The Athearn tune up - help!

[CPR GP38-2 fan]

Its been a couple of months since I purchased my new Athearn Ready to Roll GP40-2 when I started to get anyoyed by the noise.  Since I have an Atlas GP38-2 (trainman) I can really tell the difference between a quiet motor and a noisy one.  Since I have used up alot of my budget (Im only 13 and have a limited income, if any) so I was wondering if there is any cheap alternative to tuning my Athearn motor, from anything  motoring to simple "warming up" procedures, I would be thankful if you could list them (note: I and my dad together have dozens of hobby tools so using different varieties of tools for me shouldnt be a problem).  I would perferabley that you would list cheap and quick tune ups, but anything from $0 and 1 minute to $10,000,000 and 1 year is welcomed as well. 

Thanks!

 

[tigerstripe]

http://hackitup.railfan.net/athearn.html

[maxman]

There is also this, http://www.mcor-nmra.org/Publications/Articles/Athearn_TuneUp.html , similar to above but with some photos.

[Driline]

 The only way I've found to fix my RTR athearn engine noise is to replace the engine with a NWSL for about $40 bucks. Not cheap, but I had to. You have to buy a Genesis engine to get one that doesn't growl or make noise, but for that price I'd rather spend my money on an Atlas.

[garya]

CPR GP38-2 fan

Its been a couple of months since I purchased my new Athearn Ready to Roll GP40-2 when I started to get anyoyed by the noise.  Since I have an Atlas GP38-2 (trainman) I can really tell the difference between a quiet motor and a noisy one.  Since I have used up alot of my budget (Im only 13 and have a limited income, if any) so I was wondering if there is any cheap alternative to tuning my Athearn motor, from anything  motoring to simple "warming up" procedures, I would be thankful if you could list them (note: I and my dad together have dozens of hobby tools so using different varieties of tools for me shouldnt be a problem).  I would perferabley that you would list cheap and quick tune ups, but anything from $0 and 1 minute to $10,000,000 and 1 year is welcomed as well. 

Thanks!

 

I read this recently on the Atlas Forum: http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=49381

Paul Cutler posts here, too, so you could send him a PM or he may chime in.

[Driline]

davidmbedard

Driline

 The only way I've found to fix my RTR athearn engine noise is to replace the engine with a NWSL for about $40 bucks. Not cheap, but I had to. You have to buy a Genesis engine to get one that doesn't growl or make noise, but for that price I'd rather spend my money on an Atlas.

 

You havent considered Kato motors?  They are found very cheap, and they are quiet.

David B

 

I don't know where to find them. My LHS only carries NWSL or Mashima, so I thought those were the only ones available.

[dstarr]

 The Athearn noise comes from the gears.  Disassemble the two gear towers and take all the gears out. Inspect each piece for flash and remove same.   Wipe each tooth of each gear with a pipe cleaner.  You will notice a few tiny pieces of black plastic come out on the pipe cleaner.  Those bits act like sand in the gears, causing noise.  If that doesn't do it, try the Pearl Drops technique. 

   Upon reassembly insure that the motor shaft is level, fore and aft.  If the rubbery motor mount isn't seated properly, it will **** the motor, causing the U-joints to run at a stiff angle.  They don't like that and make noise to let you know that they are unhappy.  

   On my Athearn GP38's I have improved the headlamp setup.  I made a ceiling for the cab out of Vector board and mounted the lamp above the ceiling so it lights up the headlamp and the number boards but does not shine out the cab windows.  I mount a second bulb in the long hood to light the long hood headlamp.  A short bit of tubing glued to the inside top of the shell serves as a wire guide/bulb support.

 

[jasperofzeal]

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