Improving Reels

[livetofish28]

I have 3 bps PQ's and one Lew's tournament Mg. i want to try and improve these reels to the best of there ability. Being in high school I don't have the money to send them in to get them super tuned. Is there anything that I can do myself to improve the functions of the reel without having to spend tons of money on them. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Andrew

[MrSwimJig]

A good reel cleaning and proper lubing and oiling of the reel and a good flushing of the spool bearings and oiling of them.

[.RM.]

I have 3 bps PQ's and one Lew's tournament Mg. i want to try and improve these reels to the best of there ability. Being in high school I don't have the money to send them in to get them super tuned. Is there anything that I can do myself to improve the functions of the reel without having to spend tons of money on them. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Andrew

Save your money and have it done by a pro.

I know I will not hear the end of this that it isn't rocket sience, and you really need to learn how.

But for what you will spend one time around to have it done right. Will more than make up for any cost.

I personally have had reels come to me after some one who thought it wasn't rocket sience got into doing it from info off of the forums.

Wound up having to replace the spool, and pinion gear, in a Shimano. Aound 50$ for the spool and another 5-10$ for the pinion gear.

 

So take this old 28yr vetran service tech's advise, save your dimes and have it done right the first time..

 

 

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!  

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I have to agree^^^. If you don't have the budget for reel service and maintenance you don't have the budget for mistakes either. Flushing and properly lubing the spool bearings is probably the easiest and most beneficial DIY thing you can do. Even then I discourage folks from messing with the spool mounted bearings. do the best you can leaving them mounted to the shaft. Again, with out the proper tools you're asking for a dinged up spool.

[Basswhippa]

Don't listen to the pros, they just want your money.   Step 1.  Get some WD40 and open it up and start spraying.   Hold the button down for about 10 seconds. Swirl it around until you see it coming from the seams.  Step 2.  Repeat step 1.

 

There you have it.  All you ever need to know about supertuning.

 

Kidding.   Listen to the pros!

[Capt.Bob]

Don't listen to the pros, they just want your money.   Step 1.  Get some WD40 and open it up and start spraying.   Hold the button down for about 10 seconds. Swirl it around until you see it coming from the seams.  Step 2.  Repeat step 1.

 

There you have it.  All you ever need to know about supertuning.

 

Kidding.   Listen to the pros!

PLEASE NOTICE THE KIDDING!!!! Don't ever use WD40 on any reel,,,,spinning or casting, it has no p[lace around fishing equipment!!!!

 

I also agree with .MR. and DVC, it's like buying insurance, anyone with a brain has it, if you don't the cost go way up with one accident!!!! By the time you buy the proper lubes and basic necessities, your money ahead having someone with the proper know how do it.     NO KIDD'N!!

[new2BC4bass]

I agree with both pros.  No idea what RM charges, but Mike gives a 10% discount to bassresource members.  His full price isn't bad, but always nice to save a couple $$ to help pay for shipping. 

 

I am going to be sending out 4 reels for Mike to go through.  I may have to ship a couple to RM just to spread the wealth around. 

[livetofish28]

I tore all of my reels down today considering I hadn't done it since I got them and man was I suprised how much extra grease the put in those things I left the spools and bearings alone I don't want to mess anything up like you guys have said I will definitely look into sending at least my Lew's in to be professionally tuned. Thanks for all the imput you guys have given me. I did notice one thing while cleaning them today. The Lew's seems to be mechanically the same as the PQ. The parts seem to be the same in the same spots as the PQs. The other thing I noticed is the spools are compatible are PQs made by Lew's?

[MrSwimJig]

Lews, BPS, Abu Garcia all come from the same factory in Korea.

[Capt.Bob]

Lews, BPS, Abu Garcia all come from the same factory in Korea.

The only difference in parts are that the quality changes from brand to brand, and tolerances. Some models will have different parts, and design.

[livetofish28]

Thanks for answering that question guys

[lmbfisherman]

Lews, BPS, Abu Garcia all come from the same factory in Korea.

Man even in fishing equipment we get stereotyped!  First all of us are from China, which took us forever to inform everyone China isn't the only Asian country and now the stereotype is on fishing reels!  They aren't all the same man! 

[rockchalk06]

PLEASE NOTICE THE KIDDING!!!! Don't ever use WD40 on any reel,,,,spinning or casting, it has no p[lace around fishing equipment!!!!

I also agree with .MR. and DVC, it's like buying insurance, anyone with a brain has it, if you don't the cost go way up with one accident!!!! By the time you buy the proper lubes and basic necessities, your money ahead having someone with the proper know how do it. NO KIDD'N!![/quote

On the reel itself I would not use WD40, but on a new reel, I've found soaking and flushing the bearings in them breaks the gunk down, making it eaiser to flush them in acetone.

[derekxec]

you could spray your baits with wd40 lol

 

i do all my own maintenance its not that hard 

[Capt.Bob]

PLEASE NOTICE THE KIDDING!!!! Don't ever use WD40 on any reel,,,,spinning or casting, it has no p[lace around fishing equipment!!!!

I also agree with .MR. and DVC, it's like buying insurance, anyone with a brain has it, if you don't the cost go way up with one accident!!!! By the time you buy the proper lubes and basic necessities, your money ahead having someone with the proper know how do it. NO KIDD'N!![/quote

On the reel itself I would not use WD40, but on a new reel, I've found soaking and flushing the bearings in them breaks the gunk down, making it eaiser to flush them in acetone.

There are many other solvents made for that job that are much better than WD40!! the best advice for all on any forum is as stated, WD40 has no place in reel maintenance. Especially with new users, it's always best to use the proper solvents and lubes, and guide them in the right direction from the start, it is also why commercial techs DON'T USE IT!  I will stick to my original post,,,,,WD40 HAS NO PLACE IN REEL MAINTENANCE!! There are far better solvents for the job, if that is what you are using it for.

[rockchalk06]

There are many other solvents made for that job that are much better than WD40!! the best advice for all on any forum is as stated, WD40 has no place in reel maintenance. Especially with new users, it's always best to use the proper solvents and lubes, and guide them in the right direction from the start, it is also why commercial techs DON'T USE IT! I will stick to my original post,,,,,WD40 HAS NO PLACE IN REEL MAINTENANCE!! There are far better solvents for the job, if that is what you are using it for.

You have your opinion and I have mine

[Capt.Bob]

You have your opinion and I have mine

35 years ago I saw what damage WD40 can do, my customer was not very happy at the time, a mistake that came out of my pocket, I mention these things so those who don't have to get it right, or make their living servicing reels, don't make that mistake, the hundreds of people I rely on for my income depend on me using the proper parts tool's lubes and solvents. So a professional tech in the industry, I try to steer new folk's at the task in a safe trouble free manner, so they don't make those mistakes, and pay for them themselves. But I agree 100% you are entitled to your own opinion, and can continue to service your reels anyway you like, but I have never herd of any professional tech using WD40, maybe they just haven't found it's marvelous qualities yet??? my mistake,,,,TIGHT LINES!!      

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Capt. is right in that WD has no business being sprayed into a reel. We don't spray anything into a reel because it's impossible to direct and limit where the spray goes or doesn't. In addition, lots of folks are unaware of the degreasing affect WD and other spray lubes have. It's due to the distillates used to make it spray-able. Using some as a soak isn't going to hurt, but whether or not it will help depends on the circumstances and is debatable.

[Fishwhittler]

On the reel itself I would not use WD40, but on a new reel, I've found soaking and flushing the bearings in them breaks the gunk down, making it eaiser to flush them in acetone.

 

This.  WD40 is an excellent cleaner, more effective than acetone at cutting thick oil and grease.  It's also designed to leave a water-deterrent residue behind to help prevent corrosion.  This residue can easily be removed by a no-residue solvent such as pure acetone.  I've found WD40 to be much more effective than acetone at cleaning oil and grease out of bearings, provided the bearings are immediately rinsed in pure acetone to remove the WD40 residue. 

 

No one in this thread has been recommending that WD40 be used to lubricate fishing reels, nor has anyone advocated using the "spray-and-pray" method for cleaning reels with WD40.

[.RM.]

35 years ago I saw what damage WD40 can do, my customer was not very happy at the time, a mistake that came out of my pocket, I mention these things so those who don't have to get it right, or make their living servicing reels, don't make that mistake, the hundreds of people I rely on for my income depend on me using the proper parts tool's lubes and solvents. So a professional tech in the industry, I try to steer new folk's at the task in a safe trouble free manner, so they don't make those mistakes, and pay for them themselves. But I agree 100% you are entitled to your own opinion, and can continue to service your reels anyway you like, but I have never herd of any professional tech using WD40, maybe they just haven't found it's marvelous qualities yet??? my mistake,,,,TIGHT LINES!!      

X2  

[sarcazmo]

youtube.com has some amazing videos.

 

There are videos showing you step by step how to clean and lube your reel.

 

 

Theres a PQ dissasembly right there.