Lionel maintenance instructions?

I'll try bending the smoke arm tomorrow. I still haven't figured out how to completely disassemble either loco, but I'll see if I can figure out if the magnet is to blame for the cogging then. As always, thanks for all the help.

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By completely...how far do you want to go?
You don't want to be pressing drivers off of main axles.
The mention of the arm is so you know where to look, NOT to just "bend" something.
Slide the smokebox front off, look inside. See the smoke unit and cylinder?
See the piston?
Rod kink fits inside the end of the piston.
Look at the smoke unit while you roll the drivers. Find maximum engagement of piston into cylinder (back and forth as needed).
Then see if the piston is bottomed out and unable to rattle. If it IS, then you put a small bend in the arm. If not,l we look elsewhere.

 

I'm out of town for a few days but I'll give this a look when I get home. Thanks again

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The sparks, like the noise and that ozone smell, is all part of the Lionel three rail experience.

As for the track, I doubt you're really bending those relatively large engines around O27 track. Standard Lionel curvature back in the day was 31 inches--and we aren't talking radius, but diameter. It's not easy to tell from O27 by the curvature, as there is only a few inches difference. But the O27 track uses low, block-like ties, while the standard O31 uses curved metal crossties.

The rail height and the rail thickness--and the connecting pin diameter--all vary from one to the other. So, don't buy the wrong stuff, or you will have heartaches. Take along a piece of your track when you go shopping, and make sure the ties look the same.

If you want turnouts, you might make sure you have the standard O31, not O27. The big remote control Lionel switches are all compatible with the big track. Something to consider before you go shopping.