STEP 3: Lubrication
3
3: Remember the Athearn “growl”? You can tone this
down. Carefully pry off the gearbox cover on each truck.
I have used Vaseline for years with no problems for this
step. If you are not comfortable using Vaseline, apply
a plastic-compatible grease to all of the gears you can
see. Put in a large amount. Apply it to the metal drive
gear also. Put the unit on your track and run it back and
forth a few times to work the grease through the gear
system. Apply more if unit continues to growl.
Another method to reduce the “growl” is by cleaning
out any flash in the gears, and by reducing the end-
play in the worm gear with NWSL washers (see photo
above). This method is more involved and requires
further disassembly of the trucks. If grease alone
doesn't solve it, use this method as a last resort.
