Best thing about the Athearn Blue box and other Athearn Locomotives is they are great runners, easy to maintain and repair and will run for decades. Whether you prefer DC or DCC Athearns are hands down the most user friendly and in my opinion the most durable and reliable Loco's out there. Their no nonsense low tech approach has built them a lasting reputation in the hobby to all but the most ignorant of hobbyists. If an Athearn is giving you problems you cannot resolve, it's YOU not the Locomotive, aside from extreme cases of course. I have brought old Athearns even Band drive ones back from oblivion with little cost and they run like brand new everytime. Great hobby within the hobby to obtain and ressurect old Athearns that were misused and/or abused.
I've done this to several BB engines and like to tear the complete gear tower down and scrub all the old congealed lubricant off with dish detergent. Labelle 106 is what a lot of guys have used over the years and I have found that stuff congeals over 10 years or so. I stopped using it and switched to Atlas gel. It sticks well and its viscosity characteristics have proven to be superior to Labelle.
Those bronze piece are called bearings. The piece that holds the assembly for the wheel sets is called the gear cover. Once you insert the wheels with the bearings and test with the gauge you need to make sure those bronze bears can move rotate freely. A drop of grease on those black gears will make them perform better and quiet.
When I am doing this, I pull the whole truck assembly apart and soak all plastic gears in soapy (dish liquid) water for a day and clean any old grease from the housing with a rag. Scrub plastic parts with toothbrush and rinse with water. Let dry, check for busted teeth, cracked axle gears and reassemble. I used a grease that has PTFE in it. Generic stuff, easily found at Harbor Freight (big tube) or smaller tubes sold for fishing reels at KMart and Walmart. Not sure buddy, why you are using the plumber's pliers to press the wheel-sets together-concerned the jaws would mar the wheels-you can just push/twist them in by hand. Make a "gauge" from a piece of .010" styrene sheet, cut 2 notches at either end big enough to fit the axle in, making the sheet long enough to form a little loop. Put the axle gear on the 2 wheels and put that at either end in the 2 notches, press together and use the NMRA gauge to check. The styrene helps with getting the spacing right. Should be good to go. Also, even when buying the complete wheel-set from Athearn, check with the NMRA gauge, they are not always correct. Also, I have bought plenty of complete Athearn wheel-sets from Athearn where the axle was not pressed properly in the wheel hub-you can detect this by rolling on a flat surface-you will see ALOT of wobble. Then when you disassemble, you will see how crooked it is. For those, contact Athearn. Good vid !
General question: Is it safe for me to clean the inside of the bearing (the circular hole) with a ka-bob stick to get the oxidization crude out? Is there a chance that the wooden ka-bob stick will make the hole too large to fit around the axle properly, in your opinion? I also use a very fine wet/dry sandpaper to clean the squares that the bearings fit into. Might these cleaning techniques alter the precision of the fit so that they will no longer conduct electricity as they should? I do these things when I clean bolsters etc., when the electricity won't flow through all of these parts to the motor. Thank you for your help.
Probably. But I would use the pointed end of make up Q-Tip that has Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster on it and clean out the center of the bearing with that. I typically just soak the bearings in an old plastic vitamin container that I have sprayed PB Blaster in.
the only wheelsets I had that were cracked were the ones in early Proto2000 models. I never had an Athearn wheelset break. Important: Replacement sets or wheels must be nickel-silver for good electrical pick-up. Another thing: Do not break the gear covers when you pry the off. If you break them it's hard to find replacements.
I see these are "U-boats"; the parts employed say SD-40. I need parts as such for my SD-45; are Athearn parts that ubiquitous amoungst their diesel locos? Need first couplings from armature shaft to drive shaft SD-45
Hi Can I ask what sze engine that is I am wanting to do a freight yard to pick up and drop off cars at factorys on 4x8 do to room issues I just dont know whats to big or to smallof engine to use your thoughts thanks eingener Dave
These where HO scale. You could make a decent size yard in HO scale. But with N-scale, you could build a good yard and have room on that size layout to run lines around it and have industries to work.
once you have the axles on the new gears drop them all in a cup of boiling water and let it go cold,, say 30 min. This will soften the gears ever so slightly and allow them to expand to the axle diameter ever so slightly. Just enough to relieve all the stresses. They will NEVER crack again! By the way you should NEVER slam a loco from forward to reverse like that. no wonder all your gears cracked in the first place. !!!
I have a Jeep mind that had the same problem and I learned this much it's got to be insulated inside that gear so the two ends of those axles don't touch or you will get a short..... And that's not good....
these engine appear to have brass wheels.. now I'd you plan on just useing them on DC. that's fine. but if you are are going to use a dcc layout you will have issues. the engine with brass wheels won't like the dcc layout. you may even get shorts or even short out your layout.
You are mistaken on the cause of the shorts. Wheel type has nothing to do with shorts as metal is metal either way. The issue with brass is conductivity vs. Steel ones and on DCC steel will have much better conductivity whereas brass wheels can sometimes lose a bit causing some stopping/stuttering issues. In Athearns shorts in a DCC setup are usually the result of the motor not being isolated properly when modding it for DCC. The electrical tape method works but can cause issues down the road or even just after the job, and is usually the main culprit in DCC setups. Either that or the contact wheels and 1 or more of the insulated wheels on the trucks has been accidentally reversed causing a direct short. Metal type won't cause a short, the short was happening regardless in your case.
ES UN GRAVE HERROR DE OPERACION DE LAS MAQUINAS CUANDO ESTAN CORRIENDO CAMBIAR LA DIRECCION HACIA ATRAS O HACIA ADELANTE POR ESO SE ROMPEN LOS ENGRANES DE LAS RUEDAS MOTRICES..!!
Lo que me encontré fue que decir , yo no hablo español . He utilizado una aplicación para traducir le pregunta a mí , pero todavía no lo hizo en virtud de lo que pedían . Donde pedir algo o simplemente hacer una declaración .
The person who invented such a wheelset assembly is a complete idiot and knows nothing about mechanics. Not only is the weight of the locomotive pressing against the bearings and bending the axle, but the drive gears themselves slightly flex under the drive strain because the metal axle that goes through is disconnected in the middle of the gear. Plus, the gears have a very tight opening to begin with and inserting the wheel axle simply strains the plastic so that microfractures and fatigue start to develop. The whole axle is turned only by a thin plastic ring of the gear. Not to mention that if you push the wheels more in, their axles could touch and cause a short circuit. I prolonged the gear life by using a drill bit of the same width to slightly increase the gear hole before inserting the wheels. Just so that the plastics does not strain so much when the metal axles are reinserted. But, I generally find this wheelset solution just bad and avoid models that have them. Some cheaper locomotives actually have better and more reliable drive gears and pickup solutions than these. But, you did a very nice tutorial on fixing the very widespread gear problem. ☺
First, realize that this design is 50+ years old. Second, as for electrical shorting, the axles on the wheelsets are short enough that they will not touch. For the money & times these were a good design, and a huge improvement over the rubber band drive Athearn used previously.
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Best thing about the Athearn Blue box and other Athearn Locomotives is they are great runners, easy to maintain and repair and will run for decades. Whether you prefer DC or DCC Athearns are hands down the most user friendly and in my opinion the most durable and reliable Loco's out there. Their no nonsense low tech approach has built them a lasting reputation in the hobby to all but the most ignorant of hobbyists. If an Athearn is giving you problems you cannot resolve, it's YOU not the Locomotive, aside from extreme cases of course. I have brought old Athearns even Band drive ones back from oblivion with little cost and they run like brand new everytime. Great hobby within the hobby to obtain and ressurect old Athearns that were misused and/or abused.
I have a friend that likes to flip the gauge over like the distances will change somehow as well, it totally cracks me up every time. Good video!
Nice video very clear instruction!
The Wheels in the Atheran wheelsets made today, have FAR superior nickel-silver wheels! That's the only way I go, when doing these. 😋
Carmine 🚂
Thanks for the knowledge.
I've done this to several BB engines and like to tear the complete gear tower down and scrub all the old congealed lubricant off with dish detergent. Labelle 106 is what a lot of guys have used over the years and I have found that stuff congeals over 10 years or so. I stopped using it and switched to Atlas gel. It sticks well and its viscosity characteristics have proven to be superior to Labelle.
GREAT VIDEO, LEARN A TON.
Very informative........thanks for making video.
Nicholas Carbone thanks for watching and commenting
Nicholas Carbone
Those bronze piece are called bearings. The piece that holds the assembly for the wheel sets is called the gear cover. Once you insert the wheels with the bearings and test with the gauge you need to make sure those bronze bears can move rotate freely. A drop of grease on those black gears will make them perform better and quiet.
When I am doing this, I pull the whole truck assembly apart and soak all plastic gears in soapy (dish liquid) water for a day and clean any old grease from the housing with a rag. Scrub plastic parts with toothbrush and rinse with water. Let dry, check for busted teeth, cracked axle gears and reassemble. I used a grease that has PTFE in it. Generic stuff, easily found at Harbor Freight (big tube) or smaller tubes sold for fishing reels at KMart and Walmart. Not sure buddy, why you are using the plumber's pliers to press the wheel-sets together-concerned the jaws would mar the wheels-you can just push/twist them in by hand. Make a "gauge" from a piece of .010" styrene sheet, cut 2 notches at either end big enough to fit the axle in, making the sheet long enough to form a little loop. Put the axle gear on the 2 wheels and put that at either end in the 2 notches, press together and use the NMRA gauge to check. The styrene helps with getting the spacing right. Should be good to go. Also, even when buying the complete wheel-set from Athearn, check with the NMRA gauge, they are not always correct. Also, I have bought plenty of complete Athearn wheel-sets from Athearn where the axle was not pressed properly in the wheel hub-you can detect this by rolling on a flat surface-you will see ALOT of wobble. Then when you disassemble, you will see how crooked it is. For those, contact Athearn. Good vid !
General question: Is it safe for me to clean the inside of the bearing (the circular hole) with a ka-bob stick to get the oxidization crude out? Is there a chance that the wooden ka-bob stick will make the hole too large to fit around the axle properly, in your opinion? I also use a very fine wet/dry sandpaper to clean the squares that the bearings fit into. Might these cleaning techniques alter the precision of the fit so that they will no longer conduct electricity as they should? I do these things when I clean bolsters etc., when the electricity won't flow through all of these parts to the motor. Thank you for your help.
Probably. But I would use the pointed end of make up Q-Tip that has Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster on it and clean out the center of the bearing with that. I typically just soak the bearings in an old plastic vitamin container that I have sprayed PB Blaster in.
And how dis the bearings get so cruddy? I don't usually find they oxidize that much.
I guess I'm kind of randomly asking but does anybody know a good place to stream new movies online?
@Jaxxon Kamdyn Lately I have been using Flixzone. Just search on google for it :)
the only wheelsets I had that were cracked were the ones in early Proto2000 models. I never had an Athearn wheelset break. Important: Replacement sets or wheels must be nickel-silver for good electrical pick-up. Another thing: Do not break the gear covers when you pry the off. If you break them it's hard to find replacements.
I see these are "U-boats"; the parts employed say SD-40. I need parts as such for my SD-45; are Athearn parts that ubiquitous amoungst their diesel locos? Need first couplings from armature shaft to drive shaft SD-45
Hi Can I ask what sze engine that is I am wanting to do a freight yard to pick up and drop off cars at factorys on 4x8 do to room issues I just dont know whats to big or to smallof engine to use your thoughts
thanks eingener Dave
These where HO scale. You could make a decent size yard in HO scale. But with N-scale, you could build a good yard and have room on that size layout to run lines around it and have industries to work.
Nice job I sub u
once you have the axles on the new gears drop them all in a cup of boiling water and let it go cold,, say 30 min. This will soften the gears ever so slightly and allow them to expand to the axle diameter ever so slightly. Just enough to relieve all the stresses. They will NEVER crack again! By the way you should NEVER slam a loco from forward to reverse like that. no wonder all your gears cracked in the first place. !!!
I have a Jeep mind that had the same problem and I learned this much it's got to be insulated inside that gear so the two ends of those axles don't touch or you will get a short..... And that's not good....
these engine appear to have brass wheels.. now I'd you plan on just useing them on DC. that's fine. but if you are are going to use a dcc layout you will have issues. the engine with brass wheels won't like the dcc layout. you may even get shorts or even short out your layout.
You are mistaken on the cause of the shorts. Wheel type has nothing to do with shorts as metal is metal either way. The issue with brass is conductivity vs. Steel ones and on DCC steel will have much better conductivity whereas brass wheels can sometimes lose a bit causing some stopping/stuttering issues. In Athearns shorts in a DCC setup are usually the result of the motor not being isolated properly when modding it for DCC. The electrical tape method works but can cause issues down the road or even just after the job, and is usually the main culprit in DCC setups. Either that or the contact wheels and 1 or more of the insulated wheels on the trucks has been accidentally reversed causing a direct short. Metal type won't cause a short, the short was happening regardless in your case.
The wheels should have isolation on them while the gears should be metal.
ES UN GRAVE HERROR DE OPERACION DE LAS MAQUINAS CUANDO ESTAN CORRIENDO CAMBIAR LA DIRECCION HACIA ATRAS O HACIA ADELANTE POR ESO SE ROMPEN LOS ENGRANES DE LAS RUEDAS MOTRICES..!!
Lo siento , no entiendo su pregunta. Estoy utilizando el traductor Google para escribir esto.
tradusca lo que le quiero decir con el traductor de google..
saludos.
Lo que me encontré fue que decir , yo no hablo español . He utilizado una aplicación para traducir le pregunta a mí , pero todavía no lo hizo en virtud de lo que pedían . Donde pedir algo o simplemente hacer una declaración .
The person who invented such a wheelset assembly is a complete idiot and knows nothing about mechanics. Not only is the weight of the locomotive pressing against the bearings and bending the axle, but the drive gears themselves slightly flex under the drive strain because the metal axle that goes through is disconnected in the middle of the gear. Plus, the gears have a very tight opening to begin with and inserting the wheel axle simply strains the plastic so that microfractures and fatigue start to develop. The whole axle is turned only by a thin plastic ring of the gear. Not to mention that if you push the wheels more in, their axles could touch and cause a short circuit.
I prolonged the gear life by using a drill bit of the same width to slightly increase the gear hole before inserting the wheels. Just so that the plastics does not strain so much when the metal axles are reinserted.
But, I generally find this wheelset solution just bad and avoid models that have them. Some cheaper locomotives actually have better and more reliable drive gears and pickup solutions than these.
But, you did a very nice tutorial on fixing the very widespread gear problem. ☺
First, realize that this design is 50+ years old. Second, as for electrical shorting, the axles on the wheelsets are short enough that they will not touch. For the money & times these were a good design, and a huge improvement over the rubber band drive Athearn used previously.