Did I blow out my reel?

[IgotWood]

I have a Lews Speed Spool Pro G about three years old. I've put plenty of hours on this reel, but I've also maintained it well. Anyhow, I set the hook on a big fish the other day and the drag slipped and made a horrible grinding sound. While fighting the fish, it seemed the reel had almost no drag at all. Once the ordeal was over I checked the drag setting. It was tight. I tried to pull some line off the reel by hand, and it felt like the drag was set properly. Set the hook on another fish and the same thing happened. The reel seems to function as it should, except on the hook-set. Can I fix this? Or should I use it as a paperweight?

[burrows]

It’s worth fixing.

[FishTank]

My guess.... One way roller clutch (aka anti-reverse bearing) is toast. 

[Beetlebz]

Dry drag disc? that can cause inconsistent performance. That, or there is a totally blown bearing on the opinion of the end of the spool shaft causing just enough play for the gears to slip, but you would see other symptoms in that case. I'd say your drag needs some serious attention. My money is that some new drag discs and a little grease and you'll be in business. 

[iabass8]

Sounds like the AR went out. 

[Beetlebz]

If the AR went out the handle would be spinning backwards. If the spool is slipping independently from the drive train, it's the drag. 

[jbrew73]

40 minutes ago, Beetlebz said:

If the AR went out the handle would be spinning backwards. If the spool is slipping independently from the drive train, it's the drag. 

This.

 

it could be some oil has gotten on the drag or if it is grinding it’s probably an issue with the pinion gear and spool pin.

[Sam]

Sent PM.

[FishTank]

15 hours ago, IgotWood said:

I have a Lews Speed Spool Pro G about three years old. I've put plenty of hours on this reel, but I've also maintained it well. Anyhow, I set the hook on a big fish the other day and the drag slipped and made a horrible grinding sound. While fighting the fish, it seemed the reel had almost no drag at all. Once the ordeal was over I checked the drag setting. It was tight. I tried to pull some line off the reel by hand, and it felt like the drag was set properly. Set the hook on another fish and the same thing happened. The reel seems to function as it should, except on the hook-set. Can I fix this? Or should I use it as a paperweight?

Is it anything like this?

 

http://www.tackletour.com/articlebearings301pg4.html

[iabass8]

2 hours ago, Beetlebz said:

If the AR went out the handle would be spinning backwards. If the spool is slipping independently from the drive train, it's the drag. 

If the AR went completely out, yes. If the AR is failing, over oiled, over greased, or has sleeves missing, the symptoms he is experiencing are what happens when the prior happens. The clutch sleeve won't seat properly and will cause misalignment in pretty much everything that needs tolerances to function correctly. Aside from a select few, drag in a casting reel isn't audible. If putting pressure on the drag stack causes a grinding noise, there's something wrong internally. 

[JustJames]

You can try to jerk the line out hard and quick not pull. If AR is bad you would see the line come out with no drag. 

[Beetlebz]

25 minutes ago, iabass8 said:

If the AR went completely out, yes. If the AR is failing, over oiled, over greased, or has sleeves missing, the symptoms he is experiencing are what happens when the prior happens. The clutch sleeve won't seat properly and will cause misalignment in pretty much everything that needs tolerances to function correctly. Aside from a select few, drag in a casting reel isn't audible. If putting pressure on the drag stack causes a grinding noise, there's something wrong internally. 

Sorry man I'm not seeing it. If the spool is moving independently of the drive train it's the pinion skipping on the main gear or the drag. The drag is the easiest and cheapest thing to trouble shoot... if its noisey though I'm leaning towards gears now that I think about it. Still, if it's a bad bearing causing the clearance issue it might be fixable without replacing one gear or both. Here's hoping. 

 

 

[iabass8]

14 minutes ago, Beetlebz said:

Sorry man I'm not seeing it. If the spool is moving independently of the drive train it's the pinion skipping on the main gear or the drag. The drag is the easiest and cheapest thing to trouble shoot... if its noisey though I'm leaning towards gears now that I think about it. Still, if it's a bad bearing causing the clearance issue it might be fixable without replacing one gear or both. Here's hoping. 

 

 

The AR is made up of independent rollers. These rollers are very tempermental to over greasing and/or oiling as well as premature failure. The rollers themselves hold a one way clutch sleeve in place to prevent what the OP is describing from happening. If the rollers stick, fail, failout, etc, this tolerance reliable system will do a lot of things that make people think its a drag stack or a bad bearing. When you set the hook, you’re putting pressure on the drag which puts pressure on the clutch sleeve. If the tolerances aren’t there, internals will slip and grind. I’ve replaced them for a few people. Could it be gears? Sure. Could also be a bent spool shaft, sheered spool spin, clutch cam, clutch spring, and the list goes on. Theres a lot of things that could cause a reel to grind on a hookset.

[IgotWood]

Well darn. I sure do appreciate all the feedback. I’m not really excited to open the reel up. One of the guys here suggested someone close by who fixes them. I’ll probabky take it to him. 

[jbrew73]

We’re you able to get the reel fixed?

[J Francho]

Is there any possibility you are half pressing the thumb bar when setting the hook?

[CrankFate]

I don’t know the reel and could only find the Speed Pro “Z” schematic, but I’ve seen this problem before. The only times I’ve seen it happen was either with grease in the anti reverse, and before anti reverses were everywhere, this would happen when the drag stack is misaligned, especially when the washer with the ears is misaligned or it could happen if the two springs on the pinion yoke are misaligned or caught on the screws or if they are damaged and cant provide the proper amount of tension for the sideplate. See parts 47 and 41 in the schematic.  All of these are an easy fix.

 

I am sure Alan Tani recommends tightening the drag all the way when reassembling the reel is because this will ensure proper alignment when putting everything back together.

 

On $15 plastic Chinese reels, this happens sometimes and can’t be fixed because of bad tolerances or springs that are too soft or sideplate screws that screw into the plastic that get over tightened and cause the reel to not seal tightly enough, throwing the tension off. 

 

Sometimes, in rare cases, because they’re not usually easy to access, it’s the parts numbered 34 and 36. These are a pain to properly align. But it can be done if they pop out.

 

Sounds very fixable (as long as it’s not overtightened sideplate screws) good luck.