Brand new reel not running smoothly after first day

[Ryan N]

I bought a brand-new Abu Garcia Max X combo from their online store and was excited to fish it. I put Lucas Marine grease on the worm gear beforehand, and after a few casts, I realized how wet my reel was getting. Water droplets were everywhere; every cast would create a fine mist from the spool. I saw that the marine grease I put on the worm gear was diluted and white instead of blue. After this, I realized my drag system was messed up because it practically had zero force and was chattering when I tightened the drag. I thought this was normal for a break-in period, so I fished it more, and it has lost me many fish because of the lack of smooth drag.

 

I eventually came around to opening the reel, and I didn't see any water besides one of the bearings a bit dirty and thin. I wiped grease on all moving parts and replaced it with Lucas marine grease. The drag issue was fixed, but now my retrieve is loud. It sounds like vibrations, maybe it's the gears? I was sure to lubricate everything liberally so I'm at a loss here.

 

Could it be I used the wrong grease? Or maybe my reel is defective?

I made sure to put it back together properly, using the schematics to make sure I had everything in there and in the right place.

PARTLIST_MAX4 X(1Y0069730) (bigcontent.io)

I had the Black Max (Predecessor to this combo) and it ran perfectly. I'm not sure why this one has so many issues.

[MediumMouthBass]

I have several Black Maxes and 1 Max X, never cleaned a single one and not one has had an issue.

I did however buy the newer Vengeance reels and that drag came non existent from the factory.

On these cheaper reels quality control can be hit or miss, still great reels for the price but sometimes you might just have to exchange them or work on them.

 

If the reel was working properly before and now isnt, more then likely something might have been put back together in the wrong order or the grease.

I just did a quick google search on that grease and it doesnt look like grease made for fishing reels, that might be the issue. Try to buy a bottle of grease and oil meant for fishing reels, i like the Lucas Oil ones that were rebranded by Lews, the Super Duty ones. Affordable and sold at several places.

If that doesnt fix the issue then just try reassembling again. If that doesnt work either call Abu's customer service or send it to a reel shop. But that itself might cost more than the reel.

[casts_by_fly]

Aside from the main gear, you don’t use grease on a baitcaster. You use a light oil on bearings and moving parts and that’s it. Just a tiny amount. 
 

the best course here would be to send in to DVT for a cleaning. Alternatively start wiping out as much of the grease as you can access easily. Leave the reel in the sun or a hot car to melt the grease some more. Get it clean and be done. 

[Ryan N]

@casts_by_fly What are the main parts that need to be greased? I greased all the parts. Could you use the chart I provided, a more visual description 

[casts_by_fly]

59 minutes ago, ardeact said:

@casts_by_fly What are the main parts that need to be greased? I greased all the parts. Could you use the chart I provided, a more visual description 

36. That’s the main gear and the only part of the reel that should ever get grease. All of the bearings and other get oil 

[shackman]

16 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Aside from the main gear, you don’t use grease on a baitcaster. You use a light oil on bearings and moving parts and that’s it. Just a tiny amount. 
 

the best course here would be to send in to DVT for a cleaning. Alternatively start wiping out as much of the grease as you can access easily. Leave the reel in the sun or a hot car to melt the grease some more. Get it clean and be done. 

I’ve used a combination of oil and light grease on the worm gear for years and never even had to replace a pawl on my old Shimano’s. It works for me anyway but other than that, yes, only main drive gear gets grease 

[MickD]

I don't think the type of grease has anything to do with it.  Is it possible that it was not reassembled correctly?  

 

I don't know why people tear apart a new reel that's working properly.  I have never had a reel malfunction right out of the box.  

[Ryan N]

@MickD That's the thing, it wasn't working properly out of the box. The drag system was very sticky and chattered when giving line.

Yesterday I took apart my reel again and made a more diligent effort to grease my reel. I soaked all components that were greasy in soapy water, and only applied grease to the main gear and pinion. Metal contact points with a light coating of oil, and the brake/drag washers bone dry.

I was landing fish, and that's all that matters. I'm just a bit disappointed the reel "feels" cheaper than my Black Max.

[dodgeguy]

2 hours ago, MickD said:

I don't think the type of grease has anything to do with it.  Is it possible that it was not reassembled correctly?  

 

I don't know why people tear apart a new reel that's working properly.  I have never had a reel malfunction right out of the box.  

It really makes no sense and should void the warranty.

32 minutes ago, ardeact said:

@MickD That's the thing, it wasn't working properly out of the box. The drag system was very sticky and chattered when giving line.

Yesterday I took apart my reel again and made a more diligent effort to grease my reel. I soaked all components that were greasy in soapy water, and only applied grease to the main gear and pinion. Metal contact points with a light coating of oil, and the brake/drag washers bone dry.

I was landing fish, and that's all that matters. I'm just a bit disappointed the reel "feels" cheaper than my Black Max.

Why didn't you just warranty it ?

[Ryan N]

Warranty should still be up, and return policy as well. It’s my only baitcaster and I don’t want to be without it for 2 weeks, since it’s a send in then replace/return deal.

[Dan N]

I have never disassembled and greased a new reel .  I don’t understand why that would be needed…

I would think if you tried sending it back now it would be an issue if they looked at it and could see it has been disassembled. 
 

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, Dan N said:

I have never disassembled and greased a new reel .  I don’t understand why that would be needed. 

Some Pfluegers use to come just jam-packed with grease...or totally dry - it was a crap-shoot. Either way, it'd need basic maintenance to get it correct.

 

22 minutes ago, ardeact said:

Warranty should still be up, and return policy as well. It’s my only baitcaster and I don’t want to be without it for 2 weeks, since it’s a send in then replace/return deal.

Four choices

1: Do without it for a couple weeks while it gets 'fixed'

2: Find someone local who can do it - most tackle shops have a repair area...one of our local ones will handle any of the 'top name' brands.

3: Just deal with it

4: Toss it and get a new one (last gasp)

[MickD]

On 5/20/2024 at 12:09 AM, ardeact said:

arine grease on the worm gear beforehand,

This says the reel was disassembled and greased BEFORE it was fished.  

[cadman]

I've asked Abu in  the past about their reels with too much grease. I also told them that I clean all my own reels. They told me that the reason they put more grease on the reels is because most people will never maintain (clean) a reel. Also, if my reel is under warranty, and I open it and clean it, my warranty is null and void, because they don't know what the real problem was with the reel after it was opened. Give them a call and maybe they will help you out.

[Bigbox99]

The metal drag washer is probably deformed from the stamping process and this produces a spotty touch and go from the drag as line is taken out.  You can try lapping the metal disk on some sand paper and flat surface or just locking the drag down amd showing the fish how big you are.  That seems to be popular.

[Ryan N]

1 hour ago, MickD said:

This says the reel was disassembled and greased BEFORE it was fished.  

Only the worm gear and spool bearings, the gears haven’t seen the light of day at that time.

[ABU is overpriced]

Abu is Abu.

[Ryan N]

11 minutes ago, ABU is overpriced said:

Abu is Abu.

Bruh. I actually chose Abu over a Lews baitcaster off of “feel”, and it was less expensive 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Choosing an abu over a Lews is equivalent to choosing a Chevy over a GMC. 6/half dozen. 

[Ryan N]

1 hour ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Choosing an abu over a Lews is equivalent to choosing a Chevy over a GMC. 6/half dozen. 

I played around with both of them in hand, Black Max vs Lews Xfinity. About a 40-dollar price difference. The black max just had a buttery smooth reel and overall felt higher quality.

[MickD]

13 hours ago, ardeact said:

Only the worm gear and spool bearings, the gears haven’t seen the light of day at that time.

But the fact is that it was disassembled before any problem was detected.  I didn't say that disassembly was part of the problem, I stated that it might be.  If it had not been opened we would know without a doubt that improper disassembly and assembly were not an issue.  And the warranty issue would be clean.

[ABU is overpriced]

14 hours ago, ardeact said:

Bruh. I actually chose Abu over a Lews baitcaster off of “feel”, and it was less expensive 

I too would take it over Lews, but its not like Lews is any good to begin with. My Shimdaiwa elitism doesn't allow any other brands to get close to me.

[Ryan N]

6 hours ago, MickD said:

But the fact is that it was disassembled before any problem was detected.  I didn't say that disassembly was part of the problem, I stated that it might be.  If it had not been opened we would know without a doubt that improper disassembly and assembly were not an issue.  And the warranty issue would be clean.

I think it’s fine now. After I made a throughout attempt at greasing and oiling it, it’s behaving as usual. When in doubt, I heard Abu’s RMA is pretty good. 

53 minutes ago, ABU is overpriced said:

I too would take it over Lews, but its not like Lews is any good to begin with. My Shimdaiwa elitism doesn't allow any other brands to get close to me.

I hear those so often. Shimano, Daiwa, Curado I think. But as long as it’s not a Temu quality combo, you’re good.

[Ryan N]

Okay folks I did some research and apparently a sticky, chattering drag is common on baitcasters. I’m not sure if manufacturers do this but people usually put drag washer specific grease like Cal’s or Shimano. There was nothing wrong with my Max X reel from the factory.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

It’s impossible to say for certain without seeing it. Sometimes things just don’t seat quite right when reassembling. Drag chatter causes depend on the drag material. Some require grease (shimano dartanium for example) some run dry(synthetic and nylon that I suspect is in this reel) or can be used either way (Carbontex). Expectations need to be managed as well. An entry level reel developing some feel or sound after use or deep cleaning is not uncommon. I don’t think you did any harm in your lube process even though not optimal. Grease is not good on level winds due to their exposed nature. The grease collects debris and grit and will gum up.