As I have said before. Place a T55 next to an Intermountain GEVO and you will see that they are exactly alike, right down to the details. I will let you decide.
There may never be an Athearn version of the GEVO. The Intermountain model is a solid model, and I don't think there's much if anything to improve upon. I wonder how much Athearn paid for the tooling that they'll never use
Yes, but the thing is, the ACe was MTH's first HO model. Athearn probably thought that they could do better. The Intermountain model doesn't seem like it has any dimensional errors or quality control problems. If Athearn was to make a GEVO, they would have to do other paint schemes or something. It is possible that Athearn can out-compete Intermountain for the fact that Intermountain doesn't seem to be able to get the GEVOs out quickly. (the ES44DCs have been pushed back yet again while Athearn can announce something and get it out in 4 months.)
Yes, I had the same problem on my two T55 ES44DC locos. NWSL now makes the gear. I oredered four gears and installed them about a month ago. All is well now. I don't recall the part number but you can find it on their PDF pRts list. It's listed under Tower 55 about 2/3s the way down the page. It's the only thing listed for Tower 55. I think they were about $11 each. It took about a month from order time to delivery.
I don't have the loco in front of me so I'm going from what I remember.
Remove the shell by removing the couplers then pull the shell off. I think that's all there is to it.
Look at the top of the truck towers. You will see how the drive axel from the motor goes under a top clip. Use a small screw driver to wedge into the side of the top clip to pry it loose from the truck. Kinda obvious when ya see it. The gear will then be visible. Lift up and remove the entire axel assembly. The motor end of the axel only slips into the flywheel, so just pull it towards the truck to remove it.
Pull the brass bearing off the end of the axel shaft then note where the butterfly gear is on the shaft so that the new one will engage the gear in the truck when you reassemble it. Place the new gear onto the shaft then use a pair of pliers or needle nose pliers to push it down the shaft. Do not use lubricant on the shaft where the butterfly gear goes. Don't squeeze the gear with the pliers, just use the pliers to push the gear down the shaft. It will be a tight fit. Install the drive axel back into the flywheel end first then lay the butterfly gear end of the shaft into the truck tower. Check the position of the butterfly gear with the gear in the truck tower so they engage properly. Adjust the position of the butterfly gear on the shaft as needed using the pliers to push the gear either way. Reinstall the brass bearing with the lip end of the bearing toward the butterfly gear. Apply a small amount of gear lube then reinstall the plastic clip over the axel.
G'day Jared....It sounds to me that the universal from the motor to the drive wheels is slipping out or is worn...I had exactly the same problem (also with a second hand loco , a Dash 9, ...Once I pulled off the shell and replaced the universal joint..she worked fine..and still does...hope it's that simple to fix for you...Cheers Rod..
I don't have the loco in front of me so I'm going from what I remember.
Remove the shell by removing the couplers then pull the shell off. I think that's all there is to it.
Look at the top of the truck towers. You will see how the drive axel from the motor goes under a top clip. Use a small screw driver to wedge into the side of the top clip to pry it loose from the truck. Kinda obvious when ya see it. The gear will then be visible. Lift up and remove the entire axel assembly. The motor end of the axel only slips into the flywheel, so just pull it towards the truck to remove it.
Pull the brass bearing off the end of the axel shaft then note where the butterfly gear is on the shaft so that the new one will engage the gear in the truck when you reassemble it. Place the new gear onto the shaft then use a pair of pliers or needle nose pliers to push it down the shaft. Do not use lubricant on the shaft where the butterfly gear goes. Don't squeeze the gear with the pliers, just use the pliers to push the gear down the shaft. It will be a tight fit. Install the drive axel back into the flywheel end first then lay the butterfly gear end of the shaft into the truck tower. Check the position of the butterfly gear with the gear in the truck tower so they engage properly. Adjust the position of the butterfly gear on the shaft as needed using the pliers to push the gear either way. Reinstall the brass bearing with the lip end of the bearing toward the butterfly gear. Apply a small amount of gear lube then reinstall the plastic clip over the axel.