New Athearn GP35's


nephthyr

nephthyr

Member
My 2 new Athearn GP35's (http://www.athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH96022) arrived on Monday :D and I really like the detail however I'm a little dissatisfied with the one's running.

I have not run them in yet and decided to give them a quick test run to make sure everything is in working order. The one GP35 runs smoothly with a slight growl which I've come to learn is known as the Athearn growl, my CF7 has it too.

The Other GP35, well its making a very loud strange noise, not sure I'd describe it as grinding and definitely not clicking but it sounds strange to me, its quite hard to describe it. :(

Anyway, I was wondering if I should open it up and have a look. Will that void my warranty? Also will running it in make it more quiet? Should I take it to the local club and get someone else's opinion before getting freaked out?
 
Opening it up will not void the warranty. If you do open it, you will probably find something fouling one of the flywheels, probably a wire or contact strip.
Remove the shell by removing the couplers, checking to make sure there are no screws under the trucks, and sliding the shell off. Be careful not to overextend the wires for the headlights.
 
Is the body shell better than this? Or is it the same shell and just another release?

highhoods5-vi.jpg
 
Mine are the low nose ones lettered for Santa Fe. Thanks for the reply bnsf971, opened it up last night and had a peek, seems the shell may have been on too tight, other than that I couldn't see anything else but its not making any strange noises anymore. The motor still seems a little louder than the other unit but quieter than the CF7 so I'm happy. I suspect it will be better after I run them in.
 
i get alot of old athearn off ebay and i found some will not work the the new bodies.which i found were a little more narrower in the center were the motor and bells are.
 
Correct. The older Athearns have a wider motor and the hood is wider than what's prototypically correct to accommodate the motor. A body from one of the newer Athearns won't work with an older frame and motor because of this. You can remotor older BB's with the newer motors so any body will fit.
 
the BB shells and the RTR shells have a different height slot for the coupler pockets. If you want to put a RTR shell on a BB frame, you will need to file down the tab so that the coupler pocket can fit.
 
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