Which motor is best for remotoring an Athearn GP38-2

[Omaha53]

I have a motor in a HO scale Athearn RTR GP38-2 which is beginning to give problems. I am considering replacing the motor. I know that A-Line, Northwest Shortline, Micro-Mark and Kato have motors which are supposed to fit and be better than the Athearn motor. On the forum I have seen that all of these replacements have been used by some ot the readers. Have any of you used motors from different sources so that you can actually compare one to another as far as quality, ease of installation, reliability, etc.? I already know there is a variation in price.

[wp8thsub]

I've repowered quite a few Atheran diesels.  Performance of A-Line (Mashima) and Kato motors are similar.  I tried a couple of the NWSL motors years back when they were made by Sagami, and their performance was poor enough I removed them both and replaced with Mashima motors.  I hear the newer motors sold by NWSL are better but have no first hand experience, nor have I used any of Micro Mark's.

One benefit the Kato motors can have is how the stock plastic mount can often screw into an Athearn frame without modification.  Sometimes it's necessary to remove material from the frame but if you have a motor tool or access to a milling machine such modifications are usually not too difficult.  I mount other types with exterior grade foam tape, sometimes using more than one layer to shim the motor to the correct height.

I've never had a Masima or Kato motor wear out, so from my own experience they are both reliable.

[BRAKIE]

You could go a few bucks more and buy a Atlas/Trainman GP38-2 and use that drive.You will need to file some areas so the Athearn body will fit.

[stokesda]

I've used Kato motors in a couple of old Blue Box locos and have been happy with them. One good thing about the Kato motors is the Athearn hex-head drive shafts fit directly into the holes in the Kato flywheels. As Rob mentioned, if you get a Kato motor with the correct plastic mount (like this... temporarily out of stock from katousa.com ) it will fit the holes in the bottom of the Athearn frame. Otherwise, you can get an A-Line cradle weight and mount the "bare" motor on top, like they explain here.

You could also use an Athearn Genesis motor, which is designed for the hex-head driveshafts and has the plastic mount on it.

[crhostler61]

The Micro Mark remotor kits use a Bachmann Kader motor. I refit an Athearn F7 A/B set and they work extremely well. Their flywheels work with any body width. NWSL's work well too, but they are made up with different flywheel configurations which would mean using differnt ones in different locomotives. I can't speak for Kato or A-Line.

Mark H