Northern 4-8-4 Cracked Axle

[tlorey]

From looking at the forum I know this is an issue that has been discussed before, but not for the last few years.
I have an old Northern 4-8-4 Santa Fe steamer from back in the 1980's (item #660). It hadn't been used for years, but I pulled it out of storage and gave it a try. It worked fine for a short time, but then the wheels stopped turning. I opened it up and guess what? The nylon axle from the rear driver (the one with the gear attached to it) was cracked. I guess this is a common problem with these locomotives.
Apparently, Bachmann no longer stocks this part and glues don't really work to fix the crack. On Youtube I saw a guy who used shrink sleeving and had success, so I tried it and the sleeve wouldn't stick to the nylon. The brass tubing solution sounds way beyond my ability. Has anyone come up with another solution over the years?
If I send it in to Bachmann could it be fixed? I purchased the locomotive new but I have no receipt, so I wouldn't expect it to be covered under warranty. I really like this model since it would work well with my new Santa Fe layout, so I'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount to have it fixed. Or would paying to have it fixed by Bachmann or someone else just be a waste of money?
Thanks for your help.   

[Bucksco]

The Northern has been redesigned since the 80's and the parts needed to repair it are no longer available. You can call the service department to confirm this but I'm pretty sure that's the case with this loco.