Is tension knob bearing supposed to spin

[Largemouth21]

I noticed the tension knob bearing on my baitcaster doesn’t spin or even move when the little shaft inside it moves... is this supposed to happen? What exactly does this bearing do. I am trying to trouble shoot a whining noise coming from my reel and when I take the tension cap all the way off the noise stops. This video shows what I mean

[Beetlebz]

That's definitely a possibility....  no video came through with your post though. Can you describe the noise and when it happens?

[kenmitch]

The bearing should spin. Did you pop it out yet and see if it'll spin by hand? The bearing supports the end of the spool shaft and should spin freely. Never tried to see if mine spins without the tension knob on but my reels don't really make any noises anyways.

[Largemouth21]

It won’t let me upload a video but the grinding only happens when the tension knob is mostly cranked down.  

I included a sound recording of the noise. When I loosen or remove the knob the noise is pretty much gone. 

Reel Noise.m4a

It won’t let me upload a video but the grinding only happens when the tension knob is mostly cranked down.  

I included a sound recording of the noise. When I loosen or remove the knob the noise is pretty much gone. 

Also keep in mind I put my phones microphone right next to the reel. It’s not really that loud when held in a normal fishing position...

[jbrew73]

What reel is it? Some spool shafts are smaller than the  bearing and the bearing doesn’t spin.

[kenmitch]

Was that noise while cranking or casting? How tight are you tightening the knob? Are you sure the noise is coming from the bearing at the tension knob? Tightening the knob would put more tension on the other side of the spool so it's possible that there may be an issue on the other side. Have you taken out your spool and made sure that the edges are clean and the bearing are lubed?

[Largemouth21]

6 minutes ago, jbrew73 said:

What reel is it? Some spool shafts are smaller than the  bearing and the bearing doesn’t spin.

Pro max, it’s a cheap reel so it’s not super worrisome. The shaft is most definitely smaller

6 minutes ago, kenmitch said:

Was that noise while cranking or casting? How tight are you tightening the knob? Are you sure the noise is coming from the bearing at the tension knob? Tightening the knob would put more tension on the other side of the spool so it's possible that there may be an issue on the other side. Have you taken out your spool and made sure that the edges are clean and the bearing are lubed?

Cranking, the knob is being tightened a lot because I was fishing a pretty heavy lure, a 1/4 oz swimjig plus a 3.8 inch keitech trailer...

the spool shaft looks ok but I can wipe it down to make sure it’s clean. The bearings are fine I think. they still have the factory grease. I haven’t used this reel a lot as I have just gotten half decent with my baitcaster... and I’m not 100% sure where the noise is from but it seemed like it was from the tension knob somewhere

[Largemouth21]

Update I might have found where the noise is coming from...

i think it’s from this little gold gear because when I leave the side plate off and push the spool in by hand and hold it there and crank  reel (I was trying to see if the side plate bearing was the problem) there is the same noise but much louder and more pronounced 

[kenmitch]

Cost effective for somebody just dabbling in baitcasting is probably more fitting. There are many cheaper reels out there.

 

If you clean the spool shaft you should put a drop of oil on it before putting it back together. Might want to take a look down inside the tension cap to make sure it's also clean.

 

Maybe you need to lay off the tension and learn to use your thumb? You might be applying too much tension to make your lure fall very slowly and not let the spool spin after it hits the ground if that's the way you have it set up.

 

Sounded more like gears grinding than the bearing your thinking of. What does it sound like when your casting? I'd imagine it's the time when the bearing would make the most noise as the spool is spinning way faster than when you crank.

[JustJames]

Promax? That bearing is there for supporting spool shaft only not for casting and yes it bigger that the shaft.

Promax just like Daiwa reel on some newer Shimano reel with spool attached to shaft and another one on side plate that spin when casting.

 

[jbrew73]

That gear is unsupported when the spool is not installed and will be noisy.

 

the noise sounds like the gears are worn out.  You might lessen the noise by greasing them.

[Largemouth21]

7 minutes ago, kenmitch said:

Cost effective for somebody just dabbling in baitcasting is probably more fitting. There are many cheaper reels out there.

 

If you clean the spool shaft you should put a drop of oil on it before putting it back together. Might want to take a look down inside the tension cap to make sure it's also clean.

 

Maybe you need to lay off the tension and learn to use your thumb? You might be applying too much tension to make your lure fall very slowly and not let the spool spin after it hits the ground if that's the way you have it set up.

 

Sounded more like gears grinding than the bearing your thinking of. What does it sound like when your casting? I'd imagine it's the time when the bearing would make the most noise as the spool is spinning way faster than when you crank.

Yeah I’ve figured out it’s not the bearing, i believe it’s the pinion gear. I’m not sure how to grease it though as id rather not take everything apart. When I cast its very very quiet. As for my line tension it has to be that tight or else it will fall too quickly. 

 

6 minutes ago, jbrew73 said:

That gear is unsupported when the spool is not installed and will be noisy.

 

the noise sounds like the gears are worn out.  You might lessen the noise by greasing them.

Do I have to take everything apart to do that. The reel has had very minimal use until now and is pretty smooth. I wonder if I could take a toothpick and put some on the pinion that way or wouldn’t it work...

[jbrew73]

It should be disassembled,cleaned and lubed but if there is a removable lube port you could try a very light amount of grease directly on the main gear.

[kenmitch]

1 hour ago, Largemouth21 said:

Yeah I’ve figured out it’s not the bearing, i believe it’s the pinion gear. I’m not sure how to grease it though as id rather not take everything apart. When I cast its very very quiet. As for my line tension it has to be that tight or else it will fall too quickly. 

I'm thinking it's a combo of the reel, what your trying to throw, and your lack of thumb training that is causing the noise. It could be the gears are worn out, but you said you haven't used the reel much so I'm leaning towards my initial conclusion.

 

I'd imagine your reel can handle throwing what you said your throwing without issues. Cranking down the tension knob puts a lot of stress on the internals of the reel. More cost effective reels aren't built to the tighter tolerances nor have the higher quality components of their more expensive counterparts. I'm guessing the amount of tension your applying is in the end effecting how the gears are lining up which is causing the noise.

 

I'm leaning towards you need more practice and will have to train your thumb in order to prevent an early demise of the reel. I'm not really a tension knob adjusting kind of guy. I just adjust mine so there is no side to side spool play and go a click or two beyond that. I just use my thumb to control the backlash which seems to work best for me. I doubt I'm the only one who can feel a difference in the way the reel feels when doing it this way vs the slow falling lure way.

 

Training your thumb to minimize backlash while slowly backing off on the tension knob would most likely give you a better baitcasting experience in the end.