Baitcast Reel Maintenance

[Joe_w1234]

I’ve had my first real bait caster for almost a year now. I was wondering if there is something I should do over the off season to keep it in good working condition. It did come with a little bottle of oil or something but didn’t say how to use it. Any tips would be appreciated thank you! 
 

Edit: it is a Shimano SLX

[MN Fisher]

Shimano Basic reel maintenance - right from a Shimano Factory repair guy.

 

 

[GTN-NY]

We’re suppose to do maintenance on these lol. 

I’ve got 4 Shimano Curado 201’s from the 90’s that still spin so smooth

[Bluebasser86]

Send it to be professionally serviced if you're down for the winter. Learning how to service a reel on your only baitcaster is a recipe for disaster.

[GreenPig]

Watch some videos, get the SLX schematic, get the correct size screw driver and wrench, and get to it. Go slow and take pics with your phone as you go. Worst case scenario is you have to send it to a pro in a ziplock bag. I broke my SLX down before I ever cast it and cleaned the (10w30)? oil out of the bearings and lubricated them with thinner oil. I service a 100 to 150 reels a year and until I tackled the first one I'd never opened one up. Servicing is easier and cheaper than fixing a reel.

[JediAmoeba]

It really isn't hard to service your reels but make sure you have the proper tools.  They don't have to be expensive tools but make sure they are the proper size.

 

All you need is small set of screwdrivers, small wrenches, offset tweezers, pick, q-tips and brushes(old toothbrush and pipe cleaners).  After that you need a cleaning solution(alcohol or acetone), reel grease and reel oil.  Sometimes you need a pin or needle to get the bearing covers off but usually the small pick works well for me. 

 

It's amazing how cleaning and oiling bearings can make them hum.  I have discovered a few bad bearings while cleaning my reels but those are easy to order and replace.  

[OnthePotomac]

I was indeed fortunate in that when I got into bass fishing 19 years ago upon retirement I had a friend who did reels like DVT and taught me the ins and out of proper reel maintenance and now it is like therapy for me every January as I knock out a couple a day as I wade through my 13 Shimanos of various types. I am not speedy, but through.  Even if one has not been used much during the year I still go through the whole drill on it.  Modifications to what I do have evolved over the years from tips learned from others.  For instance, I do not grease pinion, or drive shaft bearings anymore, but instead soak them in TSI301 and I learned that from Alan Tani, the salt water guru.

[Joe_w1234]

8 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Send it to be professionally serviced if you're down for the winter. Learning how to service a reel on your only baitcaster is a recipe for disaster.

I agree. Any idea how to find out who to send it to?

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, Sweet Tater Pie said:

I agree. Any idea how to find out who to send it to?

If you're going to ship it off...only one place to send it. @Delaware Valley Tackle

[MassYak85]

I agree with others that if it's your only reel send it out. What I did was as I got newer reels I started learning to clean mine by tearing apart the old ones. It's not particularly hard but you need the right tools and there's small parts you gotta keep track of. 

[Bluebasser86]

30 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

If you're going to ship it off...only one place to send it. @Delaware Valley Tackle

DVT does good work and is reasonable.

[swhit140]

I service my own reels and it isn't that hard of a job. I usually only do a full tear down service every other year.  If you haven't had it very long I would just clean the body of the reel with a clean damp cloth, add a drop of oil in the bearings that are accessible and clean the grease off the worm gear with a q-tip and add a couple small dabs of Cal's reel grease. If you have no experience of servicing a reel or mechanic skills I would send it out for service.

[The Maestro]

I don't think a complete tear down is really necessary. Some guys probably do it because they just enjoy taking stuff apart but I've always maintained my reels by just opening them up and cleaning the gears with methanol and a tooth brush. Cleaning any excess grease from the inside and applying a small amount of fresh grease to the main gear and a tiny drop of oil in a few spots. I learned from the Shimano video a few posts up.