The gears is a nice-to-do. The problem is the interface of the shims to the cast aluminum housing. This requires regular maintenance on a Ryobi BT3000 or 3100. I use my 3100 a lot and don't really like doing this maintenance. I have waited until it just wouldn't move once. I thought I had stripped the female gears on the motor housing - which is possible but very unlikely on a 3100, possibly more possible on a 3000 because of a difference in the handwheel design - but it was just the shims were sticking.
I don't know the 3000 as well but what happened on my 3100 is the handwheel was turning on the shaft. The solution is first to lubricate the aluminum the shims slide on and, if you have to, take the handwheel off the get the motor housing piece moving again by using pliers or a wrench on the shaft. Once it moves, with the casting lubricated, it works well. The shims on the 3000 are not the same as the 3100, however, and some people change the 3000 shims to the 3100. That requires some substantial disassembly but is not terribly hard.
BT3central is a great source on these saws but some of the information is a little hard to find because they have archived it. With the saws discontinued there is less demand.
The extra maintenance is a pain but I find my saw to be surprisingly accurate and powerful enough even for full height rips in hardwood (with a sharp and clean blade). I have a mobile base and extension rails on it so I can set the fence to 60 inches. I wrote an article at BT3Central called "Spruce and Sandeply" about my mobile base.
Jim
