finally tapped the SOB out. So now I have to tap the new motor into the old worm. Took about an hour maybe got it too deep but by golly I got it, Worse part is putting that mess back together, What a pain! I used an ottlite with a magnifier to see everything but boy. So it runs, loud as hell but not hot at all. performance is basically the same as far as I can tell but heck I ain't gonna tap and reassemble over and over to see if it gets more quiet. Remember I use jorgers so 3 pole 5 pole makes no difference with these controllers. All in all, this is not for the faint. I learned a heck of a lot though. I can tell you I am glad I do not work in a shop assembling these things!
Thanks John, more relieved that it worked I suppose. I have to say, in Z scale taking the plunge and trying to do thinks yourself is daunting because everything is so small, delicate, and expensive that you get worried that no way can I do this. However, there are so many helpful sites, like the "do it yourself z scale" and so many helpful people that you feel like what the heck, I can do this. Sure sometimes there is a screw up but by and large I think that is the allure to Z. It is not easy and you have to be willing to work. The payoff is watching those little gems roll. great stuff.
I pounded the shaft out of Marklin worm once. I used a slightly smaller than 1mm old broken (tip) drill bit and a metal plate with a slot in it to wack it out.
I just had a vise and a tack hammer so the going was slow for sure. One thing for sure I really have to respect the simple design of the vertical motor and gears. Simple yet effective for what 40 years?
Harbor freight tools has a small arbor press for $29. That works WAY better than the gear puller Karp recommends on zscale.org. Frank Daniels Owner - z.scale.hobo, z scale repairs and more www.zscalehobo.com
JoeS---In the opening post you said "remember I use jorgers" and I wonder what is meant by "jorgers"? (I had to override the spell check on this---it wanted me to say "joggers"!)
System Joerger speed controller. It is a very nice speed controller that I believe is no longer available. Noch made their own version - part number 88161 (I have some in stock) and Ztrack also has the "Snail Speed" controller or Medvend panel mount version. These are some of the best slow-speed controllers available for z scale. Frank Daniels Owner - z.scale.hobo Irvine, California USA
Hi Jay, i think Frank explained it well. For Straight DC the jorger delux is the best controller I've ever used. I have used the snail, the modified MT mrc 1300, the marklin whitle pack for Z and various others for N. None of these are on the same page. The closest is the snail speed, but it lacks the EMF feedback if I remember correctly. That is what makes those old marklin 3 poles kick at that mid range speed so well.
