Hi y’all. I’m new to this forum, but have been model railroading for over 40 years off and on.
I have a technical question concerning my P2K BL-2s. I have several from the first release, (a couple of MP’s and a couple C&O’s), and I’ve not run them much, especially since I opened my slot car raceway / hobby shop a few years ago. I got the MP’s out the other night after my son convinced me to run the trains and these things are terribly noisy! They sound like they have square wheels on them! I have several other P2K locos, and none sound like these! The C&O’s are also noisy as well. Is there something any of you folks know to improve the performance of these engines? Do the later releases have different wheelsets or something, or are they also as bad as mine?
I had the same problem with the early release of BL-2s. It seems that the front and rear truck gearing was not in sync and one or the other of them would make a bumping noise as the locomotive went down the track.
The only solution I found was to contact Life Life in Baltimore and order replacement trucks. When I phoned them, the lady who answered said parts were no longer available for the early BL-2, but when I asked about a different and newer model with what appeared to be identical Blomberg trucks, they were available, so I asked for a pair of them.
Life Like products have a lifetime warranty provided parts are available. In my case, the trucks to a different model fit the BL-2 perfectly and solved the bumping noise. Life Like provided the replacements free, and they even paid the postage.
I’ve got an early MP BL-2 and one of the trucks has a split gear on the axle which makes it run rough. Thanks for the information on how to get the thing repaired.
What you’re hearing is the noise the early-run BL2s’ geared axles make when they’ve developed cracks. The only piece you need to replace on them is the short plastic geared axle between the wheels on each wheelset. When replacing cracked wheelsets on a BL2 for the first time, replace all four- the ones that haven’t already cracked just haven’t gotten around to doing it yet. Every one I’ve had, did.
When I replace the axles, I just use the axle piece from an Athearn GP38-2 (or GP40-2, or GP50). They fit, and are identical drop-ins, with the exception that they aren’t as prone to cracking as the ones that Life-Like used. I haven’t had one of these replacements crack yet.
I’ve seen this happen on some of Life-Like’s other four-axle power, too (mostly GP18s and GP9s); this was more common on P2K locomotives manufactured in the first half of the 1990s.
While you have the trucks apart, you might consider replacing the stock sideframes with a set from an Athearn F7 or GP7. They fit perfectly and are the correct type, which the Life-Like-provided sideframes are not. The Life-Like sideframes are about 25 years too modern for a BL2. Alternatively, if you choose to order enitrely new trucks from LIfe-Like, get the ones they offer for the GP7, GP9 and GP18. They have the correct sideframes.
Some of the first-run BL2s also have a nasty little surprise if you install a DCC decoder into them- the bottom motor clip sometimes sits a little too close to the frame, so that even if you trim the “fingers” off the bottom of it, the motor can lurch in its mounts enough to bring the clip into contact with the frame. If there’s a decoder installed, the resulting short can be enough to kill a decoder. The work-around for this is to line the “trench” in the bottom of the frame with .005" or .010" styrene to act as an insulator. line the bottom and the ends of the slot. I glue it in place with silicone RTV caulk.
You COULD just give Life-Like a call. I had one of my GP-7’s go bump bump bump, called them up, they sent out a new set of geared wheelsets pronto, easy replacement and back to smooth running.
Lifelike was going to be my first call…after all, they are supposed to be under a lifetime warranty! [;)] My thinking is, if the LL axles had problems, why wouldn’t the re[lacements have issues too? Maybe the Athearn axles would be an upgrade?
I tore down one of my BL-2s this evening, and I don’t SEE any cracks in the axles…but then, I don’t see as well as I used to, either. [8D] Where am I looking for cracks? The ends, centers?
I’ll call LL tomorrow, and see what they tell me.
Thanks again, y’all! I’m looking forward to being a regular reader here! There is lots of info to learn here!
Beats me, I carefully examined the old ones and I don’t see any obvious cracks. But put them in, and it thumps. Put in the new ones, smooth. It’s supposedly around the center hole - the whole is slightly undersize for the axle shafts.
I just completed this repair on a P2K BL-2 in Monon colors. I called up LL customer service and they sent out new wheel sets within a couple of days. Took out the old, dropped in the new, got rid of the thump immediately. The repair took all of about two minutes and required no tools, or intricate work. Easy as pie. The cracks in the gears can be hard to see, (all four of mine were cracked), but they typically run along the long axis of the gears. If the wheels spin freely, then you have cracked axles.
I hae had the same problems with early P2k GP’s. Life-Like sent me a ‘12 pack’ of new axles and I replace 5 of them imediately and another 3 over the past year. The Athearn gears are a direct replacement as well. I had one of my GP9’s ‘clicking’ and when I opened it up, could fnd no sign of a cracked axle. I swapped out all 4 a gear/axle units and the problem went away. I them swapped out the axles one at a time to find the bad one. Close examination revealved that it sort of ‘swelled’ up and was causing a bind when running. Maybe the plastic they were using caused the gear/axle to swell, they it finally splits. I only use plastic compatible lube, so I know I did not force this issue with something that attacked theplastic.
Anyway, give Life-Like a call. They have great customer service…
It is amazing how many of us have had this problem with the axle gears cracking on Proto engines. I wonder how much time and therefore money Life-Like has spent paying that woman in their customer service department to answer the phone and mail out replacement axles. Wouldn’t you think by now that Life-Like would have figured out how to make a plastic gear that doesn’t crack when the wheel axle is inserted? Apparently, per the response above, Athearn has.
I have had to replace about 30 axle gears on my various Proto engines over the years and now I have a whole pile of extra wheels which I removed when inserting the new axle, wheel and grear assembly.
Then we wonder why American business is having such a difficult time…where is the management at Life-Like. Haven’t they pickup up on this problem yet? I guess they think it’s cheaper to get us all disgusted with the thumping noise and have that woman send replacement gears. Problem is, newcomers to the hobby won’t figure out the problem or call Life-Like…they will just buy someone else’s products.
I called LL this afternoon, and the lady that answered the phone is sending me enough axle sets to replace the axles in all my BL-2s, at no charge. I knew LL customer service was great, but wish I hadn’t had the problems in the first place. Funny thing is, I don’t remember the engines being noisy the last time I ran them, but it’s been a couple years, and I either forgot, or they went bad sitting on the spur track. [:0]
I hope the material in the replacement axles is better than the old ones. I may still end up doing the Athearn retrofit, or maybe use NWSL axles in my BL-2s.
Thanks for all the info, y’all. I hope this will cure my problem!
The gears and up cracking as much fron non-use as they do from actually using them. The grease gradually soaks in, softening the plastic a bit, plus all the stress is in one spot because the wheels are never turned.
I’m hoping some of my others never develop the problem - I cleaned out the overabundance of sloppy grease they put in at the factory and carefully cleaned everything, then relubed with a proper amount of good Labelle lubricants.
Speaning of over-greasing, my father-in-law has a nice Spectrum E33 electric, New Haven. There was SO much excess grease in the trucks that it seeped through the bottom cover plates and made a mess inside the box. What a pain.
Thanks to those who suggested replacing the axle sets in my BL-2’s! My new axle sets arrived, and I replaced all in 3 out of 4 locos, and they run just like they should!
The one thing that kinda irks me, the originals were blackend whelsets, these are highly polished/plated. A little flat black paint, and they disappeared behind the truck frames, though.
My Bl-2s are now running nice and smooth, just like they are supposed to!
Thanks y’all for leading me to the problem!
BTW, LifeLikes customer service has got to be one of the best. They sent 16 axle sets, no questions asked.
Life-Like does have some very good customer service. I lost a brush while I was working on a standard line GP-38 a couple years ago, and they sent me a whole new power truck motor!