Is It Worth Changing The Bears On Bps Pqs With Some Bocas?

[Texas bassman]

wonder if i should spend the money or just save the money and get a better reel like a abu garcia stx. looking to get a stx, quantum smoke or exo, another winch, maybe even get chronarch. winches for cranking everything else is 6.4.1 to 7 plus. is it worth changing the bearings on these higher quality reels too?

[mc6524]

Definitely it is. Boca's ceramic bearings improve the performance on any reel.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Prior to upgrading bearings I suggest a at minimum a pro deep cleaning and proper lube. The PQ also responds very well to Super Tuning and if you want absolute max free spool upgrade the bearings. Members here get a 10% discount on labor and aftermarket parts.

[Trey Harpel]

its worth it...

If you do it your self though you will need a set of the Boca bearing spool pin pliers..

[J Francho]

Personally, I do not think it is worth the effort and money UNLESS the bearing is toast, or you have some specific circumstances requiring a different bearing.  Flushing the factory lube, and using a high quality bearing oil will net you gains that are as noticeable as simply swapping for aftermarket bearings.  The reason so many feel that the upgrade is worth it is because they do not first perform a complete breakdown, degrease, and bearing flush, and comparing those changes to a quick bearing swap.  Most reels in good working condition respond very well to this treatment.

 

Al that said - for many, it is easier to simply swap spool bearings, cost aside.  And, since I'm into hot rod reels, it's just cool to upgrade to performance components.  If you are looking for good bearings, at a great value, I recommend Hawgtech or Smooth Drags for your source of bearings.  Boca Orange seals are clumsy, difficult to lube properly, and overrated.  Yes, I have them in four reels, Two TD-X, and an Alphas.  The fourth reel is my centrepin reel, and those are running a dry lube.  The rest are installed "wet" with Oust Metol oil, seals removed.  They require more cleaning and maintenance than my steel shielded ceramic hybrids.

 

As in all things mechanical - get the proper tools.  Hands down, the best spool pin tool I've used is the latest Hedgehog tool.  Pricey, but worth it, if you are going to changing out several spools.  A good set of screwdrivers from WIHA is another great investment.

[Trey Harpel]

explain how orange seals are clumsy, hard to lube properly?

[J Francho]

The seals are a pain to replace. It's a pretty common complaint, and leaving them off is not always appropriate for all applications.

[Trey Harpel]

The seals are a pain to replace. It's a pretty common complaint, and leaving them off is not always appropriate for all applications.

so why not just get the ceramic metal shielded abec 7s then instead of the orange seals?  same bearing without the orange rubber seal..

They can be a pain to put back on as they dont seat easily, but thats why Boca gives you 2 choices of their abec 7s..

I run EVERY reel I own with the seals off and havent had an issue yet and some bearings are 6-7 years old..

im the number Boca retailer in the world (outside of Bocas main) and havent heard that complaint yet as 99% of the customers leave off the seals for easy maintanence and the orange seals run better without the shield..

The rubber ones tend to swell and push on the race.. the metal shielded ones dont have the problem, but for people are harder to get oil between the shield into in the balls..

[J Francho]

They didn't always offer that choice, and the OP is referring specifically to Orange Seals.  If one decides to replace the bearings, then I recommend Abec 7 Stainless bearings from Hawgtech or Smooth Drags.  This winter, I'll be testing the Hedgehog Air bearings.  I suspect they will not hold up to anything other finesse applications, but we are supposed to know that already.  My last bit of advice, if you prefer smoothness in casting and retrieve, and Freespool times in your hand are not your primary concern, and you simply must up: just get some good Abec 5 stainless bearings.  They are much smoother and quieter in most applications.

[.ghoti.]

Boca OS bearings, run without the shields, which you are pretty much forced to do, are way too noisy for my taste. I like my reels like I like other people's kids: seen but not heard.

 

My bearings of choice are the Stainless 7's from BGF.

 

I have some Hedgehog Air's on order to try out. I like the idea of smaller balls. Smaller the balls equals less friction in the races. Less slip in the races equals less noise, so I'm willing to gamble once more on ceramic hybrid bearings.

 

As far as replacing bearings just to be doing it goes; I concur with John. A proper cleaning and lubrication will get you almost the same benefit. Putting high end bearings in a low end reel is not gonna deliver much bang for the buck; if any.

 

Now if an OEM bearing is bad, then it makes some sense. You can usually buy a stainless 5 or 7 for less than a factory stock replacement.

 

But, you know what? It's your reel and your hard-earned cash. Do with both as you danged well please. That's precisely what I do. I've experimented a lot over the years, spending a considerable amount of time and money in the process, and I know I like and what works for me. I know what performance upgrades make sense, to me, from a cost/benefit viewpoint. I've been cleaning and tweaking my reels since I was a teenager. I passed 60 a couple of years ago, so I've got the time on the job to make my opinion worth something to me.

[CWB]

I've had pretty good luck just removing and cleaning the existing bearings and then when putting them back in adding a small touch of high speed spindle oil that I get from work. We use it on our engraving machines and its rated for 40,000 rpm. Seems to make a noticeable difference. Been doing this for years.

[rippin-lips]

I have boca os in both my Daiwas. Shields removed and run dry pretty much. I spray them with brake clean and spin them on a pencil. Then install back in my reels. 3 months later they get a drop of oil and then again in 3 months. As mentioned you'll need the spool pin tool and I second the hedgehog tool. It's awesome.

[BobP]

I've changed out or cleaned/lubed bearings hundreds of times over the years.  Like Francho, I say keep using stock bearings (clean and lubed) if they are not fried - unless you just can't stand the impulse to hotrod your reel.  If you're a red blooded boy, it's almost irresistible to want to tinker with your reel.  Yes, it's fun but it's usually irrational from a purely functional standpoint.  You'd think from the free-spooling demos that a set of new bearings would cast 10 times farther than the stock bearings in your reel.  They won't, of course.  Nor would you want them to.  And all that slick free spooling might just cause you problems if you aren't ready to control it or if the breaking system in your reel isn't up to the task.

 

We're all reel aficionados but not everyone can take the fastest/slickest reel and use it all day with nary a backlash.  Personally, I do better with a standard reel that is properly serviced so I can consistently cast lures where I want them to go without any drama.  If my ABEC 99 bearings lubed with whale spit can cast a lure 5-10 ft farther, I can get the same effect by just holding my foot on the power button of my trolling motor for an extra second.  Just sayin...

 

Then again, the $8 price on those Hawgtech ceramic hybrid bearings is KILLER!

[J Francho]

While some might think it's purely academic to achieve performance like I show on a Chronarch below, but I feel it shows that the reel has been set up to it's fullest potential.  Use this reel fishing, and any shortcomings are operator related.

 

[Virtuoso]

Definitely have the reel cleaned professionally first. See how that goes. Next upgrade bearings. Next supertune. You can't undo a supertune. You can undo bearings.

Doesn't necessarily cast further, but one can get the same distance with less effort. Also, its not for everyone. Some reels can get too fast. You don't want your thumb to be the only breaking system that works.

[Carolina Boy]

The breaking system on my Bass Pro PQ is not up to the task for Hawgtech when throwing into the wind. Great Bearings, maby I need to inprove my skills.

[Carolina Boy]

Update on my last post. The Bearings are fine for my PQ. I was so excited to get back to fishing, after cleaning the reel and upgrading the bearings, I forgot to ste the centrifugal brakeing. My DA move. No more problems! Can you say attention to detail.

[.RM.]

Personally, I do not think it is worth the effort and money UNLESS the bearing is toast, or you have some specific circumstances requiring a different bearing.  Flushing the factory lube, and using a high quality bearing oil will net you gains that are as noticeable as simply swapping for aftermarket bearings.  The reason so many feel that the upgrade is worth it is because they do not first perform a complete breakdown, degrease, and bearing flush, and comparing those changes to a quick bearing swap.  Most reels in good working condition respond very well to this treatment.

 

Al that said - for many, it is easier to simply swap spool bearings, cost aside.  And, since I'm into hot rod reels, it's just cool to upgrade to performance components.  If you are looking for good bearings, at a great value, I recommend Hawgtech or Smooth Drags for your source of bearings.  Boca Orange seals are clumsy, difficult to lube properly, and overrated.  Yes, I have them in four reels, Two TD-X, and an Alphas.  The fourth reel is my centrepin reel, and those are running a dry lube.  The rest are installed "wet" with Oust Metol oil, seals removed.  They require more cleaning and maintenance than my steel shielded ceramic hybrids.

 

As in all things mechanical - get the proper tools.  Hands down, the best spool pin tool I've used is the latest Hedgehog tool.  Pricey, but worth it, if you are going to changing out several spools.  A good set of screwdrivers from WIHA is another great investment.

The truth for sure...

Put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig....