A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about a different perspective on split axle gears…surprised first that Kato was the maker, and also that the replacement sets I had bought 7 months ago were spinning just as freely as the obviously split ones on my Atlas/Kato locos (same geared axle by the way).
Well, when I ordered 18 new axles, I was sure to inform Michael (who was the one who spoke to me on the phone) that I had this problem with my previous replacements and would he please open the packs ot ensure that the axles were good. He said he would.
Guess what? He didn’t. And every one of the 18 axles that arrived after I had waited two weeks for mail were spinning more freely than the split ones on the locos they were to replace! None of the packs had been opened for checking.
I guess it’s just difficult to get good help nowadays. [banghead]
Obviously there is a manufacturing problem that Michael, at least, does not take seriously!
I see that these replacements actually have only half the length of metal shaft fitted into the wide black plastic gear hubs as do the originals. Maybe that is part of the problem.
Is there anyone out there who knows of an axle from any manufacturer that can drop into the Kato models? This is their standard geared axle that is used in all but some of the very newest models.
Alternatively, is there some kind of glue/fixative that might do the trick? These replacements aren’t split. I tried some CA without success. Maybe not enough roughed surface area. Maybe I’ll sand the metal axle a bit and try again.
Athearn Genesis axle gears (14 tooth from SD70 and F series) fit the Kato trucks. If none of the gears are fitting your wheels, I wonder if there was a manufacturing change, and newer wheels have slightly larger axles than older ones, and the axle gears were changed to fit? That might explain why your wheels fit so loosely, but it’s only a guess.
Thanks for the tip. You are referring to just the gear itself, I think. That would be ok.
Just to be clear, I am talking about complete gear and axle sets that are defective straight from Kato Parts Dept. as shown below.
What I ordered is shown in the center. None of the 18 sets was solid. On the right is the original axle set showing the longer metal axle itself (and the split gear) and on the left is the replacement with the much shorter metal axle and the unsplit, but loose gear. Maybe that shorter axle contributes to the poor fit, but I wish Kato as promised had checked before mailing them out.
So what I have done is roughen up one of the old long axles quite bit and applied some Liquid Nails which I have had good success with gluing metal to plastic. Let’s see if I can salvage some of these new gears.
Yes. thanks, Steve. This does give a tighter fit. but I have better solution below.
However, in all my years of replacements I haven’t encountered such loose ones. I know the locos will move with the loose axles and they don’t hop or wobble down the track, but I can’t imagine this is very efficient. I also believe these axles are the reason one of my locos slows way down as it warms up compared to its other two identical mates.
And now Michael tells me that he has checked and the other axles in stock have the same fit. Maybe there is a trade off between the shorter axle and the possibility of a splitting gear hub in the future. My originals needing replacement were not just loose, they had split (but were still as tight as the new replacements!)
THE SOLUTION: That roughening up the older long axle with sandpaper and then using a dab of Liquid Nails produced a very solid fit. I don’t think there will be any problem with them now.
Aside from some of my B truck Protos, I have never encountered any problems with wheel slippage. This is especially true for any of my Atlas/Kato drives.
It really seems unusual that you have this problem and it appears that it is not confined to just one truck or particular loco.
Unless the fit/ slippage was quite severe, I would reccomend the use of Loctite (red) to set the axles into the Kato gear. I have used this for all my NW Shortline replacements. Get a feel for the depth of the axle w/ a dry run before using the loctite. You don’t have that much time to set the guage once done. Loctite is formulated for this use and will resist shock unlike CA which is brittle. Liquid nail can be disolved by any of the oil/ grease and I would not even consider it’s use.
Too bad you had such bad luck w/ your Katos. I hope this helps.
The Kato drive is still one of the smoothest and most reliable that I have found. I would try to keep the origional gears in the truck that has broken in, providing the gear isn’t damaged.
And some people wonder why I have a grand total of ONE Kato loco, an RSC-2. 4 of the 6 axles were split and didn’t have money for replacements. All four were replaced with spare parts from Athearn.
Well, out of the 200 plus diesels on my Santa Fe, Athearn is the minority because of problems. I have a large number of Kato’s and have not had to obtain parts for any of them. That was not true of the older SD40-2 with the electrical problems, but I am talking about the newer stuff. I rewired the older SD40-2 myself, so in fact, I have never had to go after parts for Kato diesels, which is not true of Athearn. In fact, I have 14 of the older Kato GP35’s still running strong after a lot of years and lots of miles. So you see, we all experience different ailments in our modeling, and have different views of service from the manufacturers. Sorry you had trouble with Kato.
Thanks for the tip. I had in the back of my mind that there was some other product that I hadn’t thought of when I was trying to think of adhesives.
With the loctite, is it not possible to apply this to the axle once inside the gear hub and set to the right gauge…is it not supposed to run down or be drawn in like the other thin adhesives?.or is it best to drop a little in the hole?..because I find that it does take a moment to get the wheels pushed in to the correct depth. I would not want to have to start cutting off incorrectly set gears.
I am surprised at this problem with these locos, because, as we know, they run very nicely. Maybe just a aging thing with these which are the older Atlas/Kato jobs.
The Loclite won’t set that quickly that you need to worry about time to gauge the wheelset. The Loctite should be placed on the axle end, excess wiped off to leave only a film and then set into the gear. By using another properly gauged wheelset as a guide, you can set one side very close to gear position. Only when the opposite wheel is inserted do you set the gauge.
I had done this w/ 2 part epoxy on a real stubborn gear and had more than enough time in doing so.
Ditto, last year Kato informed me that they no longer sell individual geared axle sets for my early 90s HO Kato and Kato drive locomotives, but that I would have to purchase the entire truck assembly. At some point all the geared axles would develop a hairline crack on the exact same side (slightly larger diameter side) causing the wheel to slip and loose gauge. Having already had most of the replacement geared axles do the same and not sure if Kato had solved the defect I sure didn’t want to be buying entire truck assemblies. In fact I’ve seen brand new in the box never been run Kato drive locomotives with gear axles already cracked in the same spot. Early on and more than once Kato ignored my question of the geared axles being defective. I suppose Kato is following the many industries that over the years are forcing their customers to purchase entire assemblies to obtain just a single part. Such is the path of modern industry so as to extend their reach into our pockets. I wonder if Kato is selling parts that it knows are defective? I just tried gluing some of my Kato cracked gear axles, I used both CA glue and two part epoxy. There was plenty of time to gauge the wheels before the epoxy began to set. Don’t have enough running time to fairly judge either gluing method, but one that was CA glued has already failed. Thought about the red loctite, but from what I’ve read it is not plastic compatible. Many years ago when my son was into R/C cars I think I remember one of his kits including a plastic compatible thread locker, but darned if I can find any info on that. Keeping my fingers crossed that the epoxy will hold. Though at least there is some hope that a different mfg’s geared axle might work, can’t imagine losing the use of my entire roster of custom painted and detailed locomotives. Good luck, Peter
