Advise on Proto 2k


meanjean

meanjean

Member
So I just bought a brand new Proto 2K GP30 from Trainland in NY. Right out of the box it seemed like something was wrong. It sounds like it has a flat spot on the wheels. I do some research and the gears on the front set of trucks that seperate each wheel both have a split right down the middle. When the axle turns and torque is applied its skipping gears. I checked the rear axles and those dont have any splits on them. So my question is this. Return it (I would have to pay for the shipping...again) Or do I buy the axle gears from Atlas? Which is now Walther?
Has anyone had this happen before? This is my 2nd Proto 2K. They list on the parts list in the box for a $1.50 each. I just want to get this fixed the fastest way possible.
 
This is a very common problem with older P2K engines. Contact Walthers and they will send you replacement parts.
 
If you have spare athearn gears around, you can swap them until the replacement parts arrive. It is the same gear.
 
CP9302 said:
This is a very common problem with older P2K engines. Contact Walthers and they will send you replacement parts.
Click to expand...

When you say older you mean a production run or just the general age of the Loco? It was brand new. Did they make a change to the new gear I will get from Walthers? Or should I buy a bunch and expect this to happen often?
Thanks for the reply.
 
It is usually found on older runs of P2K models. I'm not sure if your engine is a new run or just new to you. I hope this problem is not creeping up again in current run P2K engines.

The new gears walthers sends out are good. The original ones were too small for what ever reason and pushing the axles in caused some of them to split. I've had several units with this problem, as has my Dad and many other members of my club. No one I've talked to has had issues with the Walthers replacement part.
 
I called Walthers to get new gears and wouldnt you know it. I had to pay another $5.00 for shipping. Doesnt seem right. Buy a brand new loco, pay for shipping and then pay for more shipping just to get it run right. I ll stick to going to my hobby shop instead of mail order.
Ok rant over.
 
Hmmm, mine came free (2 engines' worth). I had replaced them years ago with ones that I knew would crack again, and sure enough they did. At that point in time, it was still Life Like, and they even sent extras. however, over time even the uninstalled extra one cracked. (it's called hoop stress, poor mold design causes knit lines and it is guaranteed to crack over time.)

I just received 8 new axles like 2 weeks ago and the Walther's guy assured me they had retooled the parts and that the lifetime warranty was still lifetime on these replacements.

But I would pay $5 in a heartbeat, these are great workhorses. I have 2 P2K GP20s and love 'em.
 
Well, it's a brand new loco to you, but it may be new-old stock at Trainland. I've noticed that Trainland/Trainworld has a lot of older stuff there, judging by the ads they run in the magazines. So, while I'm sympathetic to your situation, and we all would feel the same way, $5 for a pack of gears seems reasonable.

It's interesting that they're charging, though. I thought at one time they only charged if you asked for a whole lot of them....

Kennedy
 
This is the second forum today that I have told this to.

I have never had Walthers charge me for shipping for parts. I have had them try to charge me for the gears, but since it's their defect, they will honor the warranty.

Phil
 
Sure enough they did charge me for shipping. I do love the P2K engines. The gears arrived today with new wheels and the little brass blocks. So that was a little bit of a suprise. Thought it would be just the gears. I was also assured by the parts guys at Walthers these would not crack since they are of a new design. Time will tell.
Has anyone else had problems with Trainlands customer service? The lady that answers the phone always seems very short and rude. That NY attitude I guess. Not sure if they will get my return buisness.
 
Yes, they are the wheelsets.

I know what you mean about trainworld/trainland. I understand their situation as a huge place with one phone number.

I only buy from them when they have a really good deal. Everything else I can buy elsewhere...

Phil
 
I put the gears in today and the engine runs kinda slow compared to other engines and it has a faint howling noise while it runs? What gives? Where should I start checking? There is enough lube, so it looks? Why is the thing so noisy? SOunds like gear area in the trucks and not the motor itself. The P2K saga continues:mad:
 
Well, they're in Brooklyn, what do you expect? :D The one time I called them and was unprepared (didn't have a stock number handy), the lady said "Let's go, I ain't got all day, Hon!" :D

As far as the howling noises, it might be that the gears need to be broken in. Maybe an hour of running will take care of it.

One of the tricks that some modellers use is to put some toothpaste or something like Pearl Drops into the gearbox, run the loco for however long, disassemble and clean, lube, reassemble. The stuff will polish up the gears so that they work smoothly.

Kennedy
 
meanjean said:
I put the gears in today and the engine runs kinda slow compared to other engines and it has a faint howling noise while it runs? What gives? Where should I start checking? There is enough lube, so it looks? Why is the thing so noisy? SOunds like gear area in the trucks and not the motor itself. The P2K saga continues:mad:
Click to expand...

I have a whole bunch of older GP30s from 1999-2000. Most have never been run. In the past few weeks I've pulled several of them out. In addition to the well known cracked gears, all of them so far have what I call "worm chatter syndrome". I am not sure what the problem is, but the worms are all very stiff and hard to turn in their bearings - this is after removing them and cleaning them and putting fresh lube on the bearings. You can tell they aren't right just spinning them in your hand. The end result is a loco that runs slow and if you ramp it up to a higher speed you get this buzzing chatter. It is really odd because it sounds like a wheel is grinding. But I've swapped the worm assemblies out with newer ones and... problem goes away.

This is a new one on me... I don't know if this problem was always there to some degree and got worse with age/storage or what. I'll betcha I have at least a dozen with this problem. I know the early GP30s were a tad on the slow side. When they were new this was blamed on the light board, but now I have to wonder. The GP30s I have actually running in service have either been remotored with Mashima motors, completely repowered with Kato drives, or have the much newer Walthers drives which so far have been pretty good.

Andy
 
Anyone want to buy a "Cheap Geep"? Seriously! Never had to do so much work for a NIB item. Oh well live and learn. Guess Ill try the tooth paste thing, then pull the trucks aparts and clean them really good, put it all back with some fresh oil. Is sewing machine oil ok? Thats what I have used in the past. Im in a small town so going to a hobby shop is a 4 hour round trip.:(
 
Last edited by a moderator:
meanjean said:
Anyone want to buy a "Cheap Geep"? Seriously! Never had to do so much work for a NIB item. Oh well live and learn. Guess Ill try the tooth paste thing, then pull the trucks aparts and clean them really good, put it all back with some fresh oil. Is sewing machine oil ok? Thats what I have used in the past. Im in a small town so going to a hobby shop is a 4 hour round trip.:(
Click to expand...

Ixnay on the toothpaste and the sewing machine oil. Toothpaste is abrasive and might make a useful lapping compound for brass gears, but these are delrin/acetal plastic. What they don't need is abrasion. Main thing you want to do is get the gook out and re-lube with some plastic compatible grease. I would recommend LaBelle products - the 106 grease or even the 102 gear oil. It doesn't take much, you're not packing a wheel bearing. Sewing machine oil may not be plastic compatible... although I really don't know. That's why I stick with the LaBelle stuff which is made for hobby applications.

None of these things really solve the worm problem, if that's what you have... I haven't tried to fix the gooked up worms. I just swapped them out and that fixed the chatter so I know they are the source of the problem. I don't know if it's possible to hone out the bearings and get them to spin free, or what... it's probably much easier to just order up a whole pile of replacements.

The good news - I think - is that Walthers seems to have done a better job of insisting on product quality control and consistency since they took over the Proto line. Although you'll have to ask me again in 10 years to get the real verdict on durability.

Andy
 
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