Bearing Replacement and Greasing

[shimmy]

I have never replaced my bearings. I have thought about doing so on a few reels. I am looking for a couple things here.

 

1. What are good bearing replacements? Not looking for ceramic since I don't want the noise

 

2. For my Shimano Chronarch CHMGL 151XG, how do I tell what size they are? I can find the actual replacement bearings, but was wondering how I find out their size. I was looking on Smooth Drag and struggled to know what my bearing dimensions were. When it lists 3x10x4 on the size, which one is the distance in the middle hole? This guy lacks experience and wouldn't mind an edumacation on this.   

 

3. Anyone ever grease their tension knob bearing and side plate bearing? If so, any good tool recommendations to do so? Several reels I have have a metal shield and I am not taking that puppy off. I prefer silence on my reels and would rather grease them than oil them. Not talking about the spool bearing though. 

 

Thanks!

 

Shimmy

[bulldog1935]

3x10x4 is 3-mm ID, 10-mm OD, 4-mm thick.  

My thought is spool bearings should be light and low-inertia, lubed with the lightest oil, and I prefer un-shielded so I can pick my own oil.  

 

Tension-cap bearing - my Lew's Super Duty get an HD un-shielded bearing in the cap, though this bearing doesn't normally spin during casting.  Note that newer reels with pinion support bearing usually don't have a cap bearing.  Palm plate bearing is a spool bearing, and I want racy.  

 

Drive bearings should be shielded and factory grease is good.  You can probably search many references on the forum for cleaning and re-greasing shielded bearings.  

I bet if you contact HPRbearings, he can probably put a bearing kit together for your reel.  

[The Bassman]

Take it from someone who has played the spool bearing game. You don't need new ones. Shimano bearings are more than adequate. Never grease spool bearings. Just soak them in solvent (I use mineral spirits) and then oil. TSI 321 has been my go to for a long time. Many others are fine too. Bearings get way overthought.

[mrpao]

15 minutes ago, The Bassman said:

Take it from someone who has played the spool bearing game. You don't need new ones. Shimano bearings are more than adequate. Never grease spool bearings. Just soak them in solvent (I use mineral spirits) and then oil. TSI 321 has been my go to for a long time. Many others are fine too. Bearings get way overthought.

I agree completely.

If there is nothing wrong with your bearings, just clean them, blow them dry and oil them with a good light oil.

I have done the bearing game myself and tried many brands. Not really worth the investment. But to each their own.

Now, I just use the stock bearings. 

[bulldog1935]

In my distance casting trials from surf to BFS, spool bearings are something you can control to reduce inertia, which affects both backlash and distance.  

Reduced inertia = lower force to start and stop.  

Daiwa buys into it enough that they improve their spool bearings, even on large-capacity spools, with micro-races, micro-balls, and lightweight OD spacers.  

        

[ike8120]

I have used Rorolures Micro bearings and Spoolspeed Bearings.  You can pull the bearings clean with acetone  dry them and oil a drop or two of bearing oil. Ceramic bearings really don't need any oil.

[Bankc]

If you use any pressure on the spool tension knob, you don't need new bearings.  You're already not taking full advantage of the bearings you have, and likely won't gain anything from new bearings.  
 

Also, always use a light oil for reel bearings, especially spool bearings.  Grease is good for car bearings and other applications where they're under high stress and heat.  Oil is better when you need low friction and high speeds and acceleration.  Grease will slow a bearing down.  Even too much oil will slow bearings down.  Best you can do is make sure they're clean and use just enough oil to make them shine.

[jimmyjoe]

22 minutes ago, Bankc said:

If you use any pressure on the spool tension knob, you don't need new bearings.  You're already not taking full advantage of the bearings you have

 

   This is often overlooked by fishermen. If you can't drive over 75 mph, why have a Ferrari?    jj

[CrankFate]

I response to 3 in the OP - I tried greasing bearings recently. Didn’t like it much. The reels were smooth, but had resistance to them. I prefer everything moving fast. I don’t think any bearings should be greased. What I think works better with nonspool bearings is lightly greasing the slot it slips into, but not the actual bearing.

[NOC 1]

On 6/13/2021 at 4:35 PM, CrankFate said:

I response to 3 in the OP - I tried greasing bearings recently. Didn’t like it much. The reels were smooth, but had resistance to them. I prefer everything moving fast. I don’t think any bearings should be greased. What I think works better with nonspool bearings is lightly greasing the slot it slips into, but not the actual bearing.

Personally, I see no use to grease at all in a fishing reel except for a light coating on the drive and pinion gear faces (only because oil will sling off) and maybe a tiny bit of the drag washers if you prefer smooth over maximum power. There are no forces at work in a fishing reel that require grease. 

 

The biggest effects grease has in a reel as far as I can see is that it collects abrasive material like dirt, slows down the working parts (especially when it's cold) and makes somewhat of a mess inside your reel when it's hot. Again except on the gear faces where it might help the gears break in a little smoother. TSI 321 is better in all other cases. ...IMO

[bulldog1935]

On 6/13/2021 at 6:25 AM, ike8120 said:

I have used Rorolures Micro bearings and Spoolspeed Bearings.  You can pull the bearings clean with acetone  dry them and oil a drop or two of bearing oil. Ceramic bearings really don't need any oil.

 

Not only does Roro make a Great BFS spool and bearings, they have the best deal out there on a do-everything pin-remover tool

[papajoe222]

In response to the OP's first question, there are a number of good fishing reel bearing suppliers out there and most of them, like Boca, list spool bearings by both size and reel. The have bearing kits for many popular reels.  A quality ABE7 bearing is fairly inexpensive and replacing spool bearings is a simple task. Just be careful not to loose the retaining clip for the bearing in the side plate.  They have a history of flying off into nomans land never to be seen again.  I keep extras on hand even though I take precautions when removing them.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Shimano use some of the best stock bearings. Flush them and keep them lightly oiled and they’ll make perform as well as anything and last as well. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

35 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Shimano use some of the best stock bearings. Flush them and keep them lightly oiled and they’ll make perform as well as anything and last as well. 

This list sounds like Borat talking but you get the idea. lol 

[MN Fisher]

Just now, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

This list sounds like Borat talking but you get the idea. lol 

I think you need to take a nap, Mike.

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

This list sounds like Borat talking but you get the idea. lol 

Number 4 bearing in whole country. VERY NICE!

[J Francho]

Unless they're toasted, I'd be hard pressed to try an upgrade. Either strip the reel down yourself, flush the bearings and rebuild, or have Mike do it. He makes a good sauce.