Bearing Shields

[OkobojiEagle]

To those of you that breakdown and clean your reels frequently... do you remove the bearing shields and replace them to fish, clean the bearings with shields in place or remove and leave the bearings off while fishing knowing you have to clean them more often???

oe

[J Francho]

Metal shields cannot be replaced easily. You destroy them to get them off. Just soak them in acetone or naphtha, gently swirling them every few minutes. Replace any dirty solvent with fresh, until they run clean. Then dry and oil.

[OkobojiEagle]

John... That's been my modus operandi for some time, but I wonder each "cleaning season" if removing the shields would improve cleaning and/or bearing performance. I oil and lightly clean every reel I fish with a couple times during my fishing season as it is, will removing the shields unnecessarily complicate my process.

oe

[Fishwhittler]

Some bearings have removable shields but not all. For example, the bearing shields on the Shimano Citica E are not removable though the shields on the Citica D were. Beats me as to why they changed, and I don't like the change.

Look carefully at the bottom of the bearing in the pic below and you'll notice a darker area. There's a metal C-clip that holds the shields in place, and this can be removed by carefully inserting a sharp pointed object (such as a sharp fishhook or a dental pick) into that space and then sliding it between the clip and the bearing race. The shield can then be carefully lifted off the bearing using the same hook/pick. To replace, just place the shield on the bearing and slide the clip into place.

Not all bearings will have this clip, and if you don't see it the shields cannot be removed. Also, if your bearing looks like the one below, the shields are permanent.

I much prefer bearings with removable shields because they are easier to clean. However, I always replace the shields after flushing the bearing so as to keep contaminants out.

I've not noticed any difference in how freely the bearings spin with the shields on or off. I've heard the Orange-Seal bearings can spin faster/longer with the shields removed, but I've no experience with them and can't say for certain.

I hope this helps!

Ben

[OkobojiEagle]

I much prefer bearings with removable shields because they are easier to clean. However, I always replace the shields after flushing the bearing so as to keep contaminants out.

I've not noticed any difference in how freely the bearings spin with the shields on or off. I've heard the Orange-Seal bearings can spin faster/longer with the shields removed, but I've no experience with them and can't say for certain.

I hope this helps!

Ben

Ahh... info and opinion I was looking for. Thanks

oe

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I agree with JF. Even if a bearing has removable shields, putting them on and off is more grief than it's worth. If you want to open them,might as well leave them open. That's how I run the OSC's.

[LgMouthGambler]

I dont remove the shields off my bearings, then agian all my bearings on my Shimanos are stock. Just soak them in acetone, and twirl them around in a little jar until there is no more residue in the fluid as I replace it every 5 min or so. Like some have said, some bearings the shields are removable, some are not. Even if they are removable, I feel the shields are there for a reason, and dont mess with it.

[J Francho]

Seals and shields are two different things.

[OkobojiEagle]

Seals and shields are two different things.

John... I can only grade you with partial credit on that answer. More please.

oe

[J Francho]

Sorry, that was a lame answer.

Seals are usually rubber or plastic, and usually meant to be removable. They are difficult, but not impossible to replace correctly. Many say that Boca Orange Seals run faster without them. That's true, if the shields are not properly seated on the outer rim. Most press them in too far.

Shields are generally metal, ans are either pressed in and snap fit, like the second bearing pictured above. You can't get the press fit shield off without damaging it. I suppose you could repack it with a new shield, but I have no idea where to get that part. As fishwhittler noted, there is a c-clip on the first bearing pictured, that holds the shield in place. You can pop that c-clip, and then pry the shield off to remove. In either case, I've never been able to remove the shield without damaging the clip and/or the shield. I've even damaged the cage that holds the balls in the races attempting to remove a shield.

You can run them without shields - many OE bearings do not have shields, high end Shimano pops to mind as one OE - or seals, but you have to keep them clean. To me, if it comes with a shield, leave it. It's too much risk and work to try and remove. Now, if you have a lot of replacement bearings lying around,and are willing o experiment, well....

[.RM.]

Metal shields cannot be replaced easily. You destroy them to get them off.

Just soak them in acetone or naphtha, gently swirling them every few minutes. Replace any dirty solvent with fresh, until they run clean. Then dry and oil.

X2 ....

[NBR]

I'm a former release egineer with responsibility for bearings. Sealed bearing are designed to have a flexible member (usually rubber) riding on a rotating part. Shields are not designed to contact any rotating part. Ergo true seals will reduce casting distance to some maybe minute amount. Generall putting shields in a bearing costa a bit more so if the reel manufacturer didn't think they were beneficial they would use an open bearing. This is absent any marketing strategy.

If you fish in pretty clean surroundings and clean your reels especially the bearings you probably don't need the shields, But they are there and removal likely does more damage than any removal benefit. As we used to say shields keep out the chunks and low flying birds.

While I'm on my soap box I don't care how many bearing are in my reels. My bait casters will cast a bit farther when the spool is supported on ball bearing and the anti reverse is a nice feature but beyond that more or less bearing just reduce the little bit of slop because of the shaft to bushing necessary clearance.

[J Francho]

Having two bearings on on the crank shaft and one for the pinion when the spool is engaged greatly reduces wear on the main gear and pinion. Unless the reel has a non disengaging levelwind (most lopro reel do disengage), There isn't much benefit to having bearings on the worm gear. I like at least one bearing on each knob, as it reduces wear and feels smoother.

[jhoffman]

If you could find a way to cram 75 bearings into a reel it would sell like hot cakes. Most every day fishermen believe the more bearings the better.

[J Francho]

5 in the reel, and two on the knobs is a good balance between smoothness and weight.

[LgMouthGambler]

If you could find a way to cram 75 bearings into a reel it would sell like hot cakes. Most every day fishermen believe the more bearings the better.

Yeah, they are called Abu/Lews fisherman, lol. Sorry, I couldnt help myself. Bring on the combacks, I know its coming lol