Abu Garcia Baitcaster Problem

[gabassman]

Have an older Abu 5500-c3 1999 model that's fowling up and I need to know what you guys think the problem is. When you reel it in the level wind gets stuck on the left side and all the line winds up there. Took the reel apart and cleaned everything thinking some dirt was in there but the problem persisted. If I replace the worm gear/pawl would this fix it? Help! Thanks

[.RM.]

It probably isn't the worm gear, the pawl is the culprit.

Remove the pawl cap and look at the blade of the pawl. If there is a crescent moon shaped wear mark then it is time to replace it. This should be the fix.

If not you will need to check the worm gear, check the area on the worm gear that is were the line carriage starts to stick.

Remove the worm gear and take a close (4x optivisor) look at the section you marked, if the cuts in that area show damage then you will have to replace the worm gear also.

Just my .02¢

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!  

[gabassman]

Thanks for the info. I did take the pawl out of another Abu I have and the same problem with the sticking and that pawl from the broken reel works fine in the other reel. Don't have any magnification at the house to inspect the worm gear and unfortunately it looks fine to the naked eye. If I replaced both do you think that would fix the problem and how much/were to buy those parts? Thanks

[.RM.]

Yes sir.

Interchanging pawls into different (same MFG) reels won't work for very long, no 2 reels break in the same. Reason one works were one didn't and vise versa...

Any sticking of the line carriage is a result of dirt/oily grime that has gotten into the cuts on the worm gear and packed up onto the pawl blade.

Usually cleaning will fix the problem, but if the pawl has some wear from the dirt and it can't sit fully into the worm gear cuts, it will not travel as it should.

If you have had a line carriage bind at one time and cranked through it, you could have caused some slight damage to the cut in the worm gear that you can't see with the naked eyes (well maybe 20-20 eyes).

8-)

But to make a long answer shorter, yes replacing both should fix the problem.....

Make sure you have the right schematic, there are 5 for the 5500c3-99 these are the part numbers from my schematic..

Pawl (#5176)

Worm Gear (#24603)

Contact Garcia® @

Abu Garcia Service Department

1900 18th Street

Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360-1099

or call: 1-800-228-4272

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!  

[gabassman]

Thanks a lot. Info was very helpful. Reel is definitely clean so I'm going to try the worm/pawl. Two more questions, is there any advantage to a ceramic pawl and where is the best place to buy both? Thanks for all the help!!

[.RM.]

I know about the chemical nickel coated levelwind systems on the C3 and C4's, the TIN coated Levelwind System for the Inshore, but I don't know anything about ceramic pawls.

Maybe oldschool will chime in, he restores and customizes Garcia® round reels...

When I have to buy parts for Garcia® reels I only deal with factory parts....

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!

[oldschoolbasser]

I have the ceramic pawls on a few of my reels that have the dual bearing worm gear,and so far I haven't had a problem with them.They feel a little smoother than the standard ones,so I don't think you'll have a problem using them,just my HO.

[gabassman]

Thanks again guys!!

[The Rooster]

Wow, I never cease to be amazed by the quality and amount of information given out freely here on this site.  I want to thank you guys for just an interesting read, and for this information as it may come in handy in the future.