That for the life of you keeps stumping you. Whether it be a track problem, kit problem or in my case a loco problem.
I have had this old atheran blue box switcher for years now and it has been a problems since I have got it. I would have gave up on it years ago if I didnt like the look of it so much. It runs pretty decent and has great slow speed operation. The problem is its so loud ( more then the usual old blue box ) I have had it apart dozens and dozens of times. I have replaced gears, hardwired it checked for any sort of flashing in the trucks and still each time I put it back together it’s loud,lol
The motor on its own sounds good but soon as I put it back in the chassis with the trucks it’s loud again. I have tried all the usual athearn fixes but still to no avail. Would anybody have any ideas on what else it could be? I know it could be a zillion different things but I would love to hear your guys thoughts.
Is it loud before you put the shell on it? Maybe the shell could be loose and vibrating.
One thing that I have run into is that the flywheels can be out of balance. You can solve this by holding one and twisting the other one some. Then test run it again. At some point they will get into balance and it will be smooth running again. (If the flywheels were out of balance, the motor and flywheel assembly will vibrate in your hand when the motor is running.)
Could you list the specific things that you have already tried?
Elmer has my vote for what is likely to be the problem. I immediately thought that the shell is serving as an amplifier, or a sound box, the same way it works on your banjo/guitar/ukelele/balalaika/etc. Something about the fit, or a crack,is causing it to pick up a resonance in concert with the drive train and propagate it into the room air. You will need to do some careful flexing of the shell here and there, take a close look at the margins when you are convinced it is properly seated on the frame, and if that doesn’t work, try a thin layer of DAP Alex Plus caulk/sealant [if it has the silicone] smeared in the corners (first), and then smeared widely if that doesn’t seem to work. Just a band of the stuff a half mm thick, not the entire inner walls.
Some of us resort to using strips of electrical tape inside steamer tender shells for the same reason.
Yes, I have one that had the same problem and louder in one direction then the other. My solution was to trim some foam I have from my r/c airplanes used to protect the radio receiver from engine vibration. Anyway, I trimmed some of it in thin strips that I placed between the sides of the shell and the motor. That stopped the noise for me. It appeared the motor torque would rock it against the side of the shell.
Another thing you could do is to try running the trucks with some other sort of power source. Although an electric drill is to loud, something like that can tell you if it is truck noise.
Here’s where that loop of test track can come in handy. I’ve had a few Athearn locos that just seem to be noisy with no obvious cause. Run the loco for perhaps a few hours in each direction, and flip it end for end so it can run with the trucks rotated to the opposite side to ensure even wear. Turn it on and go do something else while it runs. I’ve heard some remarkable changes in noise level and overall smoothness after doing this.
Try securing the motor to the frame better by squeezing latex caulk into the cavity to surround the motor mounts. Try to avoid the metal contact strip. Those old Athearn switchers have smaller mounts, and they don’t hold the motor that well.
It could be the shell, but stabilizing the motor should reduce vibration all throughout the drivetrain.
Additionally, the mounts themselves could need replacing. They tend to dry out and get hard. New mounts, then caulk, should help reduce vibration.
I have one BB loco that I had quite an ordeal with. It was several of the usual things but I still thought it should be quieter.
Some of the problem was solved by putting a thin strip of tape around the entire frame, then be very careful getting the body over the frame and make sure the body clips are not covered up by the tape and that should help some.
The motor noise is magnifyed by the looseness of the body and it vibrating as well. So this will stop some of that additional noise. [{(-_-)}]
Some of my Athearn’s quieted down after a careful cleaning of the gear towers, that transmit rotation from the drive shafts down to the wheels. Pop the retaining clip of the bottom of the trucks and the gear tower comes apart. Wash the tower sides in hot soapy water. Take a white pipe cleaner and wipe each tooth of each gear. This will pick up some tiny pieces of loose plastic flash that have been sticking to gear teeth and making noise. While you are at it inspect each gear and part for flash and file same off. Check the U joints for flash. Then put everything back together and it ought to run quieter.
Other comments on this thread about damping noise from the shell are good ones. Also make sure that nothing like flywheels is rubbing on the shell.
Getting rid of the old BB iron wheels will improve your loco tremendously. JB or others will have replacements for them. Also shimming the worms from front to back to almost eliminate the thrusting of the worms will help along with the other advice already given.
Gave it another go guys, I still have the noise ( all though not as bad so I must be getting some vibration ) and I looked over it good and the only thing that I can see that I think may be causing the noise is the slotted coupling that connects to the flywheel bushing seems like there is alot of play. I don’t have spare to pop in because I only ever had the one type of switcher and the road diesels couplings were different from the smaller switchers.
that may not even be the problem but thats all I can see
Given the timing on your replies, I’m going to gues you haven’t had a chance to give your loco a few hours of running in each direction yet. In tuning many an Athearn mechanism, I can tell you that is often the simplest cure for noise you can’t otherwise pinpoint.
I recently replaced some axle gears in one of my older Athearns, and the repaired trucks were quite noisy at first despite normal tune-up. Running that loco for about an hour in each direction quieted it down a LOT. I can report similar results for a few others, although sometimes they need more time before they finally start to get quiet.
The slop you report in the universals is normal. It can contribute to noise and vibration, but not usually to any great extent compared to other sources.
Also note that Athearn’s stock open frame motors are highly variable in running qualities. Sometimes you just get one that’s very noisy and stays that way.
Cheers Rob, yeah Im going to run the loco for a while today. I only have a switching layout so I will have to get old some old ez track that I have for just this occasion.
I also think that the wires I am using for the hardwire are a little on the tight side so Im going to replace them with some that is a little bit looser.
But for the morning I have some yard work to do [:(!]
well I got 45 minutes in and got a phone call from my parents saying they had a tree fall in there yard so I spent until 8:30 over there getting it cut up. I have to go back over tomorrow morning to finish up so will resume running the engine when I get home.
well I have been running it today and might have found the problem. The engine has quieted down alot but I noticed that the wire that im using for the hard wire is rubbing the top of the shell. Does anyone have a idea on what I could do? I took my dremel and tried sanding the inside of the shell a bit but its still too close and rubbing.
A wire on a shell shouldn’t make noise unless the wire is also touching the flywheel when the shell is placed back on, or you’ve got a whole bunch of vibration from elsewhere. Athearns have been hard wired without the wires getting in the way, so try reforming the wire or rewiring the motor to channel the wire someplace else.
Well I have tried all the suggestions here and am still getting noise,lol. I can eliminate shell noise because its still making noise while its off. Im pretty much out of ideas as to what it could be. Maybe I might just have to retire it. I still think its somehow the trucks but cant figure it out.