Ugh. My cars have been sitting outside for a few years. They no longer roll well and the couplers are stiff and don’t work consistently.
I suspect a lot of gunk.
So I am giving it all a close inspection, cleaning, maybe some polishing of axles. Have not gotten to the Kadees yet.
I have seen various folks suggesting that lube is inappropriate. It just gums things up.
How do others deal with this? Or do you keep your cars out of the weather?
Starting:
Honestly Jim in your climate 0/20w full synthetic motor oil will go a long way. I use it on all my journals and coupler knuckles. However in PA I do not leave anything outside ( car or loco wise).
Jim…I hope I can help you, with a few suggestions which help us here in Ottawa, maintain our “#1 Gauge” Kadee, body mount couplers, and the journals on our rolling stock trucks.
First off; we do not leave them out to face our weather, where we get high humidity, and the full four seasons of weather. We have an active fleet of over 400 cars, and their Kadee body mounted couplers. (Be sure the mounting screws are not too tight, causing binding in the “Draft Gear” boxes"
We do find that the metal “Tails” (Simulated air hoses) do tend to rust, causing the knuckles to split. So we do very lightly lubricate the metal part where it enters the coupler, top and bottom.
We use the Labell plastic compatible “Gear Lube” with good results. We do not in any way lubricate the gear box part of the coupler which is just plastic against plastic.
As for the trucks and their journals…
We use the same gear lube for the journals; again with great success. It stays where it should, and does not
dry out and cake, like the often recommended “White Grease”.
For a less expensive replacement of Labell gear lube; we use an automotive “Synthetic” gear lube, which is of the same grade as the Labell product, and is plastic compatible…name brand “Lucas”, which comes in a quart container, featuring a spout that seals and is small enough to refill our small applicators. In all cases; couplers and trucks; only a small drop is needed, and the gear lube does not seep out, to collect dust, and grime.
I stopped using the oft-recommended “White Grease”, as I found that it dries up and becomes a powder, caked on outside of where you want the lubrication to be, while the gear lube stayed where you want it, to do the job, without drying out.
I hope this helps, although I’m sure other “Experts” will disagree.
Fred Mills
Thanks, guys! Much appreciated.
