Shimano SLX issues

[QuirkyCarp2000]

I have a Shimano SLX XT HG that is making whirring noises. You can feel it when retrieving moving baits like spinnerbaits or swimbaits. This was happening after cleaning and regreasing/oiling. Even though it was relatively brand new, I had to disassemble and regrease gears and oil bearings because it accidentally got submerged in water. I took it apart and dried its components the same day. 

 

I tied to find the cause of this problem by swapping parts with a brand new shimano slx mgl. (The parts are mostly identical). Thr problem seemed to improve when swapping the gears, so the gears may be the problem causing the whirring feel. However I could not find any problems when inspecting the gears closely. Does anyone know he best way to fix this issue? Does it needs to be tuned and how to do that?

I even completely cleaned the gears and all grease. I used dawn dish soap with water and a toothbrush to scrub the gears clean. Then regreased them with shimano drag grease. 

[JN94]

I would not swap parts with another reel like you did. You may have just gotten a bad part in your original SLX and it could be easily remedied by identifying what it is and requesting Shimano send you a new one. @Delaware Valley Tackle may also be able to help

[rangerjockey]

I saw you had trouble after you took an SLX apart a year and a half ago. 

There's a lesson in there somewhere. 

[Alex from GA]

This is going to take some time but it works.  Take the reel apart and clean it thoroughly leaving it dry.  Remove the level wind gear, put some toothpaste on the clean gears and use a drill motor to spin the handle.  Take it apart, clean, grease, oil and put it back together, not forgetting the level wind gear.  

[FishTank]

I would look at the AR bearing.  Once a reel is dunked in water they can easily get contaminated.  It would be unusual for the gears to go bad by submerging the reel in water.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

7 hours ago, Alex from GA said:

This is going to take some time but it works.  Take the reel apart and clean it thoroughly leaving it dry.  Remove the level wind gear, put some toothpaste on the clean gears and use a drill motor to spin the handle.  Take it apart, clean, grease, oil and put it back together, not forgetting the level wind gear.  

I have to discourage this practice. There are way too many things that can go wrong. The gear tolerances in a reel are not tight enough to benefit from polishing especially under power. Any improvement noticed after this process is coincidental imo. 

[msgf91]

I have a similar problem with my SLX BFS (different frame from the regular SLX). My fear is after I re lubed it and reassembled it I accidentally didn't seat the main gear on the handle shaft. There's a square that the gear fits on. Then I used it for a bit before taking it apart to make sure I seated it. I'm worried if I turned the handle with the gear sitting up a few mm it might have damaged the gears. I'm not sure if the gears still line up if they're not seated right. I'm wondering also if it might be a spool bearing that got dirty because if I take the spool out and turn the handle it is buttery smooth. But the moment I put the spool in I can feel how rough it feels. 

[QuirkyCarp2000]

On 5/22/2024 at 11:25 AM, rangerjockey said:

I saw you had trouble after you took an SLX apart a year and a half ago. 

There's a lesson in there somewhere. 

It was not the Shimano slx. Different reel, and it got sorted out

I suspected the gears was the issue. I have a brand new slx mgl in the same speed, and they uses the same gears. Swapping them made some improvements, but the problem will still persist in the original set of gears. Maybe I will look into the AR bearing as well.