Easy Replace / Repair Split, Broken, Cracked Axle Gears on Life-Like - Walthers Proto, Athearn, Kato

[@What_If_We_Tried]

Thanks so much for the video, because I have a box of Life Like Proto 2000 engines that I got on sale at 40% discount (no returns). Mostly GP7's and GP9's. Little did I know it was because of the cracked gears issue; as I was just getting into the hobby, and ~ 66% of the engines had cracked gears. I'm going to try and replace the gears on at least 6 engines, and try and sell them. If all goes well, I'll do the rest and dump them also.

[@ganeydn]

Thanks. With your help I just replaced a cracked gear on my Athearn Amtrak P42. I did have to ream out the hole in the gear but luckily the bit I had still left it a tight enough fit. No more derailing on switches.

[@larrydee8859]

This is a good learning video. Yes; Perhaps, for different manufacturers, as a possibility. Thanks again, Dr. Hobby!

[@DoctorHobby]

I’ll do just that, I promise! Thank you so much!

[@officialpennsyjoe]

Definitely should do this kind of video for multiple models.

[@DoctorHobby]

Thanks tons for the comment! I'm working on getting as many helpful videos as I can, as quickly as I can! Please stay tuned!

[@johnhermanson5249]

Thank you for the video. Unfortunately, a tight press fit into plastic is guaranteed to eventually crack, but that's how they have always been made. I bet mine are cracked too.

[@DoctorHobby]

Great point! Luckily this is a pretty accessible fix for everyone, as bummer as the situation is.

[@johnpadams8079]

You can use a small channel lock plier as a press to press the axels into the gear if you have difficulty doing it freehand. The channel locks just help with some leverage 😊

[@swiv99]

those split axles that can short-out if too close inside gear or touching. This vid reminded me of a fix to keep them from electrical contact is to put small plastic shavings inside the hole before you put wheel back inside gear..just a lil or it will be out of gauge..This solved a problem with shorts in the loco.

[@michaelmorgan7893]

I have a bunch of Life Like Proto units i bought new, and never ran. Every last one of them had cracked gears! I tried using the Athearn gears, but the gearing wasnt exactly the same, so it ran hot. I have to buy either the Walthers replacements, or NWSL

[@rolandhersom239]

I replaced a gear in my Proto GP18 with an Athern gear with no resultant problems

[@michaelquinones-lx6ks]

Hi again. those 'life-like' proto 2000 gears can be a real pain to replace and all the things you show on this youtube video i was doing that for years. still an informative video

[@DoctorHobby]

Thank you so very much! Hopefully i made it easy for everyone

[@tomsmaerklintrainlayout6742]

Great video !!! I only wonder when the manufacturers went to plastic gears that crack. I know that I may be a little old fashioned, but when I look at the 60-70 year old Marklin locos that still run w/o any issues, I can only think “cost cutting”…

[@DoctorHobby]

I think I've seen them as early as the '70s, but maybe even sooner. I'm sure cost was a factor in this. Plastic is often quieter than metal, so there is a benefit there, I suppose. I don't mind them using plastic, but if they're going to do that I wish they would use really standard gears so that they're replaceable over time. Thanks for watching!

[@rolandhersom239]

Those models that have metal gears usually have insulated wheels on one side as you need to electrically separate the + and - sides. The plastic gears are what do the job of insulating the two polarities

[@charleswalsh9895]

Great video

[@DoctorHobby]

Thank you so very much! I hope it helped you out a lot!

[@alanpope179]

I've even dropped an old Athearn sintered wheelset in just to get the loco running until new gears came available!

[@echohunter4199]

Oh boy. Complicated subject here. We have to remember that the nylon gear is holding in both shafts by pressure and that tension is what’s keeping them secure. After time the nylon gear is slowly weakening to the point where it’ll crack in half again. There’s a point where there’s too little or too much tension and measuring both the internal diameter of the gear and the outer diameter of the metal wheel shaft then, if you need to remove a little bit of nylon by using a drill bit or needle file. Just leave enough gear diameter where it still holds the shaft tightly. Using improper lubricants is a huge no no for these gears, it affects the elasticity of the nylon, just use silicone oil or grease. Thankfully, these gears often come with many in a package so what I do is test fit an axle and make adjustments until I feel it’s just right.

[@1964catt]

We need these plastic exle parts but in metal and some jb weld to fix these split chassis engines permanently once and for all, i would pay high price for metal axles like that if it meant being a permanent fix.

[@DoctorHobby]

Excellent idea, actually. I’m sure a lot of people would pay for that.

[@jagc1969]

Hi. Great video. Will this solultion work for a Kato SD40-2 also? Thanks in advance.

[@leroyducharme2477]

I have a foam vee block to rest the chassis on while I work the trucks.

[@VolfMark]

That wheel assembly is the most idiotic design I have ever had to deal with. Even some cheap models surpass such a design by far. Not only do the gears crack due to poor design, but you can also push the axles in all the way till they touch one another, which can cause a short because the gears are open all the way through, no plastic stop to prevent the axles from touching. And when the gear cracks and axles are losely attached, it is easy to move inside the gear and cause a short. My first Life-Like loco was GP7, a beatiful Burlingtone Route version, details were fantastic. Great video, though, I hope you won't have to be replacing the gears every few months.

[@DoctorHobby]

Yup. They’re terrible. Good thing they’re cheap, I suppose

[@Stanf954]

I have replaced most if not all of the Proto 1 and 2K gear sets. And yet most of the Athearn BB locos that I have had for 30 years have the original equipment.

[@DoctorHobby]

I think Proto axles are slightly larger and put a bit more pressure on the gear…

[@donttreadonmetal5073]

interesting. I've heard the 4-axle engines have this problem, and then some more than others. I hope the C-liners and erie-built I ordered don't have this issue.

[@rolandhersom239]

I have an Athern GP30 an Athern GP9 which are 60 years old and are still using their original gears

[@donttreadonmetal5073]

Is the cracked gear problem annoying? sure. I've run a proto 2000 santa fe GP30 for yrs with cracked gears that clack clack and all that. the wider the curve, the worse it presents. As long as the engine still runs, I'm fine with it, but yeah it is frustrating to know that this was a widespread problem, even today. with today's new loco prices, I want the older less expensive ones, and if I run into problems, so be it.

[@richlawrence4160]

would it help to fit the gears if the gear was dropped in a mug of hot water to expand it slightly? Or would this degrade the gear?

[@DoctorHobby]

Bad idea, actually. It won’t really expand the plastic at all but the water inside can start to rust the axle and make things much worse

[@joaomartins7732]

Hi I need gears for mehano eurosprinter or compatibles

[@DoctorHobby]

Thank you for watching. Unfortunately I don’t know much about those models.