KATO N-GAUGE NW2 NOISE

[kusojiji]

I bought two of these things and both are very noisy runners. I thought since both do the same thing, that it was how they were made and were POJ. Anyway, I just found out that I was wrong. Steve's Trains just put out this video and he shows a good one and a bad one. Take the shell off and the noise goes away. I will try that on mine and hope it works. Then I will wait impatiently for Steve to put out an update. I read on other threads that people put grease, but I don't want to have this thing leaving oil spots in my driveway.

 

 

 

[kusojiji]

Just took the body off one. It's not as easy as the video states, they just don't fall out of the shell. The cab interior wants to come with it, so be careful.

So, it does become quiet without the shell. The two halves just want to fall apart since there are no screws. The brass strip wipers fall out and are a bit difficult to get back in. I put the shell back on and it did quiet down a little bit, but not as good as without the shell. Maybe a little wedge between the halves might work.

I'll wait a bit and see what Steve comes up with.

[kusojiji]

I didn't realize his video is 4 months old. I guess no update.

 

So, I printed out some spacers and stuck one in the cab area. When I put the cab interior on, my spacer fell out which is when I realized that the cab and the gas tank have tabs that keep the chassis halves apart, while holding them together. So really nothing much to do about spacing.

 

I added a couple drops of 10wt nano-oil and it quieted down some. I guess that's all that I can expect for now. 

 

I did take some time to record the running of these and a few other locos that I had hanging around. These are definitely louder than all my other Katos. But, not as horrendous as my Lifelike NW2.