n8casCT Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 This week I am going to try to do maintenance on my reels for the first time and I wanted some advice before starting. First off my reels are pretty dirty. A few of my spinning reels sound a little more 'geary -- gears grinding louder than they should' and a few of my baitcasters started to slow up and make noise (especially when it's raining out) I bought a big jug of simple green and wanted to know what I could and could not submerge in simple green. I have basic instructions for reel maintenance on shimanos and DAIWA bait casters but was looking for any advice before starting. Could I just send my SHIMANO reels to SHIMANO for maintenance (I heard sometimes if you do, they send you back the same model reel but it's not the exact original you sent them)? There are a ton of bad DIY reel maintenance sites and youtube videos, does anyone have some links to some good ones? Thanks. Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted March 7, 2011 Super User Posted March 7, 2011 Satisfaction guaranteed: http://delawarevalleytackle.com/ BassResource.com sponsor offering our members a 10% discount! -Kent BTW: The Shimano story you heard is NOT true. Many of us know the Manager of Customer Service. He also happens to be the head of the repair department and a member of this forum (Bantam1). Quote
Super User skunked_again Posted March 7, 2011 Super User Posted March 7, 2011 everyone cleans their gear differently. ive never used simple green, but i have used a simple green type degreaser thats safe for plastic and thats all that goes in that cleaner. all of the brass/aluminum/steel parts get soaked in acetone. painted frames gets a bath in the simple green type cleaner. Quote
Super User bilgerat Posted March 7, 2011 Super User Posted March 7, 2011 Learning reel maintenance on your front line gear is a bad idea. Do that with beater reels during the winter if you want to learn. This close to nice weather is no time to be waiting on the springs you lost to come in the mail, only to find you can't get it back together anyhow. Take RW's advice. Quote
hookingem Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 I Sent my reel to Shimano once, and they deff. sent back the same reel! Now I bring them to a local guy Wayne Knabe. Quote
n8casCT Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 Learning reel maintenance on your front line gear is a bad idea. Do that with beater reels during the winter if you want to learn. This close to nice weather is no time to be waiting on the springs you lost to come in the mail, only to find you can't get it back together anyhow.Take RW's advice. You might be right.....thx for the heads up, but this is helpful for my junk reels... Quote
WdyCrankbait Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 I Sent my reel to Shimano once, and they deff. sent back the same reel! Now I bring them to a local guy Wayne Knabe. Yeah, I take my reels out to Wayne as well great person all that old fishing tackle in his trailor, good greif! I always try to get my reels address at the beginning of each new fishing season. Good luck with the cleanings! Quote
uicdent11 Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Buy the reel mechanics book. It is a great investment and really helped me the first time I broke down all my reels. His grease and oil are top notch as well. * It is not letting me post his website. Just google "reel mechanic". Quote
BassThumb Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 My advice is to take a half dozen pictures of the process if you have a digital camera. It's nice to have these pics when you're reassembling the reel, at least until you get the hang of it. Also, applying grease to the gears is really easy when applied with a small paintbrush. Quote
BobP Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Simple Green won't hurt reel parts. Soak them a couple of hours and use a toothbrush to remove any caked on grease, dry thoroughly and lube the right parts with the right lube. An experienced amateur who knows how will take a couple of hours to service a reel in detail. Be sure you have a schematic on hand, take your time, and it also helps to take digital photos after you take off the side plate. It's not rocket science but reels are precision tools and parts have to be reinstalled exactly where they came from to run properly. And you need to be careful of E clips and retainer springs that have a bad habit of shooting off into oblivion if you aren't careful. You can do it. Many of us do. But if you have doubts, the charge for a pro to do it is also very reasonable and the results are guaranteed. Quote
JacobK Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Satisfaction guaranteed:http://delawarevalleytackle.com/ BassResource.com sponsor offering our members a 10% discount! -Kent BTW: The Shimano story you heard is NOT true. Many of us know the Manager of Customer Service. He also happens to be the head of the repair department and a member of this forum (Bantam1). DVT is definitely legit, and extremely trustworthy/honest! He's got my business forever! Quote
trevor Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 My advice is to take a half dozen pictures of the process if you have a digital camera. It's nice to have these pics when you're reassembling the reel, at least until you get the hang of it. Also, applying grease to the gears is really easy when applied with a small paintbrush. Videotape Quote
Mr SwimJig Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Delaware Valley Tackle is definitely the way to go. Quick turn around, outstanding work and plus BR members get a 10% discount. Your reel is professionally cleaned and serviced and ready to go to work. SJ Quote
0119 Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Simple Green can and will hurt many different things. Even in a diluted state. I ruined the finish of my wifes Blazer's rims once trying to get the brake dust off. The manufacturer states it is harmful to anodized aluminum even in a 50/50 solution. Ive also noticed it dull the finish on anodized bicycle parts when I worked as a bike mechanic. Bantam warns on another forum just this last week about caution when using it. Quote
curls00 Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 0119 is right. Simple Green, even diluted, can hurt aluminum and make it dull and pitted. I know from first-hand experience with my polished aluminum cold air intake in my car -- it's now a nice shade of dull grey with what looks like water spots (but its actually etched due to the diluted Simple Green). If you're going to use it, dilute it a lot -- 4:1 or more. Also, don't let it sit on metal parts -- just scrub with an old toothbrush and rinse immediately. Quote
Delaware Valley Tackle Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Thanks for the votes of confidence! We're here to help. Quote
n8casCT Posted March 8, 2011 Author Posted March 8, 2011 Thanks again for such good advice. I got one reply on another site, that's it. I think I'm going to brave it on my 2 year old SHIMANO CITICA first and maybe try my higher end reels afterwards. OR, I might send the zillion or CHRONARCH for super-tuning with the Delaware guy. Is the super-tuning worth the upgrade? The zillion is almost brand new the CHRONARCH is a few years old but in really good shape. Quote
Delaware Valley Tackle Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 The Zillion has a two piece spool shaft so there's not much tuning to do there. The Chronarch may benefit, but the extent depends upon it's current condition. If it's never been cleaned, that's probably a good first step. A clean/lube/inspect servive costs members $16.20 ($18-10%) plus shipping. Quote
n8casCT Posted March 9, 2011 Author Posted March 9, 2011 Should I send my symetre spinning reels to SHIMANO to get cleaned ? Do they offer this service? Is there a fee? Or should I service them myself ( I have the PDF download from the SHIMANO website and all the tools to do it myself - it'd just be my first time ) I'm going to send out some of my bait casters to DVT and try to clean my old CITICA baitcaster. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted March 9, 2011 Super User Posted March 9, 2011 The Zillion has a two piece spool shaft so there's not much tuning to do there. Not only that, I' find I end up detuning the spool speed with something a bit more durable than the TD-Z oil from the factory. The average guy doesn't want to HAVE to oil their reel after every trip. At least that has worked wonders wit my two Zils for me. Believe it or not, Shimano's Bantam Oil is the stuff I'm using in my Zills, LOL. Quote
BobP Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Good to know Simple Green isn't right for EVERYTHING. I dump reels parts in a jar of naphtha as I remove them. Cleans quick, evaporates fast and won't hurt plastics. For bearings, I want something more volatile and faster acting, so I soak them in starting fluid. If I want to scrub a bare reel frame, I use dish detergent and a toothbrush in the kitchen sink. Quote
Delaware Valley Tackle Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Should I send my symetre spinning reels to SHIMANO to get cleaned ? Do they offer this service? Is there a fee? Or should I service them myself ( I have the PDF download from the SHIMANO website and all the tools to do it myself - it'd just be my first time ) I'm going to send out some of my bait casters to DVT and try to clean my old CITICA baitcaster. We service spinning reels as well (same $). The newer spinners can be every bit as challenging as a baitcater to dis/re-assemble. Quote
Super User QUAKEnSHAKE Posted March 9, 2011 Super User Posted March 9, 2011 Good to know Simple Green isn't right for EVERYTHING. I dump reels parts in a jar of naphtha as I remove them. Cleans quick, evaporates fast and won't hurt plastics. For bearings, I want something more volatile and faster acting, so I soak them in starting fluid. If I want to scrub a bare reel frame, I use dish detergent and a toothbrush in the kitchen sink. You might be interested in something like this Its called a bearing blaster Quote
OnthePotomac Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 N8, here is a Shimano picture site for you and if you go to Shimano.com they have full videos of the cleaning process. http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/index/customer_service0/reel_maintenance_instructions.download.-mainParsys-0001-downloadFile.html/Maintenance%20Tips-%20Baitcasting%20Reels%20(2%20pages).pdf Quote
n8casCT Posted March 9, 2011 Author Posted March 9, 2011 N8, here is a Shimano picture site for you and if you go to Shimano.com they have full videos of the cleaning process.http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/index/customer_service0/reel_maintenance_instructions.download.-mainParsys-0001-downloadFile.html/Maintenance%20Tips-%20Baitcasting%20Reels%20(2%20pages).pdf Thanks. I got these DIY pdf files, but couldn't find the videos? Quote
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