I have one of the 0-6-0 engines.  Mine is an excellent runner. 
No stalling.  Even on my atlas insulated frog turnouts. 

   If you want yours to run better, bending the wires, and contacts
for the drawbar help...but it needs more.

    Can you solder?

    If yes, grab some wire and a soldering iron.

1) Disassemble the tender

2) Move the truck with the contacts to the back
     ( this makes the pickup from the loco and tender father
           apart, ensuring that if the loco is on a bad spot, the tender is not )

3) solder a wire to each contact

4) drill two holes at the rear of the tender floor, and two at the front

5) pass the wires through the tender body, and solder the ends
       to the drawbar   

6) re-assemble and enjoy flawless pickup


   It sounds harder than it is.  The only issue this little loco has is the pickup.

    I'm planning on buying a few more, now that I've seen how much better they
can run.


Good luck.

   I bought a set of these F7s about 10 days ago. 
Coffee grinders make similar sounds.

   Most say they quiet down after their broken in. 
36 hours, no difference.  bummer

   After reading here, and other places, I see that this is common.
So... I did a lot of hunting, and finally found something useful.
On an individuals website, he said that he uses Soft-Scrub on his
BRASS models.  ( to quiet the gear noise ) Eureka!

   It works!  90% of the offending noise is gone.  Yes, the motor itself
is still noisy.  But I can now hear the wheels go over the rail joiners, other
locos, etc.


   How to do it:

1:   Take the body and the fuel tank off

2:   Remove the side frames from the trucks

3:   Take the bottle of soft-scrub (shake it up first)
      and put two drops right from the bottle into the
      bottom of the truck-gearboxes.  Then add 1 drop of oil.
      (Keeps the soft-scrub from drying out)

4:   Put the side frames back on the trucks

5:   Run the loco at about 50% ( I used a DC pack for this )
      for about 15mins  forward and then 15 mins. backward

6:   Remove the locomotive from the track and disassemble
      you do not need to completely take it apart, just get the trucks out

7:   Use hot water and an old toothbrush, paintbrush, etc.
      to clean out the trucks

8:  Re-assemble locomotive and lubricate it.  Not too much.

9:  Enjoy the quiet.


My A-unit had to be done twice, it was incredibly noisy though. 

   I have heard that Pearl-Drops tooth polish works too. 
I think more people would have soft-scrub on hand than pearl-drops. 




Sorry for the book.  I hope this helps someone out.

   

    Moved trucks around, wheelsets around, no better. 

Just the motors in the frames (no trucks) are noisy.   

Overall, not happy.  So much for DCC w/ sound on my other locos...
               
...can't hear them if these F7s are running. 

On the other hand, they should last forever...they'll hardly ever be ran.

    Shafts are straight.

    Swapping trucks, we'll see.

    Motors seem to be balanced decently. 

    27 hours on them, I'd say their broken in now.

    Lube.  Did that already.  The worm gears and inside the trucks.
Plastic compatible grease.  No help.

   The only thing that I haven't lubed is the motor. 

   Any other suggestions??

    Just got them today.  Nice looking set. 

They sound terrible.  Loud and annoying. 

They have ran for 11 hours. 

They are new spectrum units.  How do I quiet them down?