Has anyone remotored one of these with the Athearn Genesis motor #ATHG63839 ??
Dunno. I got three of 'em, that run just fine on factory motors. They are older models, I got them as Blue Box kits. I don’t see a reason to remotor them. What does help Athearn diesels is a thorough cleaning of the gear towers. Very often tiny bits of black flash, invisible against the black gear tower, are getting into the gears and making 'em run rough or noisy or both. Pop the bottom clip off the truck with an Xacto knife, clean the inside of the gear town with solvent and a toothbrush. Wipe each tooth of each gear with a pipe cleaner. Reassemble, lube LIGHTLY with grease, and you should be good to go.
Thanks Dstarr. Mine run great but the one with DCC gets pretty warm as I very rarely get over SS10 most time SS5 or less. I like to flat switch!! It will run 0.25 SMPH in SS1 and very smooth.
I’m just worried about the heat…
The new ones come in DCC Ready or with DCC/Sound.
What is getting warm? The entire locomotive? The motor? the DCC decoder?
Rule of thumb. If you can lay the back of your hand on it for the count of ten, it’s not too hot. Works for motors, transistors, just about anything.
If they will run at 0.25 smph, you are in good shape.
Got an ammeter? I would expect newish Athearn diesels to pull maybe 0.5 amps, wheels spinning. A decent DCC decoder ought to be able to furnish a full amp. Older Athearns could pull as much as an amp, which apparently was enough to smoke some older DCC decoders.