Buying a daiwa from Japan? Have some questions.

[woolleyfooley]

I haven’t been on here in quite a while, but I’m back! 
 

I’m considering buying a steez a2 from Japan. The steez is “magsealed” and comes with a 5 year service plan. What I’m wondering is how I’ll be able to get the reel serviced.

 

I assume daiwa USA won’t honor the 5 year cleaning plan, or will they? What about sending it to Daiwa Japan? Is that possible, and if so how hard/expensive is it?

 

The next question is related to the reel itself. How do you service a “magsealed” reel yourself? Would a service center like the ones recommended on here be able to service a “magsealed” reel? Would having it serviced by a third party remove all the magoil and negate the benefit of magseal? Maybe someone like @Delaware Valley Tackle can chime in? 
 

I’d really appreciate any input you all can give me! 
 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

You’ll have to check with Daiwa in as far as them servicing a JDM reel. They certainly could if they wanted to but…

 

As for myself, Daiwa won’t sell the mag seal fluid. There are a few online sellers offering an alternative but I haven’t messed with it. Given the lack of options in service providers and availability of materials for DIY I could see people putting off or foregoing services. This could negate any claimed advantages of magseal (of which I’m skeptical). If it were mine, I’d use it hard for a year to run out the warranty period then take the included service if available. If not, I’d service it as normal (or have it done) and sleep like a baby. 

[Zcoker]

I can only speak for high end JDM saltwater reels (Stella's and Saltigas) and Diawa Tatulas. I purchased mine from Japan for the massive savings. I can factually say that I have never had an issue here in the states for repairs, parts, or general warranty service. The big names like Shimano or Daiwa only ask that the reel be registered on their US sites. Genuine parts are plentiful through Plat Fishing, Japan. I just ordered some spare parts for my Tatulas. 

[woolleyfooley]

Thank you both for your replies! 
 

Does anyone know more about mag sealed reels? I’m wondering if I have it serviced as normal, what would be put in place of the magoil? Would this cause any issues? @Delaware Valley Tackle Have you ever serviced a mag sealed reel? If so what did you replace the magoil with?  

[Dwight Hottle]

I have several Diawa Certate spinning reels that have mag sealed parts. My advice is not to service them except for normal cleaning. The mag seal oil is made to stay intact or sealed unless the seal is broken. I have never serviced them & they are as smooth as the day I bought them. I think of magnetic oil like the oil bath wheel bearing on large trucks. Unless the seal is broken leave them alone. You shouldn't ever need to add mag oil just replace it when there is an intrusion. The whole idea behind mag seal parts is to eliminate regular servicing.  

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, woolleyfooley said:

Does anyone know more about mag sealed reels?

Magseal is nothing more than a magnetic fluid/oil used in certain bearings in the reel. Do you fish the salt? If you don't, there's no reason not to replace it with standard oil or grease when the time comes to service the reel. I have and it works just fine.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

2 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

Thank you both for your replies! 
 

Does anyone know more about mag sealed reels? I’m wondering if I have it serviced as normal, what would be put in place of the magoil? Would this cause any issues? @Delaware Valley Tackle Have you ever serviced a mag sealed reel? If so what did you replace the magoil with?  

No, we can’t get the mag seal product.  When I said service as normal I meant as a normal reel disregarding the mag seal feature. My understanding is a little different than Dwight’s and I may be wrong but I can’t see sealing a reel against water intrusion as a replacement for service. If they’ll service it for 5 yrs let them. Or like I said, either ignore the mag seal or the service interval going with the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it train of thought. 

[woolleyfooley]

59 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

No, we can’t get the mag seal product.  When I said service as normal I meant as a normal reel disregarding the mag seal feature. My understanding is a little different than Dwight’s and I may be wrong but I can’t see sealing a reel against water intrusion as a replacement for service. If they’ll service it for 5 yrs let them. Or like I said, either ignore the mag seal or the service interval going with the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it train of thought. 

Ok thanks. What about regular cleanings? Is that something you could do on this reel? Is it possible for you to leave the factory magseal in place while cleaning/lubing the rest of the reel as normal?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

14 minutes ago, woolleyfooley said:

Ok thanks. What about regular cleanings? Is that something you could do on this reel? Is it possible for you to leave the factory magseal in place while cleaning/lubing the rest of the reel as normal?

Sure. I offer an econo clean service at $18 that would likely cover that. 

[newapti5]

5 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Magseal is nothing more than a magnetic fluid/oil used in certain bearings in the reel. Do you fish the salt? If you don't, there's no reason not to replace it with standard oil or grease when the time comes to service the reel. I have and it works just fine.

 

That's right. Some of the high end Daiwa spinning reels have magsealed parts that isolate the inner gears from outside, but for most baitcasters, including some lower end spinning reels like the Fuego LT, "magsealed" marking on the reels only means magsealed bearings, which could be replaced with ceramic bearings if you want corrosion resistance.

[ABU is overpriced]

This magseal stuff is such a waste of space for freshwater.

[woolleyfooley]

Ok. So I’ve done some digging on google and emailed a couple retailers and I’ve found out a few things. 
 

1) I’m getting mixed messaging on whether daiwa USA will work on a jdm reel. The reel I’m interested in is a steez a2. The US model has a 5 year executive cleaning package, but the JDM retailer says the JDM model does not. The only difference between US and JDM models afaik is the spool depth. In my mind, I’m going to act like daiwa USA won’t service. If I buy the reel, I’ll try to get it cleaned by Daiwa USA. If they deny it, then hopefully I’ll be able to find an alternative to service the reel here in the USA.

 

2) japantackle has a warranty on all reels bought from them. For service, they will send the reel to daiwa Japan. It costs $40 to ship to Japan, $45 plus any parts needed for an “overhaul” and $27 dollars to ship it back to US. So quite a bit of coin to spend annually to clean a reel.

I have another question for @Delaware Valley Tackle. Sorry for so many questions, and thank you for all your help so far! Daiwa has been using magseal in their reels for quite some time. Even in USDM reels. I imagine you must have encountered magseal at some point. Have you ever done a clean and lube on a daiwa reel with magseal? I understand you can’t get the fluid, but have you ever serviced a reel with magseal? Did you just leave the magseal component alone? 
 

As far as Saltwater, I live on the coast of Florida. I don’t do any saltwater fishing, believe it or not. The only thing worth noting is that being so close to the ocean, sometimes a canal or pond that looks fresh ends up being brackish. If I realize a body of water is brackish I cease fishing. So I would say no, I don’t plan to fish saltwater, but mistakes can happen and sometimes I’ll accidentally wet a line in brackish water. 

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, woolleyfooley said:

Did you just leave the magseal component alone? 

If the bearing is calling for lube, then no.

 

Magseal isn't a miracle, and it isn't critical for the proper operation of the reel. It will get expressed out of a bearing like any other lubricant. In fact, I've seen it migrate out of the relatively slow-moving outer crank bearing and weep into the IAR bearing causing it to slip.

 

My advice: Just use it until it needs service then have it serviced locally with conventional lube, even if it sees occasional unintentional salt water. Forget using Daiwa for a JDM reel too. They'll bop you on the head for $ and take forever to turn it around as your JDM reel won't be considered eligible for the executive service plan as you didn't pay the up-front premium from a US retailer.

[woolleyfooley]

Thank you all for your help! I’m feeling a lot better about getting the reel serviced.

 

I still would like to ask @Delaware Valley Tackle one more thing. I’m sorry I’ve asked you a million questions! Have you ever serviced any magseal reels before? If so did you just flush the bearings and replace with standard oil? It seems like the whole magseal thing is more of a gimmick than anything.

 

And just curious, how does this reel do with lighter baits? Not talking BFS but weightless 5 inch senkos and wacky rigged 5 inch senkos. Can it handle them?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

2 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

Thank you all for your help! I’m feeling a lot better about getting the reel serviced.

 

I still would like to ask @Delaware Valley Tackle one more thing. I’m sorry I’ve asked you a million questions! Have you ever serviced any magseal reels before? If so did you just flush the bearings and replace with standard oil? It seems like the whole magseal thing is more of a gimmick than anything.

 

And just curious, how does this reel do with lighter baits? Not talking BFS but weightless 5 inch senkos and wacky rigged 5 inch senkos. Can it handle them?

I have, with the customers permission, serviced mag seal reels replacing the lube with traditional lubricants with no ill affects.  I’ll stop short of you that you should, but yes you can. 
 

as for casting weight, a 5” senko is well within the capability of any modern baitcaster even without adding weight. They’re much heavier than you realize.  The Steez should handle even lighter rigs if the rod and line are right. 

[woolleyfooley]

21 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

I have, with the customers permission, serviced mag seal reels replacing the lube with traditional lubricants with no ill affects.  I’ll stop short of you that you should, but yes you can. 
 

as for casting weight, a 5” senko is well within the capability of any modern baitcaster even without adding weight. They’re much heavier than you realize.  The Steez should handle even lighter rigs if the rod and line are right. 

Thank you so much! That makes me feel much better. I think once annual service time comes, I’ll just have it cleaned by you like a normal reel.

 

Thanks again for all your help!