I am having problems with these loco running in multiple. They scream when coming down grade the noise seams to be coming from the trailing truck. I have tried cleaning the gears and reoiling. also tried adding trust washers in the bearings on worm gear. They run ok when leading say an atlas GP7 or stewart F,s as these seam to take the train weight. Any help would be great.
I don’t know a lot about Proto 2000, but it could be cracked gears?
Alexander
have looked at that one they all check out ok. got 9 of them and they all do it
Sure sounds like cracked gears to me as well. I have several Proto 2000 diesels, and some exhibited the identical problem that you describe.
It is not always easy to detect cracked gears. If you twist one, it feels more spongy than an uncracked gear. The best approach is to replace the gear and see if that solves the problem. To help determine which gear is cracked and causing the noise, run the engine and lift the front or rear of the engine off the track. If the noise continues, that is the faulty truck that is still running on the track.
The gear of choice to solve this problem is Athearn #60024. They are fairly inexpensive and I always keep a few on hand. The biggest culprits are GP7 and GP9, followed by GP20 and GP30. Fewer problems occur on SD9 and GP18. Can’t say for the rest because those are the only Protos that I own.
Had a similar problem with a P2K Geep.
One gear “appeared” cracked. I replaced it The locomotive still made noise. The other axle housings “appeared” o.k, but I went ahead and replaced the others. Result: she ran with no more problems. [:D]
The P2K SD7s and SD9s are nice looking units! I’m hunting for one in the Burlington’s black and gray “Way of the Zephy” paint scheme.[;)]
thanks for your help on this one guys. will go back and recheck those gears. just seams a bit strange its happend all of them. thanks for the heads up on the GP,s they are running fine but will keep an eye them now. And yes those CB&Q black birds are nice. [:D]
Pall, just out of curiosity, did you buy all nine of the PK2’s at one time? Have all of the PK2’s been making the screaming noise from the beginning or is it a more recent phenomenom?
Just wondering whether you bought a bad batch. It is weird that all nine exhibit the problem. Even in the earlier runs with the problems, not all engines had cracked years.
Let us know when and how you solve the problem.
most are from the first runs and two from the second run. I didnt notice to start with as my layout had no grades. It wasnt until i built the new layout and started running trains that this started happening. On the flat they are fine just coming down grade they make the noise. and its only the second and or third units. Will keep you posted as to how i get on.
well the new gears turned up. put the first loco in the shop to change out the gears but they don`t fit seams the they are the wrong size. the axle is smaller than the holes in the new gears. But all is not lost found a box of nwsl replacement wheels that fit the new gears . The loco rolled out the shop door and back into service next day with new wheels and gears. no more noise so guess it was craked gears after all.
many thanks for your help
cheers Paul
A man after my own heart. The “blackbird” scheme of the Burlington Route is IMO one of the sharpest looking freight schemes ever used. Far nicer than the red that followed. It is quite a complex paint job, which I imagine is why it did not last into more modern times when costs really became an issue.
One of the hobby’s “dirty little secrets” is how nice the P2K diesels look – but how awful, over time, they run. The split gears is one annoying issue, the lack of proper thrust washers around the worm gear is another.
Yet another problem with the SD7/9’s is their power pickup. The power path from the rails to the motor is through the axle tips in a pressed copper plate. This soft copper wears quickly and the axle tips develop a minute amount of slop.
With the slop, it becomes possible for all six wheels to be touching the rails, but none of the 6 axle tips on either side of the locomotive are touching the copper plate, so no power gets to the motor! As a result, power pickup becomes very unreliable – and running the locos gets very annoying.
I’ve tried lots of fixes with mixed results. The most permanent and reliable fix is to replace the guts of the SD7/9 with a ProtoPower West RPP SD7/9 chassis and motor. Here’s the link: http://www.ppw-aline.com/custom_built_chassis.htm
The replacement “guts” is about $90 and worth every penny. The end result is a loco that runs wonderful – way better than the original.
Simon / AntonioFp45 i have just been cheecking out e bay and there is a black bird listed don`t now if you have seen it or not . just thought i would let you know . cheers Paul [:D]