Shimano Gear Set Replacement

[barroncooper]

I have been having to replace the gear sets in my curado/chronarch e's on just about yearly intervals due to the retrieve getting rough and geary feeling.  I called shimano today and they said that was normal... that's hogwash imho.  I have curado b's and calcuttas that I've had since i was a teenager (33 now) that feel the same or better than when new.  I'm a weekend angler with  a few afternoon trips during the week.  have they gone to a different alloy?  I clean and re-lube every 3 months and take extremely good care of my gear and I always back off on the drag when i'm not using them.  I've got 12 curado e's and 4 chronarch's so this is getting expensive. it's especially annoying on chuck and wind rigs but I can deal with it on bottom contact rigs.  I have a curado 50 e that got really noisy on the retrieve and replaced that gearset with a core 50 7:1 set.  now the core 50 drive gear is aluminum and this set up has proven to last so far and that little rig gets some serious use. maybe that supports the idea that maybe they're using a softer alloy now.  anybody experiencing this.  Colt Manning

[Capt.Bob]

I have never owned the E's but always thought one of the strongest assets Shimano had was there smooth durable gears. The B's and D's were bullet proof for me. I bought a G when they came out with the intent of updating my low profile reels with better quality. One day was all it took and it was gone, I felt that they had gone backwards and while the gett'n was good, I got my money back and went with the Lew's, 2 years now and I am still smiling. But have heard the same complaints about those reels recently from another. If the core gears holds up your problem is solved.

 

Seems it doesn't matter what you want to buy these days, they all think it's ok to make a less quality product and it will sell, as long as they don't raise the price. Until people put their foot down and quit buying these newer reels with cheapened up parts that are proving to be less reliable than the same models before  them, expect their trend to continue!!  The new models are coming so with the drop in sales and complaints to Shimano I was hoping to see some changes for the better this year, but with comments coming from them like that it isn't looking to promising!!!     

[skeletor6]

The OP is clearly asking if anyone has EXPERIENCED this problem with the Curado or Chronarch E. To experience something you must have owned it or used it. By account you have never owned a Curado or Chronarch E. Yet, you have a very strong opinion against them. How can you be so against something you have not experienced? I do not understand.

 

OP, I have both the Curado 50e and 200e. I do not own any of the Chronarch E's. I have not experienced any of these problems and I get my reels serviced by a professional. My retrieve actually feels smoother and is quieter than the day I got them. They have broken in better with time in my opinion. 

 

Since your issue has occurred with every E series reel and is not a random occurrence with one reel, it might be wise to share the chemicals and process you use to clean and lube your reels. Something may be weakening the components of the gears. I am unsure whether there is a difference in alloys used in the Shimano's you have listed. However, I have not experienced your problem with my older Shimano's or my newer Curado E's. I will be interested to hear if there is a difference in alloys used that is causing the problem.

[War Eagle 44]

While they aren't Curado E's I do fish 4 Citica E's all the time and I've not had this problem. Mine start to get the "gear to gear" feeling about every three months or so depending on how much I fish. All that's needed to return mine to smooth operation is a breakdown and lube. Once I've cleaned all the old grease and gunk off and relube with fresh grease mine are good as new for a while.

 

I'm also interested to see how this plays out, I purchased my reels very soon after they were introduced so mine are rather "old" so to speak and if there has been any change in gear material it may have been after mine were produced.

[Koofy Smacker]

I have a bunch of Curado E's. Never ever felt the need to replace gears on them and never heard of anyone doing that. Saying that your doing it on a near yearly basis is mind boggling to me. Not blaming you or saying your doing something wrong but if guys had to replace gears on their reels those reels would not even be popular, let alone as popular at all. Are they sticking or anything like that or just getting rough? Mine all have gotten better with time, and to be honest (and Im not a Shimano lover) I can compare them to a good wine getting better with age.

[Basswhippa]

The E's don't compare to the old B's in terms of smoothness and long term low maintenance.   I own em all.   I'm betting the new Chronarch CI4 won't be as good as the old 100A's and SF's in terms of retrieval smoothness..   JMO

[kickerfish1]

The chronarch e came out last year if I remember correctly. Guessing this would be the second season of use? At any rate if you have to replace the gears on a yearly basis or so I would question what techniques you are using them for. Heavy spinnerbaits, deep cranks, and a-rigs put a ton of strain on the gears of a reel. I am not sure the E series was designed to do this as a regular task. A D series shimano citica or curado would have the power and gears to handle resistance baits better.

I have a curado and chronarch 50e along with a curado 200e7. The 200e is the oldest and still very smooth. It doesn't see much resistance baits either.

Like others have suggested a professional clean and tune would be beneficial. Other than abuse or fishing heavy resistance techniques, I can't recall any reason reels like that would need a gear replacement that often.

[Capt.Bob]

The OP is clearly asking if anyone has EXPERIENCED this problem with the Curado or Chronarch E. To experience something you must have owned it or used it. By account you have never owned a Curado or Chronarch E. Yet, you have a very strong opinion against them. How can you be so against something you have not experienced? I do not understand.

 

 I do not own any of the Chronarch E's. I have not experienced any of these problems and I get my reels serviced by a professional.

 

 Something may be weakening the components of the gears.  However, I have not experienced your problem with my older Shimano's or my newer Curado E's.

For such an arrogant response you would think you would have not mentioned the same things you disrespect me over. So I will try to explain to you how I gave any knowledgable response to the OP about these reels. I have owned most shimanos for freshwater use. and since I have serviced these reels for my customers, for decades,(over 30 years) and an owner of more shimano reels than many have used, and owned Shimanos mainly all the way back to their introduction of the Speedmasters and Super Speedmasters series, both spinning and casting, and serviceing and modifying those reels, lets just say I am familiar with them. I am sorry if it offends you, I answered and yes THE OP "DOES"  MENTION THE REELS I REFERED TO!! BOTH THE CURADO B, AND CALCUTTAS!! which I have years of daily use with!  but after over 50 years using every brand from one time or another and multiple models of most, as well as servicing many I don't own,  I do think I have a better knowledge of these reels than someone who sends their reels to someone like me to take care of them. I guess that;s why I think the reel I mentioned was cheapened, I have seen their history of advancements since the first Bantam Curado was introduced, which I also owned and have serviced year after year. since you asked Yes the Core is an Aluminum and brass alloy drive gear. 

 

Since you wanted to know, I thought I would address your request about the reasoning of my answer, in the same manner you responded to me. Try and remember, there are Manny here who do more than just fish! This isn't the first time you have directed your arrogant responses to my post to others, not you, and I would ask if you would please try and use a little more tact from now on! If you can do that I would be glad to extend the courtesy!

[Hooked_On_Bass]

I have a couple Curado 51E's and a 201E and have never experienced what you have described. Like others have noted above, mine seem to have gotten smoother with age. Same can be said for my D series.

[rockchalk06]

For such an arrogant response you would think you would have not mentioned the same things you disrespect me over. So I will try to explain to you how I gave any knowledgable response to the OP about these reels. I have owned most shimanos for freshwater use. and since I have serviced these reels for my customers, for decades,(over 30 years) and an owner of more shimano reels than many have used, and owned Shimanos mainly all the way back to their introduction of the Speedmasters and Super Speedmasters series, both spinning and casting, and serviceing and modifying those reels, lets just say I am familiar with them. I am sorry if it offends you, I answered and yes THE OP "DOES" MENTION THE REELS I REFERED TO!! BOTH THE CURADO B, AND CALCUTTAS!! which I have years of daily use with! but after over 50 years using every brand from one time or another and multiple models of most, as well as servicing many I don't own, I do think I have a better knowledge of these reels than someone who sends their reels to someone like me to take care of them. I guess that;s why I think the reel I mentioned was cheapened, I have seen their history of advancements since the first Bantam Curado was introduced, which I also owned and have serviced year after year. since you asked Yes the Core is an Aluminum and brass alloy drive gear.

Since you wanted to know, I thought I would address your request about the reasoning of my answer, in the same manner you responded to me. Try and remember, there are Manny here who do more than just fish! This isn't the first time you have directed your arrogant responses to my post to others, not you, and I would ask if you would please try and use a little more tact from now on! If you can do that I would be glad to extend the courtesy!

This seems to be your MO. Someone calls you on something and you lash out and go crying away. Then make 10-12 posts crying why you got bashed or trashed for your opinons. Not to mention you get way off the original topic and go to something completely different? Am I close?

To the OP, I did a bunch if research on the Chronarch E's and the Curado E's before I decided to settle on them. This was the first I've heard of that problem. The guy at Shimano had to be mistaken as if people had to replace the part every year, the reel would have never gotten to be as popular as it is now. Just my 10mm worth.

[TrippyJai]

I've got 10 Curado Es and never had that issue you mentioned. The 200Es are not smooth reels at all, but they are not rough by any means. I still have 2 brand new in the box and they need some breaking in. They do get better with use. However, the 2 Curado 50Es that I have are butter smooth since the day I opened the boxes.

 

What type of grease are you using on them? How does the gears look? Are the damage?

[War Eagle 44]

The E's don't compare to the old B's in terms of smoothness and long term low maintenance.   I own em all.   I'm betting the new Chronarch CI4 won't be as good as the old 100A's and SF's in terms of retrieval smoothness..   JMO

I'll have to disagree with you on the B vs E smoothness point. I've owned B SF's, DHSV's, and E's and to me the E's are just better reels all the way around. Although I think the D's were the best Curado's made to date.

Now I will agree with you that the new CI4+ has a big challenge in front of it if it hopes to equal the 100A's. Those were some great reels. I'm not sure Shimano is still trying to reach this level of smoothness anymore, instead going for a little more "connected" feel. Either way I'm still very excited about the new reels.

[BradH]

I have about a half dozen Curado Es (50E, 200E5, 200E7) and a Citica 200E in regular use.  I know EXACTLY what you are talking about.  I suspect I fish quite a bit more than the average user.  Try using a heavier grease on the gears after cleaning if the feel bothers you.  That has worked well for me.  I had used Cal's, Penn and Super Lube.  Now I'm using whatever marine grease is in my grease gun.  Before I stepped up on the grease the geary feel in no way affected the reels performance.  It did not bother me.

[Basswhippa]

I am speaking of retrieval smoothness only. War eagle. What do you mean by "connected feel". Retrieval smoothness is everything. Of my family's five citica E one is as smooth as curado b's, two are close, one is geary, rougher than any 15 year old curado b I have and one is a coffee grinder, even after never been abused and serviced by Shimano. My son had one citica e and two curado e 7's. I let him use my roughesy curado b and he was stunned how smooth the retrieval is compared two his e's. Personall I think it has to do with reel mass/weight.

[barroncooper]

yeas I'm speaking strictly of retrieval smoothness.  it does not affect the operation of the reel at all.  I was just surprised that shimano said that this type of maintenance was perfectly normal.  it does feel like the rigs that I use for higher resistance lures gets the feeling a little more than flipping and bottom contact lures.  But,  my curado b5 that I've used for deep cranks for nearly 15 years or so doesn't feel rough at all.  as for chemincals,  I spray the drive and pinion gear with reel klean and brush them with a tooth brush.  for grease,  I use shimano star drag grease which bantam 1 said was perfect for.  I have a 200 e5 that I use for square bills and shallow to medium cranks and it seems to get it the worst.  I'm confident in my ability to thouroughly clean and re lube these reels so I know it's not a matter of re assembly.  as a matter of fact,  I sent 2 that had never been opened into shimano to be cleaned/relubed free of charge and they came back the same way.  I called southwest parts to order a few gearsets and asked them if a different alloy was being used and they said absolutely that they're selling 3 times as many gearsets as before. back on the 50 that I replaced with a core gear set,  this little thing is absolutely amazing and feels like it should.  and let me be clear on the interval.  some are yearly or maybe 16-18 months.  that's still too often in my opinion.  again its not a loud geary sound but you can definately feel it.  it's not keeping it's initial smoothness. and like some of you say,  your's have gotten better with age.  maybe i should just suck it up and fish them.  but it's agravating for a rig that I use  for traps and chuck and wind lures to feel that way.  I wish some of you could feel what I'm talking about.  thanks for all of the replies.  this is truly a wonderful community of fishermen that we have.  Colt Manning

[barroncooper]

While they aren't Curado E's I do fish 4 Citica E's all the time and I've not had this problem. Mine start to get the "gear to gear" feeling about every three months or so depending on how much I fish. All that's needed to return mine to smooth operation is a breakdown and lube. Once I've cleaned all the old grease and gunk off and relube with fresh grease mine are good as new for a while.

 

I'm also interested to see how this plays out, I purchased my reels very soon after they were introduced so mine are rather "old" so to speak and if there has been any change in gear material it may have been after mine were produced.

great reply.  yes mine do feel back to new for a while after cleaning.  I just can't help but to compare them to my b's and calcuttas smoothness which are at way further cleaning intervals than the curado e's.  but after several months they are back to the gearish retrieve.

[barroncooper]

I am speaking of retrieval smoothness only. War eagle. What do you mean by "connected feel". Retrieval smoothness is everything. Of my family's five citica E one is as smooth as curado b's, two are close, one is geary, rougher than any 15 year old curado b I have and one is a coffee grinder, even after never been abused and serviced by Shimano. My son had one citica e and two curado e 7's. I let him use my roughesy curado b and he was stunned how smooth the retrieval is compared two his e's. Personall I think it has to do with reel mass/weight.

this is exactly what I'm talking about!  thanks for the reply broseph!

[barroncooper]

This seems to be your MO. Someone calls you on something and you lash out and go crying away. Then make 10-12 posts crying why you got bashed or trashed for your opinons. Not to mention you get way off the original topic and go to something completely different? Am I close?

To the OP, I did a bunch if research on the Chronarch E's and the Curado E's before I decided to settle on them. This was the first I've heard of that problem. The guy at Shimano had to be mistaken as if people had to replace the part every year, the reel would have never gotten to be as popular as it is now. Just my 10mm worth.

actually more than one rep said that this type of maintenance was normal

[barroncooper]

I should mention that a few are used with heavy action rods and 20 lb fluoro or 65 lb braid.  maybe this type of strain is causing a little bit of flex in the side plates causing a misalignment of the gears. 

[skeletor6]

What exactly did the rep say? Rockchalk is talking about Shimano having to completely replace the gears or at least parts involving the gears. Along with his response, I can hardly see this being the case as it would be a massive hit to Shimano in their pocket books and there would be threads plagued with this issue.

A rep speculating about how smooth a retrieve is, is something completely different. This can be presumed as more of a subjective issue especially if you are comparing reels to one another.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

No way should a gear set need annual replacement as a matter of regular maintenance. Whoever is telling you that is untrained or just giving lip service.

[.RM.]

No way should a gear set need annual replacement as a matter of regular maintenance. Whoever is telling you that is untrained or just giving lip service.

X2  

Also an excellent way to get into an anglers wallet...

[barroncooper]

RM or DVT I'm gonna send you a reel that needs it and you tell me what you think. Ill gladly pay for your opinion. Please pm me a shipping address and if I can do without 2, ill send you one each

[barroncooper]

What exactly did the rep say? Rockchalk is talking about Shimano having to completely replace the gears or at least parts involving the gears. Along with his response, I can hardly see this being the case as it would be a massive hit to Shimano in their pocket books and there would be threads plagued with this issue.

A rep speculating about how smooth a retrieve is, is something completely different. This can be presumed as more of a subjective issue especially if you are comparing reels to one another.

Both reps said depending on use, gear sets and drag washers could need replacing yearly. That should've been quoted. I will record the next conversation with them

[rockchalk06]

Both reps said depending on use, gear sets and drag washers could need replacing yearly. That should've been quoted. I will record the next conversation with them

I may have came off like a jerk, but my comment was not made to sound like I doubted what you heard or were told. I was talking about the dude from Shimano. When he says depending on use, ya I could see a tourney fishermen or someone who fishes 5 plus hours a day 7 days a week needing to replace them, but even so, if that were the case we would be hearing more about it is all.