agree with Gavin, provided....you know what to do.
with the risk of being Captain Bringdown,
once you open it, should the seller find out, you run the risk that the seller will declare the 'fault' due your action, and , voila, its yours, regardless. BTW parts are difficult to obtain.
I too imagine the motor is not meshing with the gear on the drive axel. perhaps a knock or fall in shipping, as I am sure too it was tested. speculation only, but, perhaps a screw hole has stripped allowing the motor to float above the rear axel gear. perhaps it was simply dislodged from its cradle and the centering pin on the motor into the frame was slipped.
FWIW, I have 8 of these, all old style, belt driven. and they all have performed well. But..I only pull 2-3 FRR sized (very small and light) cars, for the above concerns.
Since you mentioned a stainz, while my advice is free, and well worth what you pay, LOL, these LGB -chen (aka FRR steam locos) , are one of my favorites. They are not designed for medium duty no less heavy duty or prolonged running. A stainz, in good condition, otoh, is quite the robust and powerful small loco, but not as cute.
The reason for the concern I express is.....these FRR locos (diesel and chloe Olomanos too) only have the loco driven by one worm gear to one axel gear. The belt moves the second axel, but only from turning the rear axel.
FYI vast majority of LGB locos have double ended motor worm gears. This single worm in essence doubles the wear on the axel gear. (in fact I can only think of the drasine and the electric cog loco as having a single worm).
This is why it is advisable not to put much in the way of load on these locos, and, to always allow the wheels to be able to slip under load-saves the axel gear to some extent.
Should you be given a choice when you contact the seller, I might be reluctant to have one of these locos, new or old style, as my primary work horse loco. To add further to my happy thoughts and good tidings, these locos can be persnickety on points, and are persnickety on less than very clean track, in my experience. Otoh, they are wonderful, charming and amusing, and unique. But I thought id give you my observation, if it is of interest to you. best of luck
ill check for a ball bearing for you. I dint think these have them....but im not certain.
update. I just hit the bench and took the bottom plate off my green FRR steam loco to help you. Yes there is a thrust bearing ONLY toward the back end of the loco, away from the worm gear end.
