I finally got done fixing up a member's reel. I won't say whose it is, but it rhymes with Clapton Slow of the I Wish Pies.
He actually gave this to me over a year ago, but I just don't get the time to play with these as much as I'd like to. Fortunately he has plenty of back ups.
The pics below show you what happens to reels when you fish them hard and don't give them much love.
This is what happens when reels are rinsed off and put away wet. Ugh!
Anyway, as you can see, the salt is caked up pretty good inside the housing and on the gears.
(pics 1 & 2) Every bearing was rusted and needed to be replaced, including the roller bearing
(pic 3). The main gear was showing signs of corrosion and a tiny part of the frame was quickly being eaten away by the salt from the inside
(pic 4), In addition, the Dartanium drag was a sticky mess and one of the washers cracked while trying to separate it from the frame
(pics 5 & 6).
I soaked the internals in CLR and scrubbed them with a tooth brush. I then ordered a complete bearing set from Shimano and some Carbontex drag washers from
SMOoOTH DRAG (pic 7). When I went to reassemble the reel, I realized I didn't have all the bearings. It turns out that Shimano doesn't sell the spool bearing separately. I guess they want you to buy a whole new spool assembly instead of a new bearing for $10.
So, it was back to
SMOoOTH DRAG. Dawn had the exact size bearing I needed and I was all set to put her back together.
Since I know this reel will probably never be opened again I tried to protect it as much as possible. I coated the frame and gearing with Penn Blue Grease and packed the non-spool ball bearing with the grease instead of oil
(pics 8 & 9). The Carbontex drag washers were coated with Cal's Drag Grease for additional corrosion protection and smoothness.
(pic 10)After putting her back together, she feels as good as new!
(pics 11 & 12) Hopefully she'll stay that way for a long time.
