Cracked gears proto 2000

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have that problem gp18 does athearn sd 40 gears work?

2

Athearn part # 60024 I believe is what repairs this problem. Yes SD40 gears.

3

I presume you are talking a LifeLike Proto 2000, the early GPs usually having the cracked gear problem. That being the case, I will offer the following but do wait until someone confirms.

You can see by the Walthers wheelset (wheels plus gears) offering below (not always available) that the GP18s are included with the list of GP7s, etc. I’m fairly certain that the Geeps use the Athearn ATH60024 gears (re-use the wheels & 1/2 axles) that Athearn is showing as SD40-2 replacements.

https://www.walthers.com/replacement-geared-driver-assembly-diesel-wheelset-pkg-2-for-early-proto-2000-r-bl-fa-gp7-9-18-20-30-60-proto-1000-tm-f3

http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH60024

I have used the Athearn gears on a number of LL locos that I have procured & converted to DCC. Always count the gear teeth, though, to be sure you do not have another gear need. For example, my LL E6s (a less common problem but it can occur with the 6-axles diesels) required a different gear tooth count, see the next item for those. And I believe there are other variations such as non-centered gears and/or a 3rd tooth count for a few of the LL’s. But you should be safe with the Athearn gears for your GP.

https://www.walthers.com/replacement-geared-diesel-wheelsets-fits-early-proto-2000-r-e6-7-8-9-pkg-3

When you cannot find what you want on Walthers or Athearn site the items are usually offerred by someone on EBay.

If you have not done this replacement before do pay attention to the assembly of the 1/2 axles & gears. I had a case where I thought I had used my NMRA gage to se

4

Good Info [Y]

Here’s a photo:

Proto_gear-2 by Edmund, on Flickr

A few of the variants:

IMG_0128_fix by Edmund, on Flickr

Once you’ve made a few of the repairs it will become routine for you.

Also good advice!

Good Luck, Ed

5

Thanks everyone

6

I have also purchased ATH 40028 which are the whole wheel/gear assembly and are just drop in replacements. They come 6 per pack.

Ralph

7

Still need to check the gauge with an NMRA gauge. I guess it’s slightly less work, but there’s nothing wrong with the P2K wheels. Unless they have really high run time and are worn, then I’d get the complete wheel and axle sets.

–Randy