Looking for a replacement motor

[jtudor]

Brought this old AHM GP-18 out the other day and the motor is not running well. It will run for 2 or 3 seconds then quit.

Does anyone know of a good way to repower this loco? I have done some searching, with no good results.

 

[bnsf971]

I repowered one with an Atlas turntable motor, the old one from Roco. It was something of a pain, but ran very well when I was done with it. The turntable motor is the same motor Atlas/Roco put in their GP40/SD24/35 stuff.
You'd need the turntable motor, and I used two pieces of vinyl fuel hose from an R/C plane for driveshafts. You may be able to come up with something better as far as driveshafts, I seem to remember someone selling "build your own" drive shafts.

 

[UP2CSX]

Here's an excellent site on locomotive repowering: http://www.geocities.com/budb3/arts/rpwr.html. Before you make the assumption that repowering is the way to go, follow all the steps listed at that site to see if you can make the existing motor run better. AHM motors are not top of the line but they are also not junk and most can be made to run reasonably well. The issue you face is that most repowering options will end up costing you more than buying a new Bachmann, Atlas, or Athearn engine with far better details and running qualities.

 

[jbaakko]

Check it, re-powering will cost you:
http://www.ppw-aline.com/re-power.htm

 

[jtudor]

That may be just what I was looking for. I will investigate it further later today.

I expected it would not be cheap. I wasn't going to fix this one, because it is not really special, but my wife acted like it would hurt her feelings if I did, because it is one she bought me for a christmas present many years ago.

 

[Steve58]

Check it, re-powering will cost you:
http://www.ppw-aline.com/re-power.htm

Although the Aline stuff is excellent, it is fairly high priced. Dig around more.

First thing, MEASURE the existing motor. Length, width, height and shaft diameter. Convert all of this to mm because most of what you find will have metric specs.

Kato sells a good motor that can be readily found for under $20. It's called a HM-5; motor body 33mm long, 17mm wide, 20 mm high. Has a 2mm shaft (pretty common). This is a pretty small motor, runs very well and is easy to mount.

Check Ebay also for a guy called "microlocomotion". He sells tons of motors, most very reasonable. I bought a couple and they also run very well.

I haven't bought any of these:
http://www.alliancelink.com/alp/

but I've read a lot of people say they are good too.

Remotoring is really not all that difficult. Once you figure out what kind of drive train you are using (hopefully you might be able to use the original), you can mount the new motor with silicone caulk.

 

[jbaakko]

There are plenty of other suppliers, but if you buy A-line you get a decent warranty, that you won't find much elsewhere. I can dig up a few other suppliers with smaller motors as well, since I need some small ones for my slug projects.

 

[jbaakko]

I wasn't going to fix this one, because it is not really special, but my wife acted like it would hurt her feelings if I did, because it is one she bought me for a christmas present many years ago.

I know how that is, I have a UP GP50 waiting for me to do something with, had it for 2 years now...

 

[jtudor]

Well it turns out that I do not need a motor after all. I took the motor out of the chassis tonight and it runs fine when it is not connected to the trucks.

I then found that all the lubricant inside the gearboxes is all gummed up, so it looks like I just need to clean and relubricate the gearboxes and I will be ready to go.

What would you guys recommend for lube in the gear boxes after I get them clean?

 

[UP2CSX]

Good job troubleshooting. Like I said, those old AHM motors are really not junk. I'd use some alcohol and get all the crud out of those gear towers. While you're at it, check each gear for burrs and file them smooth - I'm sure you'll find some, just use your eyeballs and your finger. There are two schools of thought for gear box lubrication. The old standby is LaBelle #102 light grease. The newer idea is automatic transmission fluid. Dextron III is safe for plastics. I've been using ATF for the past year and find it to be superior to grease. It doesn't gum up and will stay a semi-liquid for years yet still not get thrown all over the place. The key is one drop per gear box, no more. One bottle of ATF will also last you the rest of your natural life.