I have some older gp 18s in the brownish gold boxes that have this problem. Do the ones in the newer blue boxes have the same problem or were they corrected by then?thanks 28473…
Any P2K Geep made by Life-Like is suspectible to the cracked gear issue. IIRC, the ones in “newer blue boxes” were LL (before Walthers ownership), too.
Note that this issue is NOT a big deal to fix and can be done in about 10 minutes if you have the correct part. To access the axles, etc, you turn the loco upside down and pop the covers off the bottom of each truck, and simply lift-out and then reinstall the axles after they are regeared. Athearn Part 60024 (6/pack of axle gears) works and simply requires that the half-axles be pulled off the defective gears, new gear installed, then check for correct gauge.
I second what has been said already.
Swap them for Athearn gears and away you go. Think I am up to 5 or 6 now I have swapped axle gears in.
When you do the job I highly recommend a complete maintenance sweep of the engine. Clean out all factory lube which will turn to a heavy mud consistency if not harder and proper lube job.
can any athearn gears be used from any type?
someone i know used white glue to repair the gears is it possible?
Athearn #60024, replacement axle gears.
Anyone using white glue to fix them is doing nothing but fooling themselves 
Once broke there is no fix other than replacement. It is quick easy and guaranteed.
Yes you can fix them but by the time you invest in the tools needed and materials, it is much cheaper to replace them, even if you had 100 engines to do.
“someone i know used white glue to repair the gears is it possible?”
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
No.
I have paid more money to fix over 30 LL PROTO gears replaced & lubed !
All my engines run great !
Not your Geep problem, but I also encountered this on a LL E6, though I was told the issue was uncommon on the 6-axle diesels. For mine, the Athearn gears commonly used were not the right number of teeth and did not seem to solve the problem, at least on that engine as (other than a different speed range) it did not run or sound right. I got some correct gears by buying a replacement truck from Walthers.
I don’t know if NWSL (typically more expensive) has the correct gears for any that don’t take the usual Athearn gears. Correct meaning axle hole diameter, number of teeth and teeth cut. I’m not sure how many different gears the various LL diesels used, though I think there are more than two variations.
Yes, the four axle geeps in the blue boxes have the same problem. When Walthers bought LifeLike, they began to ship the locomotive fully assembled (instead of the gimmicky two part assembly) in smaller grey colored boxes. That’s how you tell the difference.
Those gps tend not to have the gear problem but I can’t guarantee that there wasn’t a short period of production overlap in the beginning.
From time to time Walthers itself offers replacement wheel/gear sets for both the Geeps and the E units. At this time the E unit set is sold out but again, they reorder from time to time so if you are in need, it is not a bad idea to get your order in now.
https://www.walthers.com/replacement-geared-diesel-wheelsets-fits-early-proto-2000-r-e6-7-8-9-pkg-3
Here is the link for the similar replacement wheel/gear sets for the EMD Geeps, BL2 etc. They are also out of stock but in my experience are in a sort of perpetual re-order status.
Dave Nelson
Thanks, Dave. I found one pack (of three wheelsets for E units) on EBay and ordered it. That should be plenty for me unless some of the other LL I have need those gears, for instance the P1K Erie Builts or the P2K PA/PB.
If the 4 axle diesels are all the same gearing(?) the Atherans fix is just fine and readily available.
When i go through and lube my units I’ll have to count the teeth on the various type LL locos I have. I really enjoy converting them to DCC, though I’ve got 2-3 of many UP types and have slowed down on the procurement efforts (finally managing the temptations).
AFAIK, all the LL geeps were the same.
The SD45 was infamous for having an odd gear ratio, which explains that. Not sure about the other six-axle units.
I belive I repaced several E unit gears with the same ones used in the 4 axle units. Mine all run great now and some are over 3 years old (new gears that is!).
-Bob
I replace all the axle gears in any Life Like P2K GP I buy. The correct Athearn part is 60024 containing 6 gears. Many times you can find multiple packs for a good price on eBay. I made a special fixture to speed up pressing the gears on the wheels. It takes more time to clean out the dried grease than it does to replace the gears. I found bad gears on a Proto 1000 F3 as well.
This was discussed many times in the past and many people either overlook it or don’t know about it. Most all Athearns and some other like LL/P2k had a 12 to 1 gear ratio, that means there are 12 teeth on the axle gear. Almost all engines today have a 14 to 1 gear ratio, which makes their engines top speed lower, but performs better at low speeds…so that is what the MFG’ers did, they changed the drives on all newer engines to a higher gear ratio for better slow speed performance, sacrificing high speed. Most people wanted better slow speed control, verse’s running faster. As long as the hole diameter is the same, any 12 tooth gear will work. Putting a 14 tooth gear in it Will not, it won’t match with the idler gears.
Don’t even waste Your time trying to repair them…replace. To make putting the axle sets on the new gears a little easier…stick them in Your freezer for awhile…just the axles, not the gears. You can take them out with a pair of needle nose pliers.
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
what causes them to crack?
Hi dh,
This is the reason …>>>>
It’s in their DNA, their parents were nuts.
Certain plastics shrink over time. When a plastic gear is molded around or pressed onto a metal axle, the shrinkage eventually causes the gear to crack. Basically, a poor choice of materials.