New out of the box #60306 making loud rattling noise

[BlueFox]

My brand new (just arrived today) #60306 Conrail GP-40 makes a loud rattling noise going forward only.  In reverse it sounds normal.  In both directions at very low speeds it is jerky.  I've reset to decoder by setting CV8 to 8 and then resetting the long address and it's still jerky and makes the loud rattle/vibration noise in the forward direction only.  I'm not sure how to remove the shell as the exploded view doesn't say or show.  I see no mounting screws.  Can anyone shed some light on these?

Update:
I found out from ACY that to remove the shell you start by removing the fuel tank cover.  It has no screws, it's just pressed on so just pull it straight off then you gain access to the screws holding on the shell.  After removing the 2 screws just lift the shell up and off.  The couplers don't have to be removed.  With the shell off there is no more rattleing noise so it's the shell causing the noise.  I'll try to fix with tape.

[ACY]

Try running the locomotive at a moderate speed for 1 to 2 hours alternating direction every 15 minutes, and alternating orientation every 30 minutes. If that does not work, try some very light lubrication.

[jward]

what sometimes happens is that the motor torques to one side when it reverses direction. this was a fairly common problem on the old athearn locomotives. the fix is to make sure the motor is mounted securely, and that the motor housing can't move in the chassis.

to see if this is the problem, run the locomotive without the shell, and watch the motor to see if it twists when you reverse.

the low speed jerkiness could be due to cv2 being set too high. cv2 is the start voltage. try a lower value there, the locomotive should just start to move when you are on speed step 1.

[BlueFox]

Thanks jward;

The motor and housing are not moving when changing directions.  I couldn't even feel any movement using my fingers.

After running the loco for a few hours like you said it has started to smooth out but the jerkiness is still there when the loco first starts to move at slow speed, but it's getting better.  Hopefully after some more run time it will disappear altogether.

I have noticed that this particular loco runs slower, even at top speed, than my Bachmann FT-A's and FT-B's (I have 4 A's & 4 B's.)  I've tried adjusting the CV's but that didn't help.  Is this loco model geared down for pulling power rather than top speed?

Frank