[:(!] Why are athearn motors so noisy?[:(!]
What are the best motors to replace those noisy things?
Try some electrical cleaner or solvent on the motor. I use a product called Dull N’ Bond which is found at paint stores. I dip a paint brush in it and clean the motor and wheels. Brings my engines back to life and really quites them down.
Paul the Painter
A guy in the club I belong to runs toothpaste through the gears to smoothen things out a bit.
CSXMU
Don’t be discouraged. For the price Athearns are hard to beat. The motor is tough but not precision built. Plus there is a tiny amount of play with the worm gear as well as the meshing of the gears within the trucks. So, basically that’s why noise from the trucks and the motor can be heard contributing to (the infamous Athearn “growl”) The body itself in some units resonates with the motor. I’ve read where some modelers apply weatherstrip taping along the inside of the shell.
The Pearl Drops tooth paste method for the trucks seems to quiet the units considerably.
[;)]Take your time when doing this. Keep your Athearn diagram that comes with your locomotive next to you. With patience you’ll be successful:
[:)][8D] Remove the driveshafts that connect from the motor to the trucks. They’ll pop out with light pressure. Carefully take each truck apart. Use a thin flathead screwdriver to remove the cover plates on the bottom of the trucks Once apart, check the gears for burs or flashing. Bru***he Pearl drops onto the gears generously. Don’t be stingy with it, pack it in!
After reassembling the trucks, run the locomotive continuosly for 1 hour or more in each direction. This toothpaste will burnish and poli***he gears.
Take the trucks apart and completely wash off the Pearl Drops using a clean tooth brush and 70% alcohol. Allow to dry, check for any residue and wipe any off with a lint free cloth. Apply a gear grease (Campbell Scale or comparable brand). Reassemble the trucks. You should notice a marked improvement. I was amazed at how a good friend of mine quieted his 1970s GP9!
Experienced modelers, if you have an alternative or corrections to the above, please post it! It’s good to check out different options. [swg][swg]
If it’s the motor itself that’s a noise source, another option is to install an A-LIne N
more noise the better, glob some grease and soot all over em and hook up about 50 cars and go.
Give it time, that growl will grow on you.
Hello Metro,
Years ago, yes that growl was actually cool with many of us. Then we started getting Stewart F units, Re-tooled Atlas locomotives, Kato engines, and Proto 2000 units. All running more quietly, smoothly, drawing less “juice”, and featuring more body detail than our vernerable 1970s technology Athearn Blue Box units.
Many of us (including me) got spoiled! These companies raised the bar in standards. Of course the price went up to. But many modelers are willing to pay the extra prices. Top it off, now some of these models, particularly P2K units, are available at or slightly above Blue Box prices. I was shocked when I was able to get a new P2K E7 for $39 at a train show. Straight out the box it runs as smoothly as a Kato unit!
With BLI and Soundtraxx making “locomotive music” possible, suddenly the growls are not so welcoming anymore by many modelers that want sound.
In defense of the Blue Boxes they still offer one very good advantage. SPACE for decoders and speakers. Once quieted down, blue boxes offer good potential for dynamic sound.[;)][:D]
Athearn engines are noiser, regardless of re-motoring, due to the gear box. I like the toothpaste idea above but I also enjoy some of the “growl”. What makes Athearn so attractive is you can super-detail them and if you mess up you throw away the shell and start over. You can always pick up extra shells for practically nothing at swap meets. For those of us who enjoy modeling the Athearn has and always will be an enjoyable alternative to the more expensive models.
One other thing not mentioned. The end play in the worm gear on top of the trucks causes problems if too loose. NWSL makes washers that can be used to shim out some of the slack resulting in much quieter operation.
Thanks Jsoderq,
I forgot to emphasize that on my above post. A friend of mine told me a while back that worms also need to be checked and shimmed if needed.
Sponthetrona2,
You’re right about those Athearn shells. Except for the cowls, they’re incredibly cheap at swap meets and train shows.
It’s true that the gearboxes are noisy, but the motor contributes to it also. The vibration from the motor causes some body shells to “resonate” slightly.
In my case I’m re-motoring for smoother performance and lower amp draw which is helpful in DCC applications. I look at the absence of the body vibrating as an additional benefit of re-motoring.
I like to disassemble the the trucks, separate the wheels from the square bushiings and lightly pack the gears, axles, and bushings with “plastic friendly” white lithium grease. To me, old Atherns are like old cars. They tell you what’s wrong by their sounds.
Put three together on a heavy train, you have sound. For free. Shakes the table, just like the real ones.
Check out . . .
The motors aren’t very noisy. Life-Like uses the same motor in many of their Proto 2000 locos. It’s the gears, couplings, and driveshafts that make older Athearn locos so noisy.
I’ve had a hobby shop guy ask me if I had re-motored my Athearn engines. No, I just go through them thoroughly and lube them well. Motor, gears, axles. Stop the vibration of the shell by seating the motor well in the frame, and getting rid of the bent flat electrical connections and replacing them with wire to improve the electrical power reliability.
Out of the box, I guess they growl, but mine never run on the track before I go through them, and that is probably why I don’t know what the “Athearn growl” is. None of my engines do that.
Mark C.
Wow I forgot about this post! I did the toothpaste trick and rewired the pick-ups and its not that bad.
OLD Blue Box Athearn’s had cheap motors. They vibrated because the part that turned (the Armature) wasn’t well balanced. There were articles in MR on ‘How to balance an armature’ to reduce the ‘wobble’ (vibration). Much easier, was to replace with a better motor. Old timer’s (myself included) suffered these indignities since the competition wasn’t much better and Athearn engine’s were always ‘Bargains’.Things changed when competition from Atlas/Kato and especially Proot 2000 woke everybody up.
CURRENT Athearn RTR products are using a much better motor which also uses less current. They still sometimes suffer from assembly techniques which cause noise - mis-aligned motors, Universal joint’s, gear burr’s, and too much worm play. Old Time Modeler’s have learned to either correct or ignore Athearn’s deficencies over time - as long as they are cheap enough…
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There are 3 current suppliers of replacement motors. Helix Humper’s; Sagami; and Mashima. I have used all three and prefer the Mashima as sold in kit’s by A-Line for Athearn replacements.
I swapped the old Athearn motors out of some of my units. Helix Humpers are much better. I swear by them.
Maybe not everyone, but it did grow on me. [8D] When I decided Model railroading should be fun, and stopped sweating every last detail, that familiar Athearn growl meant that here comes a locomotive that will be around for YEARS! It takes me back to my early years when I finally found an engine that would permantly replace the cheap train set locos that died in hours. Dan
Don,
Good info on the Athearn motor. I had heard for a while that the motor contributed to the shell vibrating, but wondered why.
Years back I remember when Sagami was highly recommended. Today it seems that Mashima has claimed the top spot as far as popularity although IMHO, it’s probably more like: Toyota vs. Honda vs. Nissan. In other words—All good products with customers that are usually satisfied with them.