the white plastic gears are cracked and I've been told there is none to be had. my question is could I use the spectrum driver wheels listed in parts?
The short answer is no. I have seen a number of threads on this topic, on other forums. The newest version is a very solid performer though. Not what you want to hear. Sorry
I also bought one of these "older" ones and it too had a couple of cracked gears. I even went so far as trying to match them up with some servo gears, no luck. So, I ended up getting one of the "newer" ones and the old one is now a pretty shelf queen.