Stock Vs Clean Reel Video

[Hi Salenity]

Not looking forward to it? Only take you 15-20 minutes. I love toying with my reels. I sit down in front of the tv and do it during the games on Sunday.

ok, you've shamed me into cleaning some of my reels again Lol!

I'm starting with the quadruplets. I cleaned and relubed the one on the left 2 years ago and it still looks and works great. The other 3 were bought as manufacturer refurbished reels that were supposedly gone through by Lews. Notice those 3 have 3 different lubes? They also have Lots of different parts inside.

[CKFishin]

Thanks guys... As if I needed to try and teach myself something else lol...

Gonna have to go get some real cleaning supplies and grease tomorrow so I can finish...

 

I decided to learn on the cheapest reel I have... The 200e's aren't getting touched yet.

 

[rippin-lips]

Well you have it all torn down so you're 40% done. Just clean everything real good and grease/oil what gets it. Then put it back together.

This is a good thing to teach yourself. You accomplish a few things. #1 a better performing reel. #2 you don't have to pay anyone to do it. #3 your reels will last you longer now. For me I fell right into it. I've built cars for years including the engine so after selling my last car, this gave me something to tinker with. Plus you can upgrade some reels so that fit the bill for me.

[Jaheff]

I have a question for you Francho...

In the video you show the handle, in gear, spinning so free with no resistance.Some of my best casting reels ( 50e) i have wont even make three revolutions

around as i like to use heavier grease on my gears cause of the feel of it not being so free and having some resistance. My question is, am i loosing performance from using heavier grease, cause i like the feel? Or are you just bench testing with everything backed of in the video?

[rippin-lips]

I have a question for you Francho...

In the video you show the handle, in gear, spinning so free with no resistance.Some of my best casting reels ( 50e) i have wont even make three revolutions

around as i like to use heavier grease on my gears cause of the feel of it not being so free and having some resistance. My question is, am i loosing performance from using heavier grease, cause i like the feel? Or are you just bench testing with everything backed of in the video?

One of the reasons for doing a full clean and re grease/oil is because the factory is known to use too much and it costs you performance. So by using a thicker grease I would say you are basically doing the same thing. To answer your question,yes. That's my thoughts on it from a mechanical stand point.

[Preytorien]

Well, my reel clean didn't give the results I thought it would.

 

I didn't manage to lose any parts or anything, I was very, very careful.

 

I cleaned the gears, the pinion, and the worm gear in Simple Green. I soaked the bearings for ~15minutes a piece in acetone. Then soaked them in 70% alcohol for about 10 minutes. Then lubed them with the oil that came with my Curado. I re-lubed the gears and worm gear with grease, nothing heavy. Cleaned the brake tracks (didn't oil them). I cleaned the inside of the worm gear with a q-tip with most of the cotton pulled off, it's sparkly clean.

 

It seems to behave just the exact same as it did before. Maybe just a smidge better. But nothing to jump up and down about.

 

Maybe I won't notice a huge improvement. This is a brand new reel. I don't have a rod for it yet, and it's never even been spooled with line.

 

Anything you might see I'm missing?

[Hi Salenity]

It depends on what your expectations are. Have you checked the free spool? Press the button and thumb the spool. That is what affects the casting distance... If you flushed and properly oiled it the free spool should be allot better.

I have a Core50 I cleaned a couple years ago and it still spins fast when you turn the handle but it doesn't have enough lube in it for me because it's not buttery smooth.

[Preytorien]

Yea, it spins a bit more, but nothing like in Francho's video

 

Maybe that's setting the bar high.

 

Either way, it's nice and clean now. It didn't really have all the "packed grease" like I keep hearing, it was actually quite clean inside.

 

I love the reel, and I'm very excited that it's in my arsenal, so I am pretty satisfied with the way it works out of the box. I was just hoping I could get a bit better freespool.

[rippin-lips]

Not to burst anyone's bubble but the free spool of a reel doesn't matter. Set your brakes and spool tension on what they'd normally be on when fishing,then check your free spool. Tell me how fast it is.... Unless you are extremely good with your thumb and use no brakes and little spool tension,free spool is a mute point.

PSN81 - what reel did you clean up? It's 50/50 on grease vs oil on the worm gear but grease WILL slow it down vs oil and it also attracts debris.

My lexa got better but nowhere like Francho's reel but it's also 2 reels on different price levels. Now my Steez is just like his video. Just keep that in mind too. Maybe try one of your better reels now.

[Preytorien]

When I have the spool tension knob where I'd likely have it, the drag set where I'd like it, and the brakes where I'd like it.....

 

The freespool isn't too great.

 

Let me ask you this....

 

When I soaked the bearings, the water didn't look dirty...at all. Granted these are brand new bearings. Shimano A-RB bearings. Do I need to disassemble them from the races and such, or just simply plop them in acetone/degreaser?

 

Additionally, I don't have any other oil other than the oil that came with this reel. Francho recommended it. Would be equally as well off to use Reel Butter or something else I have lying around?

 

You mention using oil, rather than grease, on the gears? Will that wear off quickly or anything? I was using a medium viscosity marine grease, as I figured it'd be good for keeping parts exposed to water working well. I use it a lot on more static parts of the bikes I build.

 

Thanks in advance for the help, I'm pretty much relying on you guys for the direction on this! Fingers crossed!

[rippin-lips]

When I have the spool tension knob where I'd likely have it, the drag set where I'd like it, and the brakes where I'd like it.....

The freespool isn't too great.

Let me ask you this....

When I soaked the bearings, the water didn't look dirty...at all. Granted these are brand new bearings. Shimano A-RB bearings. Do I need to disassemble them from the races and such, or just simply plop them in acetone/degreaser?

Additionally, I don't have any other oil other than the oil that came with this reel. Francho recommended it. Would be equally as well off to use Reel Butter or something else I have lying around?

You mention using oil, rather than grease, on the gears? Will that wear off quickly or anything? I was using a medium viscosity marine grease, as I figured it'd be good for keeping parts exposed to water working well. I use it a lot on more static parts of the bikes I build.

Thanks in advance for the help, I'm pretty much relying on you guys for the direction on this! Fingers crossed!

I just soak all my bearings. Swishing them in the jar from time to time in degreaser. Sometimes I use brake cleaner because it'll break down anything. I'll pull them out and spin them on the end of a pencil. You should be able to tell if they're clean. Noticeably louder and spin very well. That oil is fine but use lightly. 1 drop is all you need. THE WORM GEAR ONLY is what I use oil on and not grease - not gears in general. Any gears inside the reel get grease. Just enough to get in the teeth about 1/2 - 3/4 around depending on how big the gear is. I then spin the reel a bunch and wipe away anything that is extra. I use reel butter grease but there have been numerous brands mentioned. For oil I use boca lightning oil but again you have many choices. Watch those YouTube videos again if you have to. The 2nd and 3rd go over re lubing the reel.

[Preytorien]

A couple of updates....

 

I soaked the bearings in acetone, then alcohol, then dried, then used Reel Butter. I used a very minimal amount of grease, but enough to keep it from being noisy, and I used the Reel Butter on the pinion gear.

 

It's a pretty noticeable difference. I'm not sure which application made the most difference, the Reel Butter, or the fact that I soaked the bearings for much longer, using less grease, cleaning everything a bit more thoroughly, or just a combination of them all. Either way, it's quite a bit better, and now the inside is even cleaner than it already was. Thanks for the help guys, I'm very happy with the results this time around.

 

Also, I tried with another reel of mine the test of using a wax-based dry lubricant. While the concept is good, the application of it is in need of some refining. It's not easy to get enough in the gear teeth without also getting it all over the rest of the gear. I didn't attempt it with bearings. The area though where it actually did very well is the line guide bar and it's worm drive. Those are elementally exposed pieces, so the dry lube seems to do a good job of not caking, but yet it provides good friction reduction. However, as I mentioned in a post prior, I wanted to see how cleanup was. Using acetone as a solvent, it cleanly and quickly broke down and removed the wax-lube. I'm sure gasoline, lighter fluid, Purple Power, or Simple Green would do the exact same. So I'd say on those two parts it's pretty useful, as for the rest of the reel, I'd probably stick to the tried-and-true grease/oil applications.

[J Francho]

Good report.  The worm drive was actually a place where I figured the wax might be a good place.  I'll try some on my own reels.  Currently, a dip in ATF, wiping off the excess, and installing has been working like a charm.

[ClackerBuzz]

Mike@DVT gave me a great tip i enjoyed this year. i said i was worried about doing damage while removing the spool bearing so i'd probably buy the special pliers. he said i didn't have to remove it but could fill a small vertical container with acetone to soak it while on spool.  i use a Shapie marker cap and just soak for 2 min, spin..repeat a few times.  works like a charm. i even found a small clear cap and you can see the dirt and oil plane as day. tks Mike.

(per his warning acetone can damage ur line so cover it well with tape etc. i tape my braid and make sure not to spin the bearing like superman and it works great. but i would cover it extra well if i had very expensive fluoro on spool)

[rippin-lips]

Yeah I've done that before but investing $35 in the hedgehog studios spool pin tool is one of the best purchases I've made. It makes life a lot easier if you are doing this to multiple reels a few times a year.