Reel cleaning and super tuning

[djkimmel]

Exactly!

[TCook]

So whats the best way to flush the bearings? I soaked the bearings from a chronarch mg in naphtha and one seamed to lock up on me after. It seems that the old oil didnt all come out and dried not sure though.

[djkimmel]

That's a good question. I know we don't want to make things worse.

[TCook]

Holy Cow! Those boca orange seals are amazing! Freespool is about 4 times as long with those vs the stock bearings. I shouldn't have bought any, now I want them in all my reels and that could get expensive.

[djkimmel]

That's good to know. Other than the expensive part.

[Skulley]

Holy Cow! Those boca orange seals are amazing! Freespool is about 4 times as long with those vs the stock bearings. I shouldn't have bought any, now I want them in all my reels and that could get expensive.

I am a huge believer in "you get what you pay for".  If you have high end reels, I recommend you spare no expense.  I have been cleaning and tuning my own reels for years.  And yes the boca orange seals are amazing.  Like I said "spare no expense".  One thing about tuning your own and if you own expensive high end stuff and I am sure you do, you have to decide whether it is worth taking the time.  In the winter with snow on the ground it's a no brainer.  That's the time you maintain.  If something goes wrong during the season, I buy a new reel and save the one for repair as a winter project.  My wife gets so angry that I have as many reels as I do.  They all work because I repair everything through the winter.  Great hobby when its cold out.  I take the same approach when it comes to rods.    

I have had friends tell me I should go into business repairing and tuning reels.  The problem is that I would probably get very busy tuning other peoples reels and never get to fish.  So I think I will stick with my own so I can fish and leave the business end to guys like Reel_Man.

Good luck.    


BD                  

[TCook]

Mission Accomplished! 10 reels cleaned and re-greased, bearings flushed and re-oiled with only one bearing ruined. 3 reels upgraded to boca orange seals and one super tune job on a curado. I decided against super tuning the rest because I was not convinced it would make a difference on the newer reels that are already super free. Glad I decided to get the necessary gear and learn how to do this myself it will save me alot of money in the longrun. Now I have everything ready for this season and no more projects I can do, its going to be a long 2 1/2 more months!

[Cheetam]

What oil are you using Tim?  I love me some Yellow Rocket Fuel. 

[TCook]

Same here Yellow rocket fuel

[Hollada]

Does anyone have a local source in SE Michigan that you'd recommend for super tuning and / or cleaning reels?

[jdg279]

Tim,

I've been doing DIY clean/lube jobs on my E series Shimanos for the past few seasons and have it down to a science.  At 1st it's scary but they are very easy.  Time consuming but a good way to spend the winter months.  I just use the stock bearings.  None have failed over 3-4 seasons yet.  Remove and soak 'em in acetone in a glass jar & give em a swish.  repeat if necesary until you don't see any crud float up.  I also like to put them on a sharpened wood dowel and spray with Gumout Carb + Choke Cleaner.  Spin the excess out & let em dry on a paper plate/dixie cup.  No need to open the bearings assuming you're using stock bearings.  You'll notice a huge difference after cleaned than how they come stock, and they're actually good bearings if cleaned and lightly oiled.  I think a lot of guys would avoid upgrading bearings if they just cleaned out the stock lube they come with.  (they pack em with excess oil/grease stock so they don't fail if you forget to oil them)

Don't get acetone or choke cleaner on any plastic parts-metal only.  For the reel itself isopropyl rubbing alcohol works because it evaporates so you don't have to rinse like you would with say simple green.  I do soak the gears and internal parts with warm water/simple green solution, clean w/ toothbrush, rinse w/ water, dry, put back together.  Certain parts like the spool i use alcohol for instead.  Then once it's all put back together I'll use alcohol/q-tip on the reel frame, brake raceway, and inside pinion gear (because with greasy hands you'll inevitably get some grease on the reel as you put it back together).

Dip your finger in the grease and apply to gear teeth about 1/2 -3/4 of the way around the main drive gear-it will distribute itself around.  This way you dont use too much.  On that note, for the drag washers, get a little grease on your fingertips, and just touch them until you get a light film on them.

In general you would grease the gears and drag washers, and oil the bearings...but there are exceptions!  For instance, you want the outside teeth of the pinion gear to be greased where it meets the drive gear, but you don't want any excess to get inside the pinion gear where the spool shaft touches.  Here you don't even want to oil-make sure it is completely cleaned via a q-tip w/ rubbing alcohol.  Another exception is the anti-reverse bearing.  You can oil it (I use a q tip to barely apply a tiny bit to it) but if you get too much it will fail/the reel will backreel.  If there's one bearing to leave alone its this one.  Another exception is the worm gear.  It's a gear so naturally you'd want to grease it.  Grease is more permanent than oil, but its fatal flaw is dirt, algae, debris, etc. will stick to it because the worm gear is in direct line for debris coming off the line.  So even though it's a gear, use a drop or 2 of oil on the worm gear instead so you don't invite debris to get trapped and damage it.  Another exception is you can grease or oil the handle grip shaft.  I still oil the bearing itself but apply grease to the shaft and don't worry about grease touching the bearing like normal because they don't spin very fast like your spool bearings would.  Another spot I like to use grease on bearings opposed/in addition to oil is the bearing at the end of the drive shaft.  Why? A) it's not a high speed bearing like spool bearings.  So grease slowing it down doesn't hurt real world performance.  It's only there for precise alignment & structural support of drive shaft (even often a bushing opposed to bearing in lesser reels).  B) It's hard to service.  Spool bearings require a tiny bit of oil, but replaced frequently, and they're easy to get to without completely dismantling the reel.  The drive shaft bearing on the other hand is not.  The only time you even access it is when you're taking the reel apart completely.  So not being able to access it to re apply oil could cause corrosion/damage.  That's why I use grease on this bearing because it will stay put for long periods of time between cleanings and not affect performance negatively. 

As far as what oil/grease to use, I'm sure there are a lot of good ones out there, but also some compromising ones like the issues with hot sauce.  So I play it safe and use Shimano brand "Bantam Oil" that comes with the reel and order a tub of "Shimano Star Drag Teflon Grease" for the gears and drag.  I know this won't negatively react with any of the parts because it is formulated/recommended for that specific brand.

Supplies List:
-your REEL SCHEMATIC (comes in the box-also available on manufacturer's website)
-Egg carton(s) (take the reel apart in order and keeps you from losing parts or putting a part in the wrong spot.)
-container/bowl for simple green bath (plastic lunch meat containers work great)
-old toothbrushes
-tiny screw drivers
-hex tool (comes in reel box-I've got extras if you need one for a shimano)
-Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol
-q-tips & cotton balls
-Paper Towel
-tiny Dixie cup(s)/paper plate (for cleaned bearings)
-sharpened wood dowel (to spin, clean, & test bearings on)
-Acetone &/or Gumout Carb + Choke Cleaner
-Simple Green cleaner  (mixed with water)
-Shimano Bantam Oil
-Shimano Star Drag Teflon Grease

Here is a good video in addition to the Shimano one someone already posted: 

Shimano's website has good instructions and videos too.

Sorry to be so long winded lol.  For anybody reading this, I'm not claiming this to be the right way or only way.  Those doing it for much longer than me probably have good ideas too.  This is just what works for me based on lots of internet research and experiencing good results.  Hope this helps.  TCook, I'm located in SJ and would be happy to help out/show you my cleaning routine especially related to Shimano E Series reels.   

-Joel G

[jdg279]

Oh and pliers for reinstalling those e clips.  I don't know anything about polishing/super tuning btw.  But I think the shimano stock bearings (when cleaned-not the way they come stock) are good enough.  What good does having your spool spin for 5 minutes in freespool do you in a real world/on the water application?  I think the orange seals seem so much better because they don't come packed with grease.  If you remove the grease from your stock bearings you'll be amazed.

[Hollada]

jdg279 - thanks for the detailed post!

I tagged into this old post, but probably should have started a new one.  I am looking for recommendations of someone I can send reels to for cl among and tuning.

Anyone have recommendations?

[Skulley]

John's Reel Repair on Pontiac Lake was a place I used to take all mine to.  I don't know if John still does it or if he is even still alive for that matter.  I hope he is.  He was very good and I would recommend him.  Also there was a guy in Dearborn Hts. that used to repair them.  I haven't seen hide nor hair of him in quite a few years.  In the meantime, you'll just have to look around.  There also used to be a guy in Plymouth.  He stopped doing the reel repair business quite a few years ago.  If you find anyone, please let the forum know as there seems to be a shortage of good reel guys that do repairs any more.  It's a dying art.



BD                         

[Hollada]

Thanks BD.  I found quite a few out of state recommendations on BBC.  May end up picking one of those as the prices seem quite reasonable and lots of online feedback (assuming its not all their family pumping them up).

I may just take a crack at doing one myself and see how hard it is.  May need to get a big magnifying glass as the eyes are not they used to be.

Dan