Reel Servicing Tips And Tricks Wanted

[Drop Bear]

Hey gang,

I am wanting to service my own reels for an up coming trip.

I am scared … I did a bit of servicing a few years ago but it didn't relay help much and I didn't know what I was doing. 

I have some nice lube now with the inox reel grease and oil. 

So what I want to know is;

• How do you keep from loosing all the parts
• How much do you clean them out?
• How do you know if you need to replace barings and where can you purchase these?
• Are there kits I should buy?
• Any other tips and tricks you use that help not stuff an otherwise good reel. 

Fangs

[Junky]

Start with a clean bench top. 

Use a nice soft rag and lay it out over the bench top. Have another rag for cleaning. 

Take photos before you start removing parts, and keep taking photos each time you remove something. 

 

Lay parts out in order of removal. Best to clean them when refitting. 

 

Clean parts and housings as much as you can. Old grease goes hard after a while so it's good to clean it out as best you can. 

 

I don't like grease. I only use oil. I service my reels fairly regularly though. 

Diawa oil in the orange aluminium tube is my go to. If not then the "3 in 1" oil from Kmart or repco will do the trick. 

 

Bearings will become notchy or could make a wereing noise when in motion. These bearings need to be replaced.

In spin reels the bail arm line roller is a common bearing that fails. They're very small. Also the instant anti reverse around the pinion gear is another common noise maker.  

If you do remove the bail arm bearing be sure to use blue locktite on the bolt when reassembling. 

 

Some hobby shops sell the bearings or you may be able to do an order through CBC or local tackle shop. Tackle warehouse are good to deal with for parts. I don't shop at the big corporate run enterprise that destroyed our local stores. 

Be warned that they are pricey. Big bearings are cheap, small bearing are expensive. 

 

 

Don't over grease. 

You can't over oil. 

Use good drag grease, even on dry drags. 

Take your time and turn off any distractions. 

Don't drink and service. 

 

 

[Andrew_P]

I learnt alot from Youtube

and Alan Tani's website for overhead reels

https://alantani.com/index.php

[Brodie_S]

5 hours ago, Drop Bear said:

Hey gang,

I am wanting to service my own reels for an up coming trip.

I am scared … I did a bit of servicing a few years ago but it didn't relay help much and I didn't know what I was doing. 

I have some nice lube now with the inox reel grease and oil. 

So what I want to know is;

• How do you keep from loosing all the parts
• How much do you clean them out?
• How do you know if you need to replace barings and where can you purchase these?
• Are there kits I should buy?
• Any other tips and tricks you use that help not stuff an otherwise good reel. 

Fangs

Keep all the little parts on a paper towel in some sort of order so you remember what goes where in what order . I usually just remove all the greased parts and spray RP7 or WD40 to remove the grease make sure those parts are dry after spraying and the grease them I usually just cover all the gear teeth with grease and that should be enough . And as For bearings give them a little spin with you’re finger and if they don’t spin or move much they need to be replaced or also if there’s rust to. I would recommend checking out tackle advisors on YouTube he’s probably the best reel servicing channel on YouTube 

[Junky]

If you have any dramas mate I'd be happy to help you out. 

[Drop Bear]

2 minutes ago, Junky said:

If you have any dramas mate I'd be happy to help you out. 

I appreciate it mate thanks. Very generous offer. 

I will try and pull it all apart and check out the bearing and if I cant find anything will let you know. 

[Junky]

5 minutes ago, Drop Bear said:

I appreciate it mate thanks. Very generous offer. 

I will try and pull it all apart and check out the bearing and if I cant find anything will let you know. 

What reel are you working on?

[samsteele115]

Gotta do the same, keep putting it off. I've always done the minor servicing like general grease and oil and drag washers but I think this reel is a bit more cooked 

[Old Scaley]

I have always found that the trickiest part is undoing the screws. Some are easy but a lot are in so tight that it is a challenge to get them out without burring the head. One thing I read somewhere was to use white spirit for the cleaning process and to avoid using WD40 or similar because they can trap dirt and grit. Keep grease to a minimum and there are parts you should not put oil. The user manual has info about where you should and shouldn’t put grease or oil. 

Two excellent pieces of advice above from @Junky 1. Use blue loctite if you undo the bail arm bearing 2. Don’t drink and service

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey Drop Bear

I am still teaching myself/learning, so I'm not the best... I've always found simple maintenance is the best solution. 

Legendary advice Junky - I try to do most of that when I take reels apart.

Cheers Hamish

[Drop Bear]

On 06/10/2020 at 2:57 PM, Junky said:

What reel are you working on?

I have 4 to do. I will do a bit of a post on them later today hopefully. 

[Drop Bear]

On 06/10/2020 at 4:08 PM, Old Scaley said:

The user manual has info about where you should and shouldn’t put grease or oil.

that is the first thing I throw out haha. I am sure I can google. 

Also I am not 100% sure that I will adhere to the no drink while servicing rule haha. 

[Drop Bear]

So is this a little Alan key?

[Brodie_S]

1 hour ago, Drop Bear said:

So is this a little Alan key?

You can pretty much unscrew those with anything even a knife tip works well . Also is that Stradic 

[Drop Bear]

13 hours ago, Breaming with bro said:

Also is that Stradic

Its a Sustain 5000FG. It has caught a lot  of fish including black bass and spot tail bass. Tuna and mackerel. 

I am hoping to use it up at the reef next week for some mucking around with soft plastics and micro jigs. 

[Drop Bear]

13 hours ago, Breaming with bro said:

even a knife tip works well

Ok I will try this tonight.