I have to throw in my $0.02 -- don't let the possibility of cracked gears steer you away from these locomotives. It's a cheap an easy fix and everything else about the LL-era P2ks, from their detail to their running characteristics, is excellent.
Also, Athearn now sells full axle assemblies with nice wheels and really well made bearings that will make the repair even easier.
.
I love my Life Like Proto 2000 locomotives. If I needed more, I would not hesitate.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Hi everybody.
I just bought PROTO 2000 HO SCALE #8101/8199 E8/9 SOUTHERN PACIFIC #6051/6052 on ebay.
My question: should I buy gears now, or wait until I have both locomotives (in Summer, when my cousin is here for vacation) and be able to check them? If yes, which?
I could not resist, I really admire a lot these beautiful locomotives, so I decided to buy them. I have the whole train for them (MTH). I am sure cracked gears issue can be solved...
Regards,
Hrvoje
My E units did not have the problems, in fact, only one GP7 had cracked gears in my collection.
Test run it, if it runs fine, do not do anything.
Spalato68My question: should I buy gears now, or wait until I have both locomotive
Check the axles when you get the locos delivered, it's easy enough to do.
I have an E7, and I haven't had any problems, BUT on a GP18, I did. I've had this issue with certain runs of Athearn SD45 and SDP40's
Mike.
My You Tube
Ok, thanks for the suggestion.
It makes sense, because axles / gears are available and will be for some time in the future, so it is not that urgent. If cracked, I think it is better to buy the whole wheelset than just gears, it is available from Walthers, as AntonioFP45 mentioned earlier (price difference is not significant - around 15 USD for 6 wheels, approximately 9 USD for 6 gears).
If Randy did not point out that these are a "bargain" (I agree!), I even would not think about buying them. But then I checked what is available, and saw these two...uh.
I buy the complete wheel set, with the gears. That way you'll get the nickel silver wheels.
I had a P2K GP7 with this problem, the gears were pretty cheap, and the fix was really easy, just make sure the wheels are in gauge. I had to use a vice to push the axles on to the gears. I followed this bloggers instructions.
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
HarrisonI had to use a vice to push the axles on to the gears.
The first time I made this repair I was quite surprised by how hard it was to press the wheels onto the gears.
I used a fine thread c-clamp to press them on.
I do not think there is any chance of the wheels slipping. The press fit is very firm.