Please help a semi-newbie, I think I messed up my new Lew's baitcaster

[Dash Riprock]

Hi guys - bought a Lew's Tournament Pro at one of the Black Friday deals and there was a flyer in the box that said I was supposed to put a drop of oil on various components, one of which was the cast control cap. I took off the handle and the star drag to get easier access to the cast control cap, but I went no further than that. I did not touch the drag washers or anything beyond the star.

 

After I put everything back together, the reel will not re-engage the thumb release - I have to manually push it up. What did I do wrong? Can this be fixed or do I need to return it?

[Dash Riprock]

Well never mind. I took it apart and reassembled and now it's working again. Weird.

 

[bulldog1935]

Probably, your star drag was too loose - I fish mine inshore and work them over frequently.    

You bought a sweet reel.  

I think every thread should have a photo - here's mine with the inexpensive but nifty EVA knobs from Ukraine.  Just finished rebuilding it with new spool bearings, new line and, especially a good cleaning.  

Since it spends some time as backup in a kayak lap hatch, also got it a Pelican box

Lew's and I go back to BB1-N, fished a BB-25SW for a long time before retiring it.  Now I have four, two LFS, Super Duty G and the reel above;  two BPS, Custom Inshore and a new SP.  

The reel above and the SP both have S2 pinion, and it does make for a stronger drive.  Also, the drive side pinion bearing isn't involved with the spool, so you can put low-inertia bearings on the spool and keep a stronger shielded bearing on the drive.  Of the four I own, Custom Inshore is my least favorite, doesn't seem as strong as the others, and doesn't lay line evenly across spool width - like it needs a spool shim.    

________________________________________________________

 

Seriously Dash, you probably hadn't turned the drag star far enough to allow drag washers to overcome the freespool latch friction, and drag was letting the handle turn free.  I've noticed, in particular when I didn't have a spool in the frame, it's a really strange feeling when you push up on the thumb-bar and the drive engages in reverse.  If you took it down far enough to remove the thumb bar, you have to get the thumb bar aligned in its slots in the clutch plates, but I don't think you were there

[Dash Riprock]

Yes, I think it had something to do with the drag, although I'm not quite sure what. Hopefully it's fixed now - looking forward to trying it out on the water. 

[Catt]

10 hours ago, Dash Riprock said:

After I put everything back together, the reel will not re-engage the thumb release - I have to manually push it up

 

@Delaware Valley Tackle can verify this ?

 

If the thumb bar is in the down position on reassemble this will be the result.

[Dash Riprock]

13 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

Seriously Dash, you probably hadn't turned the drag star far enough to allow drag washers to overcome the freespool latch friction, and drag was letting the handle turn free.  I've noticed, in particular when I didn't have a spool in the frame, it's a really strange feeling when you push up on the thumb-bar and the drive engages in reverse.  If you took it down far enough to remove the thumb bar, you have to get the thumb bar aligned in its slots in the clutch plates, but I don't think you were there

 

Right, I didn't take it down nearly that far. Not ready for that yet. I'm not completely ignorant of this stuff, I disassembled and cleaned an old Penn Peerless #9 last summer, but that doesn't seem anywhere near as complex as this Lew's. 

 

Yes, I had the spool out when I removed the handle.

 

 

5 hours ago, Catt said:

 

@Delaware Valley Tackle can verify this ?

 

If the thumb bar is in the down position on reassemble this will be the result.

 

 

Ah ha!  Now that you mention it I'm pretty sure it was down, and I probably had pushed it up when I reassembled the second time because I was flipping it back and forth trying to figure out the problem. Thanks! 

[Terran Elam]

 I bought my Tournament Pro about six years ago. Used. A plain Jane compared to the newer ones. 

 

 I loosened the drag too much, the cap came off and fell in the water. Duh!

 I contacted Lew’s and they mailed me another one free of charge. I can’t complain about the reel or the company. 

[Dash Riprock]

11 hours ago, Catt said:

 

@Delaware Valley Tackle can verify this ?

 

If the thumb bar is in the down position on reassemble this will be the result.

 Is this the case for all baitcasters or just certain ones?

[Catt]

26 minutes ago, Dash Riprock said:

 Is this the case for all baitcasters or just certain ones?

 

All of em ?

 

[Dash Riprock]

So I have a related question that I can't seem to find a straight answer for, hoping somebody can advise.

 

I bought a Daiwa Tatula CT on the Tackle Warehouse 25 days of Christmas sale. Don't ask me why, it just seemed like a good deal I guess and I hear good things about Daiwa. Unlike the Lew's reel, there was nothing in the box or the manual that said to lubricate the bearings. I understand that at some point I will need to break open the reel and clean/lube, but is it necessary to do this to a brand new reel, or is this just something that Lew's recommends for theirs?

 

What I learned from Googling seems to be that reel bearings come from the factory with some amount of grease already packed into them, on the assumption that most people won't bother to oil a brand new reel. However, for various reasons grease is not the ideal lubrication for bearings, oil is better, so at some point you need to remove the grease and put in a drop of oil. Is that correct?

 

Bottom line - do I need to take apart any new reel and oil the bearings? Or is this more of a "it's a good idea but you don't necessarily have to do it right away. It can wait until later." 

 

Thanks!

 

 

[kdubracing]

I usually open all of my new reels just to see if they are dry, too much grease, etc. I have recently bought a Tatula CT and an SV TW, and both of those were pretty dry. With the Tatula CT, I would recommend opening it up and adding oil to the bearings and likely some grease to the gears. It seems Daiwa baitcasters are notoriously dry when new.

[Dash Riprock]

On 12/26/2020 at 10:35 AM, kdubracing said:

I usually open all of my new reels just to see if they are dry, too much grease, etc. I have recently bought a Tatula CT and an SV TW, and both of those were pretty dry. With the Tatula CT, I would recommend opening it up and adding oil to the bearings and likely some grease to the gears. It seems Daiwa baitcasters are notoriously dry when new.

 

You've convinced me to go ahead and do this. I've researched as much as I could find on-line and watched a couple or three YouTube videos but I still a bit confused about what to do with the bearings.

 

I understand that the idea is to clean out the factory grease and replace it with a bit of oil, but I see some people cleaning bearings by soaking the whole thing in a solvent without taking off the shields. It seems like that would never get the grease or the solvent completely out. Am I missing something? Don't you have to take off the shields to do this right? 

 

Thanks for your help!

 

[kdubracing]

50 minutes ago, Dash Riprock said:

 

You've convinced me to go ahead and do this. I've researched as much as I could find on-line and watched a couple or three YouTube videos but I still a bit confused about what to do with the bearings.

 

I understand that the idea is to clean out the factory grease and replace it with a bit of oil, but I see some people cleaning bearings by soaking the whole thing in a solvent without taking off the shields. It seems like that would never get the grease or the solvent completely out. Am I missing something? Don't you have to take off the shields to do this right? 

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Others may be different than me, but for a new reel, I don't clean anything out. I just add a drop of oil to each bearing and lightly add some grease to the gears if they look pretty dry. Cleaning a used reel is a different story. Then I remove the parts and clean them off. Solvent will dry if you let it sit for a little while.