Reel Maintenance

From OKFC Wiki

This is post from a Forum Thread created by John. Please feel free to re-work this into a stream lined article on reel maintenance.

If you are looking for reel schematics and our D.Y.I. PowerPoint presentation on doing a complete breakdown and cleaning click here.

John

My wallet is suffering from the cost of repairing reels.  I admit to using them hard, especially when kayaking in the ocean.  I do my best to keep the reels dry but accidents happen and saltwater is nasty stuff.  Over the years I have used lots of different brands of reels, and frankly none of them have held up that well. Shimano is my favorite but they are expensive. Kel's in Casselbery charges $28.00 to clean one reel, and it takes a couple of weeks to get it back. I think the answer is to strip them down after each soaking and clean them throughly, but I don't know how.      I'm sure others are having this problem as well.  Can we get a class on "Cleaning Reels for Dummies?"  Can someone out there do a demo at one of the meetings?  Thanks!  It takes 42 muscles to frown, but it only takes 4 muscles to sip a margarita.

S.S.Tupperware

I usually just make sure their clean and pack with grease til no more will fit, and then I pack the cover and squeeze even more in there. had no problems with it no room for water that way Paddles aren't just for the bedroom anymore

Santiago

I have learned on my own over the years, and I can tell you that except for a Stradic 3000 I bought this year, all of my reels are over 30 years old.  I have 9 all together and I am scrupulous in keeping them clean.  However, I admit my methods are somewhat unorthodox. When fishing salt water, I always rinse them with a hose.  I used to dip them in the pool, but I have stopped that practice.  Also, and following Kirk's suggestion on this, I tighten the drag before rinsing.

Every 2 or 3 uses, I add reel oil through the oiling port to those which have one, by opening them for others.  I know people advise against using WD40, but for many years that's what I use.  Maybe this is a well-orchestrated disinformation campaign by the reel oil people. I just took a Mitchell 300 completely apart (I have 4 of these, all over 35 years old).  I must have bought this reel back in the late sixties.  I found it a couple of weeks ago in a cloth bag in a closet while looking for something else.  I had given this reel to my dad who never used it, and passed it on to my brother, who never cleaned it.  It was a mess.  The paint is awfully pitted and when I opened it, I found it packed with grease.... a bad practice, although in this case since it had been stored for years, it probably helped.  I never ever use any grease on a reel.  If you happen to get sand on it, you will have to take it completely apart.  With oil only (and very sparingly), you may be able to just wash it off. And it will run much more smoothly with oil than with grease.

I took this reel apart, soaked it in diesel fuel, and brushed it clean with an old tooth brush.  I added no other lubricant to it, just the film of diesel oil. Word of caution.  If you don't have diagrams, or an identical reel to use for reference, keep notes or sketches of what you are disassembling to help you put it together again. Save yourself the $20 and try it yourself.  It's not a bad pastime.

Ofrog

I just stripped down & did a complete tune-up of my old Stratic.  I was actually thinking of posting a video on how to do it.  It's not difficult but you do have to be careful of small springs as it can be a major headache to put them back on.

He's a few suggestions.  On our archive page you can find a [maintenance page]

I put that together about a year ago.  I am planning to re-do it & add it to our WIKI soon. There are links to Shimano that has several good information sheets, some video and also access to all the Schematics.  There's also some links for other reel vendors.

Here are a few tips:

Obtain the correct schematic for your reel with the correct model year.  Type in the exact model followed by PDF in Google & chances are you will find it.

Use a large cardboard box that will prevent small screws from disappearing.  Work in a area that does not have carpeting in case something does fall out of the box.

Use a digital camera on the assembly at different time in case you forget that the part goes this way or that way, to be able to jog your memory.

Small Q-tips for putting on make-up with the points are great to get in those small areas (Just don't let your wife know as they value these things apparently)

Use 100% isopropyl alcohol with the swap.

DO NOT GET ANY GREASE ON THE DRAG MECHANISM AS THIS WILL DESTROY IT

Use a Styrofoam egg carton to place specific screws & small parts for easy re-assembly. Use a permanent marker to mark the wall of the egg section with the part number matching the schematic. Keep it around until the following yearly maintenance. I found an excellent reel degreaser called "Reel Scubber" at Gander mountain.  You can use Carb cleaner but it is too abrasive on the paint.

There's Drag grease, oil for the bail and the grease for the body.  Don't use one for the other.  Use the oil to the bail arm & the bail bearing after cleaning your reels regularly.  Re-pack the body  & the bearings with lots of grease once you have degreased it.

I'll say it again: DO NOT GET ANY GREASE ON THE DRAG MECHANISM AS THIS WILL DESTROY IT Loose parts are never a good thing.  Either you missed a small spacer or with time some of the small plastic/nylon/rubber parts do wear down and need to get replaced.

Use your ears.  If it sounds like something isn't right it isn't FIX-IT as it will not improve. Don't force anything with brute strength.  You don't need a torque wrench with a reel. After every use tighten down the drag & Use a spray bottle with water not a hose.  Let it air dry, spray down the reel with Blackmore's "reel Magic" & then loosen the drag for storage.

From time to time, especially if you are replacing your braid.  Completely remove the drags & washers in sequence and clean them.  (isoprypl alcohol Q-tips/cloth) then re-grease the drag disks & re-assemble.  Check for rough spots on the edge where the line comes off.  If it's nicked consider replacing.  You may try using a very fine grit sandpaper but I'm not sure of the rusting factor for the long run.

Eme

Ibid Phil and others but, just in case, you're visual like me try this site.  There are two parts to this presentation[[1]].  Good Luck 

HelRazor

I want very much so during one of our meetings to go over reel assembly/dis assembly and maintenance but with 40 people and reel parts being so small I didn't see how this would be practical.  Here's my thought now:  Do you think a video would work?  I've got a video camera and Bass Pro has the large screen projector.  If someone is willing to have me video tape their work sometime we could show it during a meeting.  Do you think that would be worthwhile?

aflatsnut

The best advice that I can offer is to disassemble a new reel and properly lube it. Most new reels do not have sufficient lube in areas such as the line roller, the handle, the handle shaft, the bail mechanism, and "sealed" bearings. I use an instrument grade oil on all of the bearings, it is a thin oil and will penetrate the seals and get down to the bearings. for a good gear grease I use the same marine grade wheel bearing lube that I use on the trailer bearings, it has a good resistance to water and does not cake. When you reassemble the reel place a little grease on every screw this will aid in future disassembly. Last pointer is DO NOT use a garden hose to wash your reels! This forces the saltwater into your reel and will cause more damage than doing nothing to your reel. I have had good luck with this over the years and usually do not retire a reel until parts are no longer available.

Santiago

Boy, speaking of controversy: grease, no grease... WD-40 (which I no longer use) or other oil.... water hose or no water hose... There seems to be a multitude of opinions, many based on our own experiences.  Shimano has this guide[[2]], which may be useful.

S.S.Tupperware

Santiago you have to realize the ole mitchels, dams, finnors, the ole green penns were made way differently than the cheap reels of today, they didn't have graphite cases, and cheap pot metal for most gears, the ole one will hold up forever with minimal maintenance. Paddles aren't just for the bedroom anymore

SS Tupperware

Santiago you have to realize the ole mitchels, dams, finnors, the ole green penns were made way differently than the cheap reels of today, they didn't have graphite cases, and cheap pot metal for most gears, the ole one will hold up forever with minimal maintenance. You are right about the old reels, or the old "anything" for that matter:  they are not what they used to be.  I've told the story already about the Quantum my son bought 2 years ago and it lasted no more than 4 fishing outings.  when I took it apart, I realized it was mostly platic junk.  The Stradic is not like that.  No plastic gears, I don't think.  The maintenance they recommend is really minimal.

FC61

The answer is MADE IN CHINA. There is less quality in mass produced for high profit by cheep labor. My old Penn Spinner has never been serviced and I use it for surf fishing only. Some of the harshest conditions. Still works like a champ.

Cagey

The last time I checked and did it, you just send you Shimano reels back to the company and they will rebuild them for free.  They say they may charge you, but they seem to come back with no bill.  It only costs you the postage to mail it to them, and the few weeks it is gone.  If you have a few rods/reels, you can usually get by without one for 3 weeks or so. I have cleaned them myself after a saltwater dunking,  My friend who is stocks a number of stores with his company's fishing gear told me to simply take them apart, and then spray all the parts with electric contact cleaner.  Then grease/oil up the reels when you put them together.  The two Stradics that got dunked when a powerboat swamped me, came out just great.  If you will not be able to break the reels down for a few days, I was told to soak the reels in clean freshwater for 5 or 10 minutes.  This way the salt will not have time to start breaking down your reels.  Then rebuild them ASAP. This is just opinion, and what I have been told by those with more knowledge than I.  I hope it helps.

Frambo

I have several that have been dunked in salt.  I plunged them in a bucket of fresh water like a butter churn for about a minute...shook them out and put them in the sun all day...then sprayed them with wd40, then wiped them down.  After a few days in the hot garage, the recieved a light oiling.  That was a year ago...working good still... The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist.  For man it is to know that and to wonder at it.

santiago

This discussion about cleaning reels, and specifically the use or avoidance of WD-40, has made me wonder if I had fallen prey to an urban legend against the use of this solvent/lubricant.  I checked out two sources:  Snopes, where claims of this sort are either verified or debunked, and Wikipedia.  Neither leads me to think it should not be used for cleaning and lubricating reels, so I will renew this practice.  On the other hand, if just oiling is needed, good ole 3-in-1 or the more expensive special "reel oils" would probably work better, since only 15-25% of lubricant (by volume) in WD-40 remains after the volatiles evaporate. I did find something interesting: claim #39 in the snopes[[3]] page (which the WD-40 people have denied) is surely going to snare some of us.

Ofrog

Opinions are like yaks we all have one!

I also have a woodworking shop (a hobby I seem to no longer have time for because of my fishing addiction). My jointer has a metal surface that is under continual attack by rust because of Florida's humid climate. I have had it for many years and I have "tested" various water deplacement products

I have tried Wd-40 as a surface protectant. It does not last. It is volatile. I think that as an emergency tool it works great. In the face of a saltwater dunking it is the go to product, however, it will not last and what you are looking for for the long term protection is that the gears & bearings stay lubed.

Kels promotes Pledge as the product to use. They have been around for years and if you walk thru their shop you will see cans of it all over the place. Not sure if they own stock in Johnson & Johnson's?! Even with that they later the grease in the reels upon final assembly.

Here's Shimano's maintenance recommendations[[4]]

Here's Shimano's Schematics[[5]]