Just wondering if anyone on here does a significant amount of service on the Okuma SEa reels?
I own and have serviced several reels, and some for friends of mine, 16-30 SEas with varying amounts of success.
Seems to me this reel is more persnicity than others I have worked on. What has been your experience?
For instance: The reel handle actually screws on to the gear drive shaft (right handed threads). Then the handle lock down nut is screwed in to the center of the gear drive shaft, locking on the reel handle, with left hand threads. Is it meant that we should set up an acceptable "end play, back and forth movement, on the gear shaft? I think so. What do you think? How much end play? .005" ?? Maybe.
How in the world do you get the small "silent' anti reverse springs installed? To me, it's just a great challenge. I can do it, but don't believe the reel assemblers do it they way I do.....PERSERVERANCE!
I am really interested in your thoughts and want to thank you in advance for your help.
josa1
You're looking at a 5 year warranty. The reel also has most of the work done that we would normally do to begin with. Go ahead and fish straight out of the box. You should be fine.
I have not serviced that many Okumas, but I have a draw full of wrecks and have seen enough to know that I will not be accepting any more.
There are enough problems from a service perspective that I am no longer interested and will be advising clients to send their reels back to the Australian agent for servicing.
Known Issues:
- inferior quality aluminum components that wear prematurely - at least these are covered under warranty.
Schematics that border on illegible.
Uncertain identity and outcome when ordering spare parts.
Mild steel components which rust and contaminate adjacent mechanisms.
(BTW, their lifetime warranty does not cover corrosion so sunds like planned obsolescence to me!)
Their are other things as well but all in all it's just too quirky and too hard and if I am not enjoying the experience, why should I get involved in a struggle. I am certainly not doing this for the money.
One thing I will say though. Their Australian service tech is a really nice guy and he is extremely helpful within the limits the brand imposes on him.
~
The old ones were pretty awful. The makairas are nice!
I agree, the Makaira reels are really a pleasure to fish. For evidence, I keep buying them. Have the 30, 20, and now the 16.
If I could just learn how to service them to my satisfaction, I would be grateful.
I'm learning slowly, but being of the older generation that's somewhat expected.
josa1
The Mak's have been very well proven & accepted by people who use them a lot & push them. Early on there were some issues with the Andros. I have 4 of them 3 A series 12's. Have used them a lot at high drag.... my thoughts on them are they "might be" hands down the best 2 speed lever drag for the money.
The only caveat I would add is the Penn Fathom 15 2 speed is in my opinion a better "all around" reel than the Andros 5 & for less money....Jeff
I have no problems servicing them. The only quirky thing I have a problem with is the shift pin that locks low or high speed gear with the drive shaft. It seems that I often have to rotate the pin so it shifts smoothly. My luck it's always the last turn of the pin that works. Other than that, the reel comes apart easily enough and goes back easily if you learn the system. I wish I could describe them. My hands just does it now.
Hi riverrat,
Do you service these reels? If so, how would you rate the difficulty level?
I totally agree that the Makairas are great to fish, I'm just trying to learn how others perceive their serviceability.
Thanks for the comments!
josa1
FROM: BRYAN YOUNG....
"I have no problems servicing them. The only quirky thing I have a problem with is the shift pin that locks low or high speed gear with the drive shaft. It seems that I often have to rotate the pin so it shifts smoothly. My luck it's always the last turn of the pin that works. Other than that, the reel comes apart easily enough and goes back easily if you learn the system me tricks. I wish I could describe them. My hands just does it now"
My point exactly, there seems to be a lot about this reel that is not readily apparent. Did you rotate the pin front to back or side to side? Or both ways if you get a stubborn shift?
Bryan, by the way, do you think that drive shaft end play, or lack of same is important?
josa1
Quote from: alantani on September 06, 2017, 03:28:43 AM
The old ones were pretty awful. The makairas are nice!
I have never seen a Makaira.
~
Quote from: Bryan Young on September 06, 2017, 03:54:45 AM
I have no problems servicing them. The only quirky thing I have a problem with is the shift pin that locks low or high speed gear with the drive shaft. It seems that I often have to rotate the pin so it shifts smoothly. My luck it's always the last turn of the pin that works. Other than that, the reel comes apart easily enough and goes back easily if you learn the system me tricks. I wish I could describe them. My hands just does it now.
Some memorable quirks aside from those already listed:
Early Basic Titus Model:
This may be the only overhead reel in the world which incorporated no Belleville compression washers in the design !!! ???
It had drag washer about as thick as a thong and the best I could make of it; it used this as a compression medium for drag tension? Trouble is, the washer had gone hard as a rock on the reel I was given. If this does not fit the definition of quirky, I don't know what does. It is certainly the weirdest design I have ever seen! So weird in fact, that I would understand if you thought I was making this stuff up!
Salinas:
Early: Actually not a bad design except for the gaping chasm in the "open gearbox" covered by a flimsy piece of plastic bling prone to breakage.
Recent: Despite advice from the Okuma service tech, I was unable to remove the handle on this reel without resorting to destructive measures at which point I ceased trying. It was there to stay for good.
???
The handle on some reels I have received are the quirkiest I have ever dealt with. With jigsaw puzzle design and interlocking parts often frozen together, they are unweildly complicated. No one else attaches a handle to a fishing reel like this!
Other techs in town sometimes send me the hard cases. A girl rocked up with two bait-runners yesterday after another tech refused to touch them. I apologized to her and explained that because of the complications I have experienced with this brand, I was pretty much over them.
I suggested that she purchase a couple of basic Shimano baitrunners for her kids - a durable choice with great support minus the service headaches.
~
Josa1,
Rotating the pin-if you look at the end. It's square. I rotate the pin 90 degrees looking at the square then reassemble and repeat if the reel doesn't shift smoothly. To my naked eye the pin looks the same but one position always seems better. I try to mark the top with a marker but with greasy fingers it occasionally rubs off.
On some reels, I had to file the edges the slots of the gears so the pin slides in easier as well. When you have that kind of force and impact when shifting, the edges tend to roll a little. I've seen similar things happen many different brands of 2-speed reels. For older Penns, it was smoothing out the pins and opening up the holes.
Regarding the back play, it's really the distance it takes for the dogs to engage. The dog system is similar to Avets. Where's some back play but the system works well. One the less.
On the original Andros 2 speed (which I like) the silent Abu type dogs can be fiddly - but still do-able once you get the knack.
The reel pain for me was fitting the spring clip on the end of the spool shaft next to the bellevilles - solution I fitted a sleeve between the spool bearings - instead of the fixed clips.
With the drag preset backed all the way off it allows you to slide the spool and bellevilles along the shaft and hey presto the spring clip fits easily ;)
Hi Bryan,
On of the best service techniques I've found is to take lots of pictures as you take the reel apart so as to be certain that everything is in the correct orientation as it's reassembled. As noted above the schematics are often not definitive and I have varying degrees of success in using them on the SEas. Your idea of marking things is a GOOD thing, but the grease sometimes makes this difficult.
I think you pretty much describe my experience with servicing the SEas. I've done all of the things you mentioned, cleaning up the pin slots in the drive shaft and cleaning up the pin slots in the gears. There seems to some "lifting" of the metal where they are machined and might need to be deburred.
Have to admit that when you get it right it shifts about as smoothly as any reel on the market.
Do you have any "trick" you use when installing the little return spring on the anti reverse dog? I seem to just fumble with it until it goes together. I made a little wire tool out of 48 pound, single strand wire. It has a small hook on the end that I can slip under the dog, catch the spring, and pull it into position around the dog. It's a way, but maybe not the best.
Thanks for your comments!
josa2
Hi tiddlebasher,
"
Quote from: Tiddlerbasher on September 06, 2017, 10:04:37 AM
On the original Andros 2 speed (which I like) the silent Abu type dogs can be fiddly - but still do-able once you get the knack.
My experience too. "Fiddly" is exactly what it is! :)
josa1
Regarding the dog spring (wire), I slot it in the dog then snap it in the plastic ring. Never had a proble installing. But I have found that after taking the wire on and off several times, I need to squeeze the wire off the reel where it snaps onto the plastic ring to get it back to a snug fit for the dods to engage. It seems to get bug-up in the open position if the wire is too loose on the plastic ring.
Quote from: exp2000 on September 06, 2017, 02:46:40 AM
I have not serviced that many Okumas, but I have a draw full of wrecks and have seen enough to know that I will not be accepting any more.
brett is correct regarding the old okuma reels and, in all fairness, the design of the makaira line is very similar to the old titus gold line. but okuma really does now do a better job of putting these reels together, and once you get used to the order of things, they are not that bad. tedious, yes, but not that bad. so i do still recommend the makaira line. both okuma and penn have really taken our message of "grease in all the right places" to heart. it's been very gratifying to see.
now if we could just get these companies to apply the same standards to their lower end reels, we could see the same improvements in reliability.
and on a side note, brett has a great facebook page. check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/KimberleyRodandReel/
Quote from: alantani on September 06, 2017, 05:02:18 PM
and on a side note, brett has a great facebook page. check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/KimberleyRodandReel/
I am blushing now ::)
Thanks for the plug Boss.
~
Quote from: josa1 on September 06, 2017, 03:55:15 AM
Hi riverrat,
Do you service these reels? If so, how would you rate the difficulty level?
I totally agree that the Makairas are great to fish, I'm just trying to learn how others perceive their serviceability.
Thanks for the comments!
josa1
No I'VE not serviced any Mak's in any sizable numbers. But have taken a few apart. I'm far from an expert on them. Just voicing my thoughts based on what I've seen & primarily hearing that most that have them seemed to be pleased with them....jEFF
i do agree that they are much more difficult and tedious than the avets.
Quote from: alantani on September 06, 2017, 05:02:18 PM
the makaira line is very similar to the old titus gold line. but okuma really does now do a better job of putting these reels together, and once you get used to the order of things, they are not that bad. tedious, yes, but not that bad. so i do still recommend the makaira line.
I have done a few of the Titus Golds and they were a much better reel than other Okumas. I still encountered quality and corrosion issues, but not enough to completely discourage me.
I observed premature wear on one drag cam lever due to inferior alloy quality and upon encountering an immovable seized drag chamber cover, I was instructed by their tech to just smash and replace it but the replacement cost was only something like $A5 plus postage.
What is the alloy quality like on the Makairas? Has it improved significantly?
~
Really haven't seen any corrosion on Makairas. Just minor amounts under the rod mount and rod mount screws.
Want to be clear that the MAKs are great reels, I have three that have had no major problems, and, they fish great. Great free spool, great heavy drags, smooth shifting and such. I just can't seem to learn how to service them to my satisfaction, and each time I do I seem to run into some difficulty.
But,,,I'll keep trying!
josa1
Quote from: exp2000 on September 08, 2017, 02:06:25 AM
Quote from: alantani on September 06, 2017, 05:02:18 PM
the makaira line is very similar to the old titus gold line. but okuma really does now do a better job of putting these reels together, and once you get used to the order of things, they are not that bad. tedious, yes, but not that bad. so i do still recommend the makaira line.
I have done a few of the Titus Golds and they were a much better reel than other Okumas. I still encountered quality and corrosion issues, but not enough to completely discourage me.
I observed premature wear on one drag cam lever due to inferior alloy quality and upon encountering an immovable seized drag chamber cover, I was instructed by their tech to just smash and replace it but the replacement cost was only something like $A5 plus postage.
What is the alloy quality like on the Makairas? Has it improved significantly?
~
Hi,
IMHO, I have the 16 sea and just recently picked up the 10 sea because the 16 delivered big when it mattered. Feels solid, compose and that drag!!! wow!!!
It seems heavier than other reels its size, but for me they are a great reel and are my go to med/heavy live bait outfits.
I read the owner's manual about the heavy duty anodizing process they used on virtually every component and it all feels and looks like it reads:).
Anyway, hope that helps a bit.
Hans
I dont have any trouble with these reels or the older ones. Okuma has there on way of doing things. Once you get used to that your are set.
They do take more time than a Shimano Tiagra. These are so simple and quick to do.