reel maint.

RW-reeler · Post by **RW-reeler** » Mon Nov 17, 2003 1:16 am

with winter ready to take hold and me being some what newer to Bassin' I would like to know if ther is a good reference for reel maintanence? I fish for mostly fun and with my wife most often, that has given me spin casting, spinning, and bait casters to work on this winter. Any ideals for a newby? Thanks Reeler

ukey28 · Post by **ukey28** » Mon Nov 17, 2003 4:32 pm

Reeler,
Unless the reels have been dragged through sand or beat up, a light cleaning will do. Here's a quick menu that may help.

Basic maintenance should always be done to ensure that your reel(s)
will endure through the long hours of fishing. Keeping your reel
cleaned and maintained will be the deciding factor of how long your
reel will last. While these reels are designed to be fished in fresh
or saltwater, if the reel is not maintained and salt is allowed to sit
on the reel, the probability of corrosion and early failure increases.
Regular maintenance will add years to the life of your reel.

List of tools that may be needed for repair:

(1) Small Phillips screwdriver (2) Q-tips (3) light reel or machine oil (4) Towels
or rags (5) Schematics of the reel

Servicing the spool and rotor assemblies;

1. Remove the drag knob, by turning it counter-clockwise. Once
you have removed the drag knob, remove the spool by pulling it off.

2. Use a cotton swab to remove any grease, oil, or debris from
the underside of the spool, and the spool shaft.

3. Place one small drop of oil on the ball bearing, and one
small drop of oil on the base of the spool shaft.

4. Reinstall the spool and drag knob.

Servicing the body and handle assemblies;

1. Remove handle. (Some require the removal of the dust cap on the opposite side of the
reel from the handle. To do his, simply remove the two screws.

2. Once the handle has been removed, clean it completely with a
cotton swab. Then, using a cotton swab remove any grease, oil, or debris from both exposed side of the body.

3. Place one small drop of oil in each side of the reel between
the body and the exposed gear. This lubricates the ball bearings.

4. Reinstall the handle, handle screw, and dust cap.

Wipe of any excess grease or oil that may have accumulated on the
exterior of the reel from maintenance. Your clean and service is now
complete.

Good luck
Frank

MMT · Post by **MMT** » Tue Nov 18, 2003 2:01 am

Great response Frank. I'm still out with the hand thing so call me if you want to get together.

One thing I started doing was lubing my reels with Quantum Hot Sauce. This stuff is described as a permanent molecular bonding lubrication. In the almost 2yrs that I've been using it, I can only give it high marks!

johnnie crain outdoors · Tue Nov 18, 2003 5:28 am

Reeler, Frank and Craig have given the very best advise. Nothing to add there, but just a reminder that when you're all done, don't stand your rods in a corner and let set, the rods may actually bow during the winter. If storede in a rod rack be sure they are straight. Bent rods look bad and may not perform up to par. Good luck with the reel maintenance. Be sure to lay every part out in o0rder to make it easier to reassemble. Keep in touch. Johnnie

MMT · Post by **MMT** » Tue Nov 18, 2003 4:53 pm

This is my complete break down of reels.

1-loosen all drags
2-soak reels in hot water for 30 minutes. You can either take the side plates off prior to soaking or wait until soaked.
3-spray the entire reel with a degreasing agent such as wd40. This removes all oil and grease that was previously lubing reel as well as all dirt.
4-repeat soaking procedure and wd40 step until the reel is totally stripped of all grime.
5-allow to dry
6-using the Hot Sauce that I mentioned, lube reel to factory specs.....now this is where most guys go wrong. They assume the more oil and grease they add, the better lubed the reel will be. Too much will actually retard the fluid movements of the working reel parts. Never grease ball bearing assemblies.....most companies actually pack BB's in grease to prolong their life but this actually slows the BB's down. A drop of oil is all it takes. I use Scorpions and although they have a better bearing than the Curado, once I removed the grease from the bearings and used Hot Sauce, I noticed a huge improvement. My partner swears I put Abec's in his 1501. He reported getting more than 25 extra feet per cast. A little TLC and you can not only improve the longevity of your gear but the performance of your equipment as well.

dansfishntales · Post by **dansfishntales** » Fri Nov 21, 2003 4:53 am

Fairly much has been covered very well. I have one thing to add. If you have access to an air compressor, even one like a Black and Decker Air Station, which has a blower nossle, then I would recommend a good "blow out" before the oiling and other items mentioned. This gets rid of a lot of dirt that builds up, especially in the worm gear area of the casting reels.

Here is something we did in the Air Force - not the safest of ideas, but if there is some JP4 available (not sure how it would be found), a buddy was in the fuels area, it is a great cleaner. Especially good for reels used in salt water. I know this won't be used by the general public, but thought I would bring it up just for the fun of it.

Best of fishing,
Dan

RW-reeler · Post by **RW-reeler** » Mon Nov 24, 2003 12:15 pm

Thanks guys. I am ready to get out the tools and start on just one at a time. I appreciate the help and will be looking for some other tips on the site thru the winter. Reeler