I recently purchased an Athearn SD38 on E-bay. Prior to the sale, the seller told me it only had about an hour of operating time. I tested it right out of the box and it required a little more voltage to start than a similar model I own. It was also noisy, with the noise coming from the rear. Upon closer examination, the rear truck was externally oily. I cleaned the wheels by running it over a paper towel soaked in Goo-Gone, but this did not improve its performance. I then disassembled the rear truck and washed all of the parts in warm soapy water. (I suspect the previous owner soaked it in light oil in an attempt to improve performance.)
Upon careful examination, I found the following apparent defects in the truck: The hole in the 23T gear is slightly eccentric, one metal side contact plate is bowed, and some of the journals on the inside of the sideframes are mis-shaped, although I can’t tell if it is a bad mould job or from axles being forced into them.
Has anyone had any luck getting Athearn to replace a power truck? If I can’t locate a replacement, what kind of grease should I use to re-lubricate it before re-assembly?
Tom P