Welcome aboard! I'm glad you liked the video. My parents got me a used (from a garage sale maybe) slot car set when I was pretty small, but I don't think it ever worked right. It was cool anyway. Thanks for finding the channel and for watching!
Ya, that's why there's a giant grease pack on each Bearing of a steam loco... whatever dude. In the ideal world of "everything works as designed" I'm sure your statement is true. Here in RL, everything needs to be greased.
Thanks, Dan. I have an old Proto 2000 GP20 that is having the exact problems you fixed. I had been thinking about just removing the motor leads and worm gears and making it a dummy to add unpowered to a consist, but now I'm thinking I'm going to take it out of the box and see if I can't get it running again.
I'm glad you found the video helpful. Gunk in the worm bearings has been a common problem with a lot of my Proto 2000 models, so maybe yours has the same issue. I hope you can get it running. Thanks for watching!
Great video, Dan. It never occurred to me to paint the wheel faces at the same time I have everything apart. Two words: ultrasonic cleaner! I do many decoder installations for friends and I always make sure that the engines run perfectly on DC before I put a decoder in them. As a part of that process, I make sure that everything is clean, in gauge, and properly lubed first. I purchased an ultrasonic cleaner on Amazon that works wonders to clear old grease and oils out of hard to reach places. My method is to take as much as I can apart, wipe out the old crusty grease with inexpensive cotton swabs and tissue paper, then put everything in the ultrasonic cleaner with warm water and a gentle cleaner/degreaser such as Simple Green and run it for at least 15 minutes. If they need another round, I dump out the now very dirty water and start fresh. Once everything is clean, I spread everything on a microfiber cloth and let it air dry. I then reassemble and lube as I go. This method works perfectly every time, and I know I that the engine will not have running issues in the future. I do the same thing for steam engines, although I keep as much of the running gear together as I can, and use low pressure compressed air to dry everything. That ultrasonic cleaner was one of the best $100 I've ever spent and is a great time saver!
I hadn't thought about using one of those, but I might have to give it a try sometime. I think maybe Nichole has one somewhere, but if not I might pick one up. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks Daniel, that was a very thorough instructional video of a negelcted subject, Very nice close up video as well. I need to do this to all my locos!!!
I'm glad it was helpful. I find I'm having to do this kind of thing now and then since a lot of my trains have been stored for so long. Thanks for watching!
@@derekalexander4030 i made a bunch of videos on this subject, maybe they would be usefull to you. I will clean your engins, if you pay for shipping to and from. I live in Canada.
Thank you, Dan. I ripped up my track, thinking I must screwed up AND THEN found out it was a lub job that was needed. Made sure I came to you to fix it right.
I'm sorry you took up your track. I'm glad you found the video helpful, though. Old lubricants can really make a model run badly, so if they've been stored a long time sometimes a good cleaning is what they need. I run into the issue often with my own models, since I have a lot of locomotives that have been in boxes for a decade or more. Thanks for watching!
Hello, love all your content, presentation, and modeling methods. I always learn something new, and will often watch your videos again, again and again!
Excellent tips Dan! I've been using a container with warm water mixed with a little Dawn dish soap to clean the plastic gears and parts (being careful not to put anything that is conductive in there obviously) and it really helps to loosen dried lubricants. I'll then scrub them with a soft bristle tooth brush and dry them using disposable shop towels before reinstalling and lubricating them, works pretty good!
Love these videos from you, Dan. They’ve helped me a ton with some of the stuff I’ve started to do and things I have planned for down the road. You’re a good teacher!
The cracked gear issue has been a problem with some Proto 2000 models for a long time. I'm just glad they're such a close copy of the Athearn design that the gears are interchangeable. Thanks for watching!
Yea Dan. Whenever I get a P2k 4 axle loco, I always replace the gears, & in the case of Athearn BB, I always replace the wheelsets with ns wheelsets, as a standard, whether the P2k locos need them or not. Another good video, thanks. Michael NZ
Sounds like we've done similar things. I've been going through my remaining Proto 2000 4-axle engines and doing a cleaning, re-lube and gear replacement. I don't have too many blue box engines anymore, but the ones I have left have nickel silver wheels. I'm glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Wow! That was a ton of useful information. I am especially grateful for this video as I am still dealing with locomotive issues. Many thanks, Dan. BTW, can you tell me who is playing the guitar in your video intros? The style is very impactful. Each note has weight and substance to it, while sounding melodic.
@@DanielCortopassi Dan...that's staggering. You're an expert on model rail-roading and a master musician too. As an accomplished guitarist, have you built up a collection of guitars, and would you consider doing an episode sharing your guitars with your viewers?
I am glad that I came across your video. As of late, I have had problems with a GP-9. What you described sounds like you were referring to my engine. I am not comfortable taking apart the engine. I lubed the necessary locations, but it still runs sluggish. Thank you again. I subscribed to your channel. I also like how you present.
Someone else suggested soaking the parts, too. As long as the chemicals are plastic friendly it sounds like a good cleaning method. Thanks for the feedback and for watching!
Dan, I do something with these revivals you could try. I flush the gear housings I figure to call them,, with electrical contact cleaner. The old grease just drips out usually. Let it dry and some grease on the worm gear usually works to get them going. I once read the plastics used don't need lubricants. IDK. Also Walthers sells replacement wheel sets for these locomotives, Evilbay usually has them. No need to do the old school Athearn gear swap on the Life Like Proto 2000 units.
I've used contact cleaner, but not in that way. Sounds interesting. Some engineering plastics are slippery by design so some of them technically might not need any lubricant. That's good to know there is an alternate source of replacement wheels. I have a stockpile of Athearn parts so I usually just use those. Thanks for the ideas and for watching!
Do you mean the metal sides of the gearbox between the wheels? Some Proto 2000 and newer Athearn has a black plastic piece to hide that part. I also sometimes just paint that area black so it won't show. Thanks for watching!
I'm not familiar with that particular model. I can offer some general suggestions. Put the model on a powered track and turn up the throttle. If it tries to run, but runs poorly, it may just be dirty, and could benefit from some cleaning. If it makes a little noise but doesn't move, the gears may have congealed old lubricant. Cleaning would be the solution for that, too, though it would likely need some disassembly. If the model doesn't move but the lights work, then it has power, so that's not the issue. If it's a DCC equipped model, you could.try a decoder reset. If you have a manual it should hopefully have instructions on how to do that. If you can get to the motor, you could check for loose wires. I hope some of that helps. Thanks for watching!
Did you Note any Zinc Rot on the proto2000 locomotives? I have an early 98 Locomotive and I am told Zinc Rot really destroyed the weights in those Locomotives. from the outside everything looks good but when the weight comes off it just crumbles
These GP20s didn't seem to have that issue. One of my Proto 2000 GP38-2s had the frame break in half, but those have a completely different chassis design. A future project for me is seeing if I can put an Atlas chassis into the Proto 2000 GP38-2 shell that I spent a lot of time detailing and painting. Thanks for watching!
Hello Sir, I just found your channel, this video was extremely helpful . Just got into HO trains. Have been into HO slot cars since 1968.
Welcome aboard! I'm glad you liked the video. My parents got me a used (from a garage sale maybe) slot car set when I was pretty small, but I don't think it ever worked right. It was cool anyway. Thanks for finding the channel and for watching!
Hi. Broze bearings do not need any lube because the metal has lube feature itself. This is special alloy. Lube only makes it dirty more faster.
I had not heard that before. Thanks for the info!
Ya, that's why there's a giant grease pack on each Bearing of a steam loco... whatever dude. In the ideal world of "everything works as designed" I'm sure your statement is true. Here in RL, everything needs to be greased.
Thanks, Dan. I have an old Proto 2000 GP20 that is having the exact problems you fixed. I had been thinking about just removing the motor leads and worm gears and making it a dummy to add unpowered to a consist, but now I'm thinking I'm going to take it out of the box and see if I can't get it running again.
I'm glad you found the video helpful. Gunk in the worm bearings has been a common problem with a lot of my Proto 2000 models, so maybe yours has the same issue. I hope you can get it running. Thanks for watching!
Great video, Dan. It never occurred to me to paint the wheel faces at the same time I have everything apart. Two words: ultrasonic cleaner! I do many decoder installations for friends and I always make sure that the engines run perfectly on DC before I put a decoder in them. As a part of that process, I make sure that everything is clean, in gauge, and properly lubed first. I purchased an ultrasonic cleaner on Amazon that works wonders to clear old grease and oils out of hard to reach places. My method is to take as much as I can apart, wipe out the old crusty grease with inexpensive cotton swabs and tissue paper, then put everything in the ultrasonic cleaner with warm water and a gentle cleaner/degreaser such as Simple Green and run it for at least 15 minutes. If they need another round, I dump out the now very dirty water and start fresh. Once everything is clean, I spread everything on a microfiber cloth and let it air dry. I then reassemble and lube as I go. This method works perfectly every time, and I know I that the engine will not have running issues in the future. I do the same thing for steam engines, although I keep as much of the running gear together as I can, and use low pressure compressed air to dry everything. That ultrasonic cleaner was one of the best $100 I've ever spent and is a great time saver!
I second the ultrasonic cleaner, its incredibly versatile for many things
I hadn't thought about using one of those, but I might have to give it a try sometime. I think maybe Nichole has one somewhere, but if not I might pick one up. Thanks for the tip!
This is one of the best videos on locomotive maintenance. Thank you Daniel.
Thanks so much!
Thanks Daniel, that was a very thorough instructional video of a negelcted subject, Very nice close up video as well. I need to do this to all my locos!!!
I'm glad it was helpful. I find I'm having to do this kind of thing now and then since a lot of my trains have been stored for so long. Thanks for watching!
Cleaning and lubricating engines is my favorite thing to do!
It is very satisfying to get them running well again. Thanks for watching!
I’ll send you mine, I’m afraid I’d have parts left over after putting them back together, lol.
@@derekalexander4030 i made a bunch of videos on this subject, maybe they would be usefull to you. I will clean your engins, if you pay for shipping to and from. I live in Canada.
Thank you, that is such a kind offer but I wouldn’t inconvenience you like that, I was joking.
I had a feeling you were joking. But as for my part, cleaning my engine is truly my favorite thing to do.
Thank you, Dan. I ripped up my track, thinking I must screwed up AND THEN found out it was a lub job that was needed. Made sure I came to you to fix it right.
I'm sorry you took up your track. I'm glad you found the video helpful, though. Old lubricants can really make a model run badly, so if they've been stored a long time sometimes a good cleaning is what they need. I run into the issue often with my own models, since I have a lot of locomotives that have been in boxes for a decade or more. Thanks for watching!
Great work
I'm glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Hello, love all your content, presentation, and modeling methods. I always learn something new, and will often watch your videos again, again and again!
I'm glad you like my videos. Thanks for watching!
Excellent tips Dan! I've been using a container with warm water mixed with a little Dawn dish soap to clean the plastic gears and parts (being careful not to put anything that is conductive in there obviously) and it really helps to loosen dried lubricants. I'll then scrub them with a soft bristle tooth brush and dry them using disposable shop towels before reinstalling and lubricating them, works pretty good!
That sounds like a good method, too. I've also used cleaners like Windex. I'm glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Love these videos from you, Dan. They’ve helped me a ton with some of the stuff I’ve started to do and things I have planned for down the road. You’re a good teacher!
That's so nice of you to say, thank you!
Thanks for the tutorial on maintenance. It’s worth a shot over leaving them in a box or disconnecting the drives to use them as dummies.
It's worth a try. Many times a good cleaning will revive a non-running engine. Thanks for watching!
Great close-up camera work
I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!
Very, very useful information to know. Thanks for sharing this. I can remember replacing proto 2000 gears a long time ago.
The cracked gear issue has been a problem with some Proto 2000 models for a long time. I'm just glad they're such a close copy of the Athearn design that the gears are interchangeable. Thanks for watching!
Nice job Dan. Very thorough and succinct.
I'm glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Good tips, Dan!
Thanks so much!
Yea Dan. Whenever I get a P2k 4 axle loco, I always replace the gears, & in the case of Athearn BB, I always replace the wheelsets with ns wheelsets, as a standard, whether the P2k locos need them or not. Another good video, thanks. Michael NZ
Sounds like we've done similar things. I've been going through my remaining Proto 2000 4-axle engines and doing a cleaning, re-lube and gear replacement. I don't have too many blue box engines anymore, but the ones I have left have nickel silver wheels. I'm glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Wow! That was a ton of useful information. I am especially grateful for this video as I am still dealing with locomotive issues. Many thanks, Dan.
BTW, can you tell me who is playing the guitar in your video intros? The style is very impactful. Each note has weight and substance to it, while sounding melodic.
I'm glad you found the video helpful. I'm the one playing the guitar. I'm glad you like the music, too! Thanks for watching and listening!
@@DanielCortopassi Dan...that's staggering. You're an expert on model rail-roading and a master musician too. As an accomplished guitarist, have you built up a collection of guitars, and would you consider doing an episode sharing your guitars with your viewers?
I'll think about it. I don't have all that many guitars, but maybe enough to do a quick program. Thanks!
I am glad that I came across your video. As of late, I have had problems with a GP-9. What you described sounds like you were referring to my engine. I am not comfortable taking apart the engine. I lubed the necessary locations, but it still runs sluggish. Thank you again. I subscribed to your channel. I also like how you present.
I'm glad you found the video helpful. I hope you're able to get your engine running well again. Thanks for watching and subscribing!
Great video as always, Dan!
Thanks so much!
I find its also helpful to soak the parts in a soap with detergent or a de greaser that's not too aggressive.
Someone else suggested soaking the parts, too. As long as the chemicals are plastic friendly it sounds like a good cleaning method. Thanks for the feedback and for watching!
Good stuff.
I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!
Very helpful. Thank you.
You're welcome. Thanks for watching!
Dan, I do something with these revivals you could try. I flush the gear housings I figure to call them,, with electrical contact cleaner. The old grease just drips out usually. Let it dry and some grease on the worm gear usually works to get them going. I once read the plastics used don't need lubricants. IDK. Also Walthers sells replacement wheel sets for these locomotives, Evilbay usually has them. No need to do the old school Athearn gear swap on the Life Like Proto 2000 units.
I've used contact cleaner, but not in that way. Sounds interesting. Some engineering plastics are slippery by design so some of them technically might not need any lubricant. That's good to know there is an alternate source of replacement wheels. I have a stockpile of Athearn parts so I usually just use those. Thanks for the ideas and for watching!
great info Dan
I'm glad you liked the program. Thanks for watching!
Good vid- I’ll use these tips on my LLP2K PRR E8, which I just got BNIB
I'm glad you can use the tips from the video on your model. Thanks for watching!
Daniel the model train fixer great job 👏 👍
Thanks 👍
I always enjoy your videos
Neato! Got any tips for hiding the metal power strips on the Blue Box Style trucks?
Do you mean the metal sides of the gearbox between the wheels? Some Proto 2000 and newer Athearn has a black plastic piece to hide that part. I also sometimes just paint that area black so it won't show. Thanks for watching!
@@DanielCortopassi Do you know what the name of the part it is?
Unfortunately, no. I'm not sure what it's called.
Do you know how to trouble shoot and fix the locomotor engine on my Thomas Kincaid train set?
I'm not familiar with that particular model. I can offer some general suggestions. Put the model on a powered track and turn up the throttle. If it tries to run, but runs poorly, it may just be dirty, and could benefit from some cleaning. If it makes a little noise but doesn't move, the gears may have congealed old lubricant. Cleaning would be the solution for that, too, though it would likely need some disassembly. If the model doesn't move but the lights work, then it has power, so that's not the issue. If it's a DCC equipped model, you could.try a decoder reset. If you have a manual it should hopefully have instructions on how to do that. If you can get to the motor, you could check for loose wires. I hope some of that helps. Thanks for watching!
Did you Note any Zinc Rot on the proto2000 locomotives? I have an early 98 Locomotive and I am told Zinc Rot really destroyed the weights in those Locomotives. from the outside everything looks good but when the weight comes off it just crumbles
These GP20s didn't seem to have that issue. One of my Proto 2000 GP38-2s had the frame break in half, but those have a completely different chassis design. A future project for me is seeing if I can put an Atlas chassis into the Proto 2000 GP38-2 shell that I spent a lot of time detailing and painting. Thanks for watching!
Nice great videos as always
Thank you very much!