Reel Knobs Not Spinning Freely

[NorthernBasser]

Hey guy, so I was planning on putting different knobs on my Tatula 70 reel handle. But I didn't care for them, so I decided to put the original knobs back on. But after doing so, the knobs are way too tight now where they don't spin freely like they used to. I could loosen up the screw some, but that shouldn't be necessary since I've never had to do that before. 

 

I put everything back on like it shows on the diagram. 2 washers, bearing, knob, bearing then screw (then cap). I have taken them off and put them back on multiple times to see if a bearing isn't sitting straight etc, but still having the same issue. 

 

Now, to make my headache even worse- I decided to take a knob off a Tatula 100 to see if the layout was the same. It was, except it only has one washer instead of two. Anyways, I go to put that knob back on, and after doing so now THAT knob is really tight where it won't spin easily. 

 

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. They were fine prior to all of this, and I've replaced knobs in the past with no issues. Hopefully you guys can help me out on this before Iose my mind! 😅

 

[bulldog1935]

The washers at the bottom of the stack are shims which take out end-play in the knob.  

Try removing one from each and see if it solves your problem.  

I stack these things all the time - too many shims, and you'll have the symptom you're describing.  

I've replaced so many knobs, I have small partal ziplocs with dozens of shim washers and bushing spacers, etc.  

 

Last choice is don't tighten the screw so tight, but use blue loctite to cure on the threads.  

[NorthernBasser]

5 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

The washers at the bottom of the stack are shims which take out end-play in the knob.  

Try removing one from each and see if it solves your problem.  

I stack these things all the time - too many shims, and you'll have the symptom you're describing.  

I've replaced so many knobs, I have small partal ziplocs with dozens of shim washers and bushing spacers, etc.  

 

Last choice is don't tighten the screw so tight, but use blue loctite to cure on the threads.  

 

Thanks. I did do that but then there was way more play than there was prior.

 

I'm just dumbfounded because the knobs all spun just fine before. I didn't add any extra shims and I have always tightened the screw firmly. So much so that it takes some muscle to loosen them. And the knobs have always spun freely still.

 

It's all just mind-boggling to me. 

[bulldog1935]

  

Daiwa has room for a second bearing at the bottom, which normally uses a bushing ("plastic collar") for a spacer.  On a near-offshore spinning reel, I replaced the spacer with another 725 bearing (3 total).  

 

Yes, that's a longer SLPW Daiwa handle on Shimano using an IOS adapter.  

 

Mine always end up spinning like a bicycle wheel with no end play.  

Sometimes, it's hard to get the outer bearing to slide onto the spindle, and tightening the screw, it will bottom out and everyting feels bound.  

[Bigbox99]

Check to make sure you didn't transplant extra shims from the knob swap.  They have a tendency to stick to the bottom of the knob and/or stick to the handle.  Remove them all and then add then in as needed to eliminate slop.

[NorthernBasser]

5 minutes ago, Bigbox99 said:

Check to make sure you didn't transplant extra shims from the knob swap.  They have a tendency to stick to the bottom of the knob and/or stick to the handle.  Remove them all and then add then in as needed to eliminate slop.

Yup, also checked that as well. And like I said, I grabbed a different Tatula and took one knob off to see if I did something wrong with the other reel. I put that knob back on just as I took it off and now that one is very tight, even though it wasn't before I took it off.

 

I'm losing my mind, I tell ya. 

[newapti5]

6 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

Yup, also checked that as well. And like I said, I grabbed a different Tatula and took one knob off to see if I did something wrong with the other reel. I put that knob back on just as I took it off and now that one is very tight, even though it wasn't before I took it off.

 

I'm losing my mind, I tell ya. 

 

Besides shims/washers, make sure the bearing(s) is properly installed, which means it's pushed all the way down. I use a tweezer to do that.

 

 

[NorthernBasser]

11 hours ago, newapti5 said:

 

Besides shims/washers, make sure the bearing(s) is properly installed, which means it's pushed all the way down. I use a tweezer to do that.

 

 

Yessir. Done that as well, also use tweezers. 

[Bigbox99]

It's possible the screw is over tightened.  They were held in place with lock tight originally which is why they felt tight. If you torque them down with equal force to what it took to break the lock tight free you may be over tightening the screws.  

[newapti5]

3 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

Yessir. Done that as well, also use tweezers. 

 

In that case, check if you put all the shims back in where they originally were.

 

If a shim is supposed to be with the bottom bearing, but you put it with the top bearing, there is a chance that the bottom of the knob would be pushed against the handle, leaving a gap inside. And the top bearing will be with too many shims, causing the screw cannot be tightened all the way. 

I hope I make it clear.

[fin]

I'm just happy to learn I'm not the only person this kind of stuff happens to.

[Choporoz]

I can count on one hand the number of times in my 60+ years of life, that the thing I was reassembling was perfect the first time.... more often, it was worse than when I decided to take it apart and fix it.  Lol

[Lead Head]

Last couple of daiwa knobs I pulled had blue loctight heavily applied. It makes sense from a production standpoint. Use slightly more shim than necessary, add loctight and tighten until you get the desired free spin to slop ratio. Set aside until loctight cures. This has to be much faster than disassembling and reassembling to swap and adjust shims for perfection. 

 

I'll bet this is what is causing your frustration. They probably didn't have the screw anywhere near as tight as you do, and were trusting the loctight to hold and give you the perfect fit feeling. 

[MickD]

Some times if things are not broken, it's better to not try to fix them.  

 

Go with the less torque, get it where you want it, apply locktite. 

[FishTank]

2 hours ago, Lead Head said:

Last couple of daiwa knobs I pulled had blue loctight heavily applied. It makes sense from a production standpoint. Use slightly more shim than necessary, add loctight and tighten until you get the desired free spin to slop ratio. Set aside until loctight cures. This has to be much faster than disassembling and reassembling to swap and adjust shims for perfection. 

 

I'll bet this is what is causing your frustration. They probably didn't have the screw anywhere near as tight as you do, and were trusting the loctight to hold and give you the perfect fit feeling. 

 

Here is the answer.  They use loctite and do not tighten the screws all they way down.  I've noticed this on several Daiwa reels. Once you figure out how far to tighten the screws, it's no big deal. Wait till you take a reel apart and some of the screws have it but not others.

[NorthernBasser]

Thanks a ton, guys! I bet you're all right about the Loctite! I just assumed they were all screwed in tight. I know in the past, on other Tatula's, I have tightened screws all the way tight and the knobs still spun easily. But I guess not all reels are created equal...with the amount of shims used etc.

 

Now I can finally sleep again at night! 

[garroyo130]

They should be screwed in tightly. I've messed with knobs on a handful of Fuegos and all have tightened fully. Whenever I experience that issue it usually had to do with the position of the shims. On some it was bushing > shim > handle > bushing, others had the shim in other places such as nearer to the screw. I messed with the handles a ton and never really could determine why the order made a difference but it did.