Fix for grindy, sticky reel

[mj6700]

I have a Shimano Sahara 2500 that has gone through several long seasons of fishing from shore.

 

The reel performs horribly right now when pulling in any weight whatsoever- it feels sticky and grindy at the same time, taking more torque than should be necessary to turn the handle.

 

With the line in the line keeper on the spool (i.e. not actually reeling anything in), however, it still seems to spin quite smoothly. Yet when I run the line through some rod guides and attach a small sinker, it feels terrible again.

 

I disassembled the whole unit, wiped out and regreased the gears, relubricated bearings, and reassembled the reel, but the performance of the reel was not improved.

 

I recognize that this is not a high ticket reel and it's probably due for a replacement, but any theories as to what's gone wrong with it? If some of the gearing has gone bad, would I only be able to recognize that problem once I'm actually reeling against some resistance? Even if I can't fix the reel, I'm frustrated that I can't figure out why the performance has become so bad. Thanks for any ideas.

[roadwarrior]

I would send it to Mike at Delaware Valley Tackle.

 

http://www.delawarevalleytackle.com/

[garroyo130]

Sounds like an issue with the line roller bearing. Unscrew it, clean it, and oil it.

[Jigfishn10]

3 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

I would send it to Mike at Delaware Valley Tackle.

 

http://www.delawarevalleytackle.com/

Can't agree more

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, garroyo130 said:

Sounds like an issue with the line roller bearing. Unscrew it, clean it, and oil it.

Except the Sahara's don't have a bearing under the line roller - it's a bushing.

[JustJames]

Check the o-ring under rotor that might need to be replaced. It’s well known problem of Shimano where binding happen. You can just leave it off and see if it improves when spin the handle.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Hard to say without seeing it. Send it in if you’d like. Leave line on do I can put a load on it. 

[mj6700]

Sorry to get back to this thread so late.

 

I did try pulling the friction ring from under the rotor, but that made no difference. And during this process, with the rotor and roller clutch removed from the reel, I held the pinion bearing in place by its outside edge and cranked the reel- still horrible sticking and grinding.

 

Seems the only reason the reel was spinning somewhat smoothly without a load had to do with having the mass/momentum of the spinning rotor attached.

 

My assumption is that something is wrong with some of the gears themselves. This reel has spent some significant time in rod holders on sandy river shorelines. I gave a good effort at cleaning and regreasing those gears when I disassembled and reassembled earlier. I'd love to let an expert take a crack at it, but I don't think it makes sense to spend 50 or so bucks shipping and attempting to repair an 80 dollar reel that's six or seven years old.

 

Thanks all, and let me know if you have any other ideas before I send this reel to the graveyard. In any case, it did serve me well.

[garroyo130]

Spinning reels are hard to work on. Sometimes they shim the gear with spacers that don't even appear in the schematic. One shim off and you'll experience something similar to what you're describing. 

[JustJames]

I got almost the same but not quite bad with Ci4 (2500F). It is still smooth but a little bit too much resistance when start cranking the handle (not when playing with fish). The last cleaning I added as little grease as I can to get it going. It feel a little bit better and I decided to retire the reel for catfish instead.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

7 hours ago, mj6700 said:

Sorry to get back to this thread so late.

 

I did try pulling the friction ring from under the rotor, but that made no difference. And during this process, with the rotor and roller clutch removed from the reel, I held the pinion bearing in place by its outside edge and cranked the reel- still horrible sticking and grinding.

 

Seems the only reason the reel was spinning somewhat smoothly without a load had to do with having the mass/momentum of the spinning rotor attached.

 

My assumption is that something is wrong with some of the gears themselves. This reel has spent some significant time in rod holders on sandy river shorelines. I gave a good effort at cleaning and regreasing those gears when I disassembled and reassembled earlier. I'd love to let an expert take a crack at it, but I don't think it makes sense to spend 50 or so bucks shipping and attempting to repair an 80 dollar reel that's six or seven years old.

 

Thanks all, and let me know if you have any other ideas before I send this reel to the graveyard. In any case, it did serve me well.

Feel free to send it in at your convenience. Contact me with any questions you have. 

[Big Hands]

All things considered, I think you have arrived at the correct conclusion. Just the price to ship a reel two ways, not to mention paying a competent person fairly to repair it, gets you pretty close to owning a new reel that hasn't spent years along a sandy river bank. 

 

Thank it for it's service and move.

[Brian14]

If the Sahara's haven't changed too much then an option would be to buy another one and keep this one for parts.  As others mentioned the money saved from attempting to repair it gets you into a new reel.

[Dinger0306]

I have the EXACT same issue with a Shimano Sienna. With no weight or little weight, it reels smoothly - with the resistance of a lure in the water it’s sticky. Sticks every time you start and stop reeling and has too much resistance the rest of the time. 
 

Used mine in sandy areas too. 

[casts_by_fly]

I used my sahara 4000 as a steelhead and salmon reel for years without issue.  I fished it for bass and trout some also.  Then I took it to the beach and stuck it on a lighter surf rod.  Over 2 weeks it got dunked a time or two and towards the end of the trip is basically quit working.  I even rinsed it well daily (dunk in the pool to flush out salt and sand, rinse with freshwater to remove pool water).  Brought it home, took it apart and there was sand everywhere inside.  I used degreaser and pulled it down to parts.  Every bit of sand and crust was removed.  Things were starting to work again (the anti reverse bearing being one thing).  The drag is pretty smooth.  But the reel just isn't the same.  The Sahara isn't designed for sand.  There is a combination of plastic and cheaper metals inside that just don't hold up.  Sand is one of the hardest minerals on earth and it does a number of metals let alone plastics.  Functionally the reel works and I'll use it when I'm not steadily casting and reeling.  But it was a $60 reel 15 years ago so...