I was just reading a post in the MRH forums and someone with a two motor custom painted two motor 44 ton had the cracked gears issue. He bought new gears and wheels from Bachmann and has it running just fine again.
Rich
Sadly, I just encountered the same malady. In December I purchased two new DCC-ready GE 44 ton chassis from the Bachmann on-line store to upgrade my older Western Maryland units to DCC with Tsunami sound. I just completed both units this evening and during test running I discovered that they seemed to bind and then surge ahead only to bind and surge again repeatedly. Obviously, this is not normal.
Upon closely inspecting the drives, much to my dismay, I discovered that one unit had all 4 drive axles/gears split. The second unit had 3 of its 4 axles/gears split.
Needless to say, I have submitted a service ticket to Bachmann for corrective action.
Tom
Add me to the tally with the WM #76 DCC given me for Christmas.
Normally, something like this wouldn't bother me too much. However, the fact that 12 cents worth of plastic is keeping from using/enjoying a considerable investment in Tsunami decoders/speakers and a significant amount of modeling time is downright annoying. For now, I've got two very expensive static display models.
Tom
Add me to the list also. I have bought 3 of the 44 ton and 2 had all 4 gears cracked.
Get new wheels with gears from Bachmann. That was the intent of my post.
Another option, return the loco for replacement.
The info for doing that is in this site.
If all else fails, follow instructions.
Rich
To say that I am completely dissatisfied with Bachmann and its parts and service department at this point is a gross understatement. After a month they have still not responded to my service ticket about receiving two DCC ready complete drives from their on-line store that arrived with 7 out of 8 cracked axle gears.
So, while waiting for my warranty issue to be acknowledged (let alone resolved), I ordered and paid for 2 sets of replacement wheelsets from the on-line store (I want to run them at my monthly operating session next week). Well today the replacements I paid for arrived. Much to my displeasure, 4 of the 8 replacement wheelsets arrived with cracked axle gears. This is really troubling because in my order I requested that the replacement gears be inspected for cracks prior to shipment. Obviously, this was not done.
In retrospect, I should have known better. As I look closely at the parts photo shown in the on-line store I see where it shows cracked gears.
Regards,
Tom
Quote from: WoundedBear on January 30, 2012, 07:26:08 PMIt's on the right hand side.
It's on both sides. Just like gear/axle part in my Western Maryland #76.
Just seems the cracked gear syndrome has been discussed here for years. Shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. I've got some old Mantua engines around from back in the day with no hint of cracked gears. let's figure out how they did it. Until then" You have been warned".
It is a frustration that an appearance is being created of a dismissive corporate attitude of, "eh, so what".
That is not how I desire to think of Bachmann. I want to see them as a "Let's fix this and git 'er done!" outfit.
I called and spoke to the Bachmann Parts Department manager today. A very pleasant lady. Bachmann is sending me 4 replacement wheelsets to replace the cracked ones I just received from my recent on-line order. A satisfactory "adjustment" was also made on the two drives I purchased from their on-line store back in December that were received with cracked gears.
It is too bad we are having to deal with this cracked gear problem. I have Kato, Kato/Stewart, and Athearn locos that are decades old and I've never had a cracked gear. Some smart mechanical engineer needs to do a better calculation on the shrink rate for these gears and build some tolerance in to account for it.
Regards,
Tom
The 44ton does seem to be problematic add me to the list of customers with this problem.
Quote from: Joe323 on January 31, 2012, 03:48:15 PM
The 44ton does seem to be problematic add me to the list of customers with this problem.
Sadly, the problem is not limited to just the 44 Tonners, it is a well known issue with the HO scale 70 ton GE diesel, Shays and Climaxes in both HO and On30, the On30 railbus, and also is especially bad on the On30 railtrucks. It makes you wonder if it wasn't a problem in G gauge too, since now the large scale 4-6-0 advertising proudly states "Now with metal gears!". To be perfectly fair though, this issue isn't solely owned by Bachmann, it's been an ongoing problem for many years (at least 35 that I know of) and has involved products from several manufacturers in all scales including brass models, early Atlas O scale diesels made in Austria, Proto 2000 diesels and even Athearn HO. It's one of the reasons that NWSL originally got into the gear-making business. You'd think by now they should have figured out the problem and eliminated it, but it keeps showing up over and again, kind of like the crumbling zinc castings that went on for so many years (since the early 1950's). I have so many Bachmann locos with cracked gears sitting on a shelf in my train room that I have renamed it "The Bachmann Shelf of Shame". Unfortunately, Bachmann seems more concerned with proof of recent purchase from a Bachmann authorized dealer than they are with recognizing that there's an actual problem with the product.
As long as parts are kept available, it's not so bad, but when the replacements come from the parts department in a sealed bag, already cracked, it's pretty bad. When they are shown in a catalog or on the web in that condition, it speaks volumes for the lack of quality control. From the shape of the shoulders, the third wheelset in the picture also looks like it's gear could be cracked too, but the wheel is rotated to a position where you can't see the crack.
Bill in FL
I would rather pay more & have NWSL make the gears for Bachmann. You wouldn't have to be concerned about sending them back, paying the service charge & postage. Also you would have a dependable loco. Most of us have more motive power than we need & if we did have to pay a little more we could cut down on the size of our fleet & it really wouldn't hurt.
I will say that Bachmann does make some of the best detailed models..including brass. It would be great if they were as dependable as they look....
I recently communicated with the folks at NWSL. They indicated they have received some request for aftermarket replacement axle gears for the GE 44 toner. However, demand thus far has been less than what they need to make this a priority project/product for them.
Tom
In my previous post I mentioned NWSL as a supplier for Bachmann gears. I didn't mean replacement gears, I meant supplying Bachmann with the original gears. It would be a win, win, win. Bachmann would have a reliable product & be done with the repairs & bad PR & be able to advertise their products as having NWSL gears.
We would win by buying a loco that would be virtually problem free & NWSL would win with the added business.
Hey Mr. Bachmann...think this over!
I received the promised replacement set of replacement wheelsets from Bachmann today. As I inspected them for cracks just to be sure no defective ones were received in this shipment, I noticed that the design of the gear has changed a bit. The thickness of the plastic axle portion on the "short side" nearest the gear has been visibly increased. I didn't check the dimensions with a micrometer, but it appears to be twice as thick as the former casting. I am sure this is intended to prevent the splitting in this location that would work its way all the way to the drive gear. When the actual gear splits that is when the mechanism binding and erratic operations takes place.
The longer side of the axle casting appears to be the same thickness as the original ones. I surely hope they recalculated the plastic's shrink rate and allowed for it. I had several of my original axle castings crack on the long side as well, but none of these splits went all the way to the gear.
At this point, I am cautiously optimistic. But, only time will tell if the problem has been adequately addressed. However, at least it appears that Bachmann is trying to correct the problem.
Tom
Quote from: railtwister on January 31, 2012, 08:54:37 PMUnfortunately, Bachmann seems more concerned with proof of recent purchase from a Bachmann authorized dealer than they are with recognizing that there's an actual problem with the product.
It is not beyond possibility that the first could be confirmation of the second.
Doesn't seem to me to matter where you bought the product. Bachmann still manufactured it along with the split gears.
This is one of my hot buttons, expensive model locomotives that can self-destruct inside a sealed package all by themselves without ever seeing the tracks. Split gears is one way this happens, another is the diecast metal that warps, cracks, and then crumbles, all on it's own. Either of these two things are clearly a defect in manufacturing, in either the process or the materials chosen by the manufacturer. If a product suffers from either of these two problems, they should stand behind their product and make it right for the customer no matter who the item was purchased from, what price was paid, or how long ago the item was purchased. This is totally different from an item that is worn out from excessive use or customer abuse. In no case should the manufacturer try to hide behind legal loopholes written into their warranties. Also, a lifetime warranty should be, as it's name implies, lifetime, not just until such time as the manufacturer decides they no longer wish to live up to the terms of the original warranty. Bachmann used to have a lifetime warranty for many years, but they discontinued it a few years (rather quietly), but there are still products out there on dealer's shelves that have documentation stating that the item is covered by a lifetime warranty.
To Bachmann's credit, most of the experiences of people I know who have dealt with Bachmann's service department have been very positive, and some of those go back as far as the mid-seventies. Hopefully, Bachmann wouldn't want to spoil a good reputation that has taken so many years to develop, just to save a few cents on replacement gears. Also, I hope they are scratching their heads trying to figure out how to prevent such problems in the future, because the other improvements they have made in their products over the past few years have really been terrific (except for the lingering splitting gear syndrome). Unfortunately, all we can do is wait and see...
Bill in FL
Bachmann has not changed it's warranty policy. Bachmann products are (and have always been) covered by a Limited Lifetime Warranty. The product will be repaired or replaced for free during the first year of ownership and will be repaired or replaced for a nominal service fee for the life of the product after the first year.
It is important to note that most model railroad items are not produced in large quantities. They are actually manufactured in very small production runs compared to most other items produced by the Toy and Hobby industry and it is often a long time before more are produced. Bachmann always makes an effort to improve upon items in subsequent production runs - good examples would be recent runs of our Climax, 2-4-2 and 4-6-0 in large scale which include improved drive trains. The point is that it might be a while before another run of an item is produced but issues are usually addressed at this time. Bachmann consistently strives to improve it's products and stands behind them with the best warranty policy in the model railroad industry.