funny how you don't really appreciate something until it's gone. pull up the schematics at http://avetreels.com/pdf/ProEX4-02spd.pdf and follow along. before you open up this reel, call avet at (818)576-9895 and order up three brake disc pin c clips (part #exw402-019), three brake pin springs (part #exw402-025) and a 5/02 handle (part #ex502-087).
here's the reel.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/100_1923.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/100_1924.JPG)
remove the left endcap screws (key #1).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/100_1925.JPG)
the endcap housing (key #4) comes off cleanly. the only thing that might fall out is the spool stop knob (key #14) and spring (key #15). set everything aside.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/100_1926.JPG)
now remove the spool assembly and set it aside.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/100_1927.JPG)
remove the right end cap screws (key #1).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/100_1928.JPG)
you are now down to four pieces.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1929.JPG)
remove each harness lug screw (key #9), one at at time, add a small bead of grease and replace the screw.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1930.JPG)
back out each rod mount screw (key #90), one at a time, shoot in a bead of grease and torque the screw down nice and tight. you don't want these to back out on you later.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1931.JPG)
this reel did not come with rod mount bolts (key #91), but we'll grease the screw holes anyway.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1932.JPG)
let's take a minute now to put a very small bead of grease in every end housing screw hole.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1933.JPG)
now for the right end housing assembly. it contains three bearings. we're going to pull each bearing, pack it with grease, reinstall the bearings, grease all the screw holes and change out the handle grip for a larger one.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1934.JPG)
remove the cover screws (key #80) and the crank arm cover (key #79).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1935.JPG)
grab the knob of the release arm (key #77) and gently lift the arm, spring (key #75) and lock plate (key #74) as a unit.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1936.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1937.JPG)
remove the crank arm nut (key #73) and push arm (key #78) as a unit.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1938.JPG)
don't forget the washer (key #71).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1939.JPG)
remove the handle assembly and drive shaft washer (key #69).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1940.JPG)
to remove the main gear and drive shaft assembly, simply lift the right end housing up and leave the gear/drive shaft assembly where it sits. oh, and let's also leave it in one piece.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1941.JPG)
locate and remove the two drive shaft bearings (key #67) and the drive shaft tube (key #68). set them aside.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1942.JPG)
pry out the gear bearing (key #32). this is also commonly referred to as the right main side plate bearing and is usually the first bearing to fail. take care to leave the cam assembly in place (key #'s 33, 34, 35 and 36).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1943.JPG)
carefully remove the seals from the bearing with a small scalpel or thin blade. we will need to re-install the seals later, so don't mangle them. note that the bearing is not totally packed with grease. these air pockets will allow salt water intrusion, front and back.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1944.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1945.JPG)
let's pack both sides of the bearing carefully with yamaha engine grease ....
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1946.JPG)
.... and reinstall the shields.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1947.JPG)
press the bearing back into the cam housing.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1948.JPG)
remove the seals from the drive shaft bearings (key #66).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1949.JPG)
note that these bearings are also not fully packed with grease.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1950.JPG)
pack these with grease and reinstall the seals.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1951.JPG)
reinstall the drive shaft, bearings and tube.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1952.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1953.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1954.JPG)
note the lip on the drive shaft washer (key#69). it faces down.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1955.JPG)
reinstall the handle assembly.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1956.JPG)
reinstall the washer (key #71) and push knob assembly (key's #73 and 78).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1957.JPG)
to make sure the lock plate lines up properly, tighten the crank arm nut (key #73) until the point lines up with the spring pin (key #76).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1958.JPG)
install the lock plate (key #74), release arm spring (key #75) and release arm (key #77) as a unit.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1959.JPG)
add a bead of grease to the screw holes and install the crank arm cover (key #79) and screws (key #80).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1960.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1961.JPG)
now let's check the button and release arm to make sure they both work!
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1962.JPG)
i'd like to remove the 4/0 grip and install the larger 5/0 grip.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1963.JPG)
remove the handle lock screw (key #88) and washer (key #87), and switch grips.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1964.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1965.JPG)
remove the three cover plate screws (key #52) and three plate screws (key#42), one at a time, add a bead of grease and reinstall each screw.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1967.JPG)
add a small amount of grease around each screw hole in the right end housing (key #39).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1968.JPG)
install the right end housing.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1969.JPG)
now for the spool assembly. let's start by removing the left brake screw (key #17) and lock washer (key #18). i have noted that many reels do not have this lock washer
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1970.JPG)
remove the left brake (key #20) and brake retracting spring (key #22).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1971.JPG)
here's the only tricky part. you should have already ordered a set of brake disc c-clip pins (key #19). even knowing that these have wings, i still lose one out of every 10. take a very small pair of wire cutters and push the clip out and off the pin. cover the pin with your left index finger first, then set it aside in a safe place.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1973.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1972.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1974.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1975.JPG)
remove the disc brake (key #21).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1976.JPG)
remove the 3 brake pin springs (key #25) and set them aside.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1977.JPG)
remove the left brake (key #20).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1978.JPG)
remove the spool shaft assembly and carefully tap out the bearings.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1979.JPG)
here's a shot of the spool shaft assembly as it sits in the spool ....
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1982.JPG)
.... and separated.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1983.JPG)
interestingly, the bearings are not fully sealed. the outsides have seals, the insides are open.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1980.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1981.JPG)
it is still my preference to remove the seals of these spool bearings, clean out any amount of grease, lube them with corrosion x and re-install them open.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1984.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1985.JPG)
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1986.JPG)
to waterproof the drag washer, apply a generous coat of shimano or cal's drag grease. make sure you get the edges as well.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1987.JPG)
take a clean rag and vigorously rub off all of the excess grease.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1988.JPG)
here's a greased drag washer on the left and a dry drag washer on the right. not much difference, in appearance or function, but the greased drag washers are impervious to water.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1989.JPG)
install the left brake (key #20) and brake pin springs (key #25). a bead of grease in the hole will help keep the springs from getting lost.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1990.JPG)
ok, now, follow me on this one. a stock avet ex 4/02 will typically give you 17-18#'s of drag at strike before losing freespool. changing the configuration of the belleville pressure washers from "(())" to "((((" has little effect. the only other way is to scooth the inside drag washer as close as possible to the drag disc. i had never thought of this until i tried to hotrod a daiwa sld 30 two speed. and the double drag design of the daiwa sld is very similar to the avet ex 4/02. i got 30#'s of drag at strike out of a daiwa sld 30 two speed. i tried the same thing with an avet ex 4/02 and got the same results.
there are two ways to move the inside drag washer closer to the disc. one is to move the drag washer closer to the metal disc by putting a thin washer between the bearing and the drag washer. the other way is to move the metal disc closer to the drag washer by putting a thin washer under each of the c-clips or by chosing the short set of pins. for the avet ex 4/02's that i've worked on so far, i've been able to get 30#'s of drag out of most of them by simply chosing the short set of pins. interestingly, the first couple of reels needed a washer under inside drag washer as well. for now, let's just go with the shorter pins.
first, let's figure out which pins are short and which ones are tall. place the disc brake (key #21) so that it rests ON TOP of the brake pins. i know the photo is blurry, but look carefully. you will note that the pin to the left of the spring is taller than the pin to the right. and they alternate tall, short, tall, short, tall, short.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1991.JPG)
to get the maximum amount of drag out of this reel, let's put the brake disc c-clips (key #19) on the short pins.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1992.JPG)
grease the left brake (key #20) and rub off the excess.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1993.JPG)
install the brake retracting spring (key #22) and the left brake (key #20).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1994.JPG)
install the left brake screw (key #17) and lock washer (key #18).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1995.JPG)
45 seconds of freespool for the bare spool.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1996.JPG)
install the completed spool assembly back into the frame.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1997.JPG)
now for the left end cap. normally i'd pull the end cap bearing (key #5) out but this one was pressed in so tight that i could now pry it out. i removed the seal, packed the bearing with grease as best i could, and replaced the seal.
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1998.JPG)
add a small amount of grease around the screw holes of the left end cap (key #4).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_1999.JPG)
add some grease to the dogs (key #7) to hold them in place. line up with end cap housing with the frame, then turn the handle slightly and it will snap into place. don't forget the spool stop knob (key #14) and spring (key #15).
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_2000.JPG)
tighten down the the end housing screws (key #1) and you're done! whew!
(http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/101_2001.JPG)
these reels have just been coming out of the woodwork. this particular reel had a max drag at strike before losing freespool of 32#'s after it was all said and done. the last half dozen reels have varied from a low of 28#'s to a high of over 40#'s. i believe the reason for such a wide range was because of varying heights of the disc brake pins. interestingly, the first two reels that i worked on had pins that were so high that i needed a thin washer between the bearing and left brake to close the gap. note also, that at these higher drag settings, the drag is either "on" or "off." when you throw the lever forward, the drag ramps up immediately. nothing subtle about it!
if you look at 20 and-30 sized two speed reels in the $300 class, only the the avet ex 4/0's and the daiwa sld two speeds have all aluminum frames. both reels can be hotrodded to give you 30#'s of drag at strike before losing freespool. that means you can fish either of them with 100-130 pound spectra and topshots of 40, 50, 60, 80 or even 100#'s. the handle upgrade for the avet is only $10. the daiwa sld's very are difficult to service. so much so that i do not ever plan to write a rebuild post on this reel. the daiwa has an unusual red fiber drag material, not my trusted carbon fiber. "out of the box" freespool for the daiwa is legendary, but the avet is close enough. for all of these reason, i am going to call the avet ex and exw 4/02's the overall best reels in their class, even standing shoulder to shoulder with reels costing hundreds more.
too bad they've been discontinued......
How long do u think Avet will support this reel with parts? And also does this reel also suffer from bearing failure/ hard to turn at higher drags? Thanks
the length of avet's support, i do not know. i doublt that they are still making parts. i do know that you can get 30#'s with no trouble. alan
Has anyone tried the Kodiak cam after modifying the drag to achieve a less aggressive drag with greater range of drag settings between free spool and strike?
As stated by AT:
"note also, that at these higher drag settings, the drag is either "on" or "off." when you throw the lever forward, the drag ramps up immediately. nothing subtle about it!"
It's great to get this type of drag, however I find myself on occasions needing to decrease my drag and I wouldnt want to go to free spool with small decreases from the strike setting. On the positive side of this free spool to strike situation, at least I'll know ahead of time of the results. I guess I'll get the cam/lever assembly in a contrasting color (black or blue should look nice on my silver frame) when I do the modification.
Leo
hello out there: reading the post on rebuilding a drag curve or modifying the factory work is fascinating in that it gets the job done better, we hope. so that brings up a question. what is a Kodiak Cam.??? tell me more!.....i want to smooth out the ramp up on several leverdrag reels that arent used for trolling and dont need or want the aggressive ramp up after free spool. how can I smooth it out a little? anybody try to do something like that? any advice for starters????? gstours............
the "drag curve" is a result of the shape of the ramp of the cam. if you make the ram angle up evenly, you will get an even increase in drag. it's that simple. you just have to go in the file, reshape the cam, and get it right the first time.
...but before you do that, i'd like to remind readers of the effect of belleville spring washers. Their place in this context is very important. It happens with some regularity, that a poster complains of a unsatisfactory drag curve in their lever drag reel.* And with some regularity, it is eventually shown that someone has previously been fiddling with the arrangement of belleville spring washers.
The charts below are self-explanatory, if one visualizes the curves as the reel's resultant drag curve.
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/DrRob101/bild-19.jpg)
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/DrRob101/bild-22.jpg)
*Any / all / most lever-drag reels; not neccesarily relevant only to this Avet reel or thread
best explanation i've seen. thanks, doc!
Anyone know the bearing numbers for the drive shaft bearings (item #67).
Would like to try and source locally from Australia if at all possible, need them fairly quickly.
Rothmar,
The are not metric size, but here's the info in Imperial/US and metric:
.471x.825x.195"
11.97x21.13x4.96mm
Leo
Cheers Leo, very much appreciated.
Here's why I asked....
(http://alantani.com/gallery/22/10783_20_10_17_3_53_55_221851075.jpeg)
Can't make out the numbers as the steel is tarnished. Thanks for saving me the trouble of breaking out the verniers. Otherwise the reel is great condition. I wish this particular reel was mine, very well made.
As Keta/Lee would say:
Yup!!
Heres all the bearing info, meant to post ths:
-- PRO EX 4/0-2:
- BEARINGS:
- (2) SPOOL BBs: .248x.624x.194"
6.34x15.87x4.95mm
- (2) GEAR SHFT: .471x.825x.195"
11.97x21.13x4.96mm
- (2)R/L-CVR/PIN: .373x.873x.279"
9.45x22.19x7.09mm
Thanks for posting those bearing dimensions Leo. I reckon others will benefit from having those posted here.
Got into the spool today and found this on the drag plate.....
(http://alantani.com/gallery/22/10783_20_10_17_3_56_53_2219023.jpeg)
Something had passed through here and buckled the plate. You can see I have started to try and lap this out on the lapping plate, and some fine compound. It didn't take too long to clear up the other side and true it back to being perfectly flat.
A bit more elbow work and I got it to this....
(http://alantani.com/gallery/22/10783_20_10_17_4_08_06_222111771.jpeg)
You can see here the drag washer now covers most of the flattened area. I didn't want to go any further otherwise I was worried about thinning the plate down.....
(http://alantani.com/gallery/22/10783_20_10_17_4_13_17_22223321.jpeg)
And the plate polished right up. It slips easily off the hand.
(http://alantani.com/gallery/22/10783_20_10_17_3_54_05_221862250.jpeg)
Will see how it comes out when I put it all back together tomorrow.
Wow, that's one deep gouge. Glad you got it flattened out.
Nice lapping there,looks like it got hammered from both sides.
Well, I was not overly happy with the performance of the drag after re-assembling from the above pix. It had a bit of stickiness from start up which I was not happy with. It was back to the lapping plate, this time with coarse grit, and another hour was spent working away at it. Eventually I flattened out all but the gouge, itself. I suspect the low spot around the gouge had something to do with it. Bit of a finish with the fine grit, but decided not to polish up shiny. Viola! Drag is now very smooth. Have the plate set on the low pegs, no scales on hand, but with a few wraps of the 200lb wind-on that is on the spool, there is enough force to start crushing my hand! And it slips beautifully. Very happy with the result.
Good.
Question is, how did it get that way? That's the kind of thing that usually doesn't happen by itself.
Funny, (or not) once upon a time i came up with a drag material that had no trouble with an uneven opposing surface. It could run on that plate, smooth as silk. I know so, because that is how i tested it: removed smooth flat drag washer from a reel, beat randomly with hammer until thoroughly misshapen and reinstalled. Worked perfectly. Had a meeting with Big Powerful Friction Material Company People; they didn't care. A year later, someone else had patented it. Hmm.
.
The gouge and distortion of the plate? No idea. All I know is the current owner acquired it from someone who gave it a serious workout. I have been wondering the same thing as to how it got this way myself. There are no missing or damaged parts in the reel, other than the plate.
The original owner has passed way, I guess we'll never know. There was a bit of evidence to suggest the reel had been opened previously....perhaps a re-assembly error?
Robert, your story reminds me of Simon Anderson (anyone here into surfing?). Designed the "thruster" surfboard and proved its superior design in waves around the world in 1981. By '83, "everyone" was riding a 3 finned thruster. The mind boggles at the amount of thrusters that have been made worldwide in 30-odd years.
And Simon never patented it.......
Finally got bearings sent and fitted, and really gave this reel some pain.
Max drag setting at which the slightest tightening on the handle could be felt when cranking.
Drag greased and silky smooth. Drag plate fitted on low pegs. Still attained free spool. Sorry didn't check the strike setting on the way up. Don't think the end plate bearings would be up to prolonged stress at this load. But then, neither would any angler standing up! An awesome reel for its size.
Numbers in red are kilograms.
(http://alantani.com/gallery/22/10783_20_10_17_4_10_57_222171746.jpeg)
I just picked up a silver one last night from the longfin in Orange, CA for $179 with 80 lbs topshot and about 300 yards of braid. I took it apart and went through the whole reel thanks to the tutorial from Alan T. None of the bearings had any sufficient grease so I greased all the non-spool bearings and use tsi on the 2 spool bearings. Loaded it back up with 80 lbs hollow and got about 33 lbs of drag on straight pull at strike.
Thanks Alan.
best reel in it's class!
I just picked one of these up for cheap, but it needs some TLC. I want to order some bearings but it doesn't seem that Boca or VXB really have the correct sizes. Should I just order some EX-30 bearings from Avet or does someone else have better after market bearings?
smoothdrag.com
Perfect! Thanks Alan.
So made the drag modifications here and installed the bearings from smoothdrag and everything feels good so I'm ready to rock now!
Two things though ;D
1) The clicker seems to be only half working, but I'm aware its not this reels strong point. It just doesn't sounds intermittent and not loud.....do I just need to replace the spring? Any aftermarket mods for this....you can't drill & drop in the EX30 clicker mechanism can you?
2) The handle knob is worn (wobbles) on the knob shaft and I'd like to replace the whole knob/shaft with an aftermarket T-Bar. I took the knob out last night night but coudln't get the plug out of the shaft to see how to remove the knob shaft from the handle. Is there any good way to remove the shaft for the knob or does it have to be drilled out?
Quote from: mitchman on June 19, 2015, 01:09:07 PMIs there any good way to remove the shaft for the knob or does it have to be drilled out?
Old or new style handle?
Nevermind, the plug was wedged in the handle shaft and i got it out with some PB blaster and elbow grease. The knob shaft screwed into the handle. Thinking about upgrading with a reel power handle aftermarket handle though I am aware it will require some drilling out. Is the spring for the clicker still available since they chance the clicker configuration on the EX?
Quote from: mitchman on June 22, 2015, 01:48:35 PM
The knob shaft screwed into the handle.
Old style then, I put EX50 handles on my 2 4/0s.
How does the HX Raptor compare to this reel?
Quote from: Rivverrat on July 10, 2015, 03:50:29 PM
How does the HX Raptor compare to this reel?
This reel is same size at the EXW30, so its a larger size than the HX.
I busted the spring on the clicker. Does Avet still sells these? Their parts department is hard to get ahold of....
I bought one of these off of eBay recently. Reel looked and worked great. I had it set to 15 lbs drag at strike. I decided to go through the reel anyway and ensure there was no internal corrosion and lube the bearings. I think I followed the tutorial exactly with exception to the cam. It came apart when I tried to pry out the bearing. I cleaned, lubed and reassembled the cam. The drag plate was already set on the short pins. When I got everything reassembled, I couldn't get more than about 6 lbs of drag without a very noticeable increase in resistance on the crank. At 15 lbs, I can hardly turn the crank. I pulled the reel apart again and fully reassembled. No change. Not sure what I did wrong...any ideas?
Quote from: mitchman on October 16, 2015, 07:02:59 PM
I busted the spring on the clicker. Does Avet still sells these? Their parts department is hard to get ahold of....
Avet prefers that you order parts on line. You need a "EXW402-010" and you can order it here, http://www.avetreels.net/PARTS.php (http://www.avetreels.net/PARTS.php) They will call you and let you know the price and availability.
Quote from: Lingwrangler on November 09, 2015, 03:05:44 PM
I bought one of these off of eBay recently. Reel looked and worked great. I had it set to 15 lbs drag at strike. I decided to go through the reel anyway and ensure there was no internal corrosion and lube the bearings. I think I followed the tutorial exactly with exception to the cam. It came apart when I tried to pry out the bearing. I cleaned, lubed and reassembled the cam. The drag plate was already set on the short pins. When I got everything reassembled, I couldn't get more than about 6 lbs of drag without a very noticeable increase in resistance on the crank. At 15 lbs, I can hardly turn the crank. I pulled the reel apart again and fully reassembled. No change. Not sure what I did wrong...any ideas?
Well, I have gone through this reel at least a dozen times. Added the spacer washer that was missing between the bellevilles and the spool bearing, nothing. Replaced the bellevilles, nothing. I replaced the drag plate springs and clips, nothing. Still incredibly hard to turn the crank even at very light drag settings. Finally I flipped the end cap and cam bearings over. Perfect operation after that. Disassembled again and inspected those bearings. They spin freeley , but if you put the slightest axial load on the cam bearing, it locks up completely. Load in the other direction and it is fine. I ended up with the belleville orientation of ))))|| to get the right spacing. (()) was too wide and ()() was much too wide. 26# drag at strike.
I'm now thinking about just replacing all of the bearings in this reel. Is this worth it or should I just replace the faulty one?
start with just the bearing that is bad. dawn at smoothdrag.com should have them. what you describe is classic for a seized up right main side plate bearing.
Avet charges $5 for a bearing... For a good reason!
Quote... I ended up with the belleville orientation of ))))||...
Concave side facing AWAY from the bearing then, otherwise they rub on the spool bearing.
.
Alan or any one who may know. Is the newer EX 30 as good a reel as this one ?
Yes.
Thanks, Lee....Jeff
The current EX30 is a better reel than the older EX4/0: It has more drag, a functional clicker, and is easier to service because of the way the drag plate is attached and the location of the belleville washers. Unfortunately, it's more expensive. I also wish the dogs are silent, but other than that, it's great reel. People use the for large halibut up here, and I use one as a 100# tuna reel.
The Bellville washers are harder to put in on the 30.
Ok so... reviving a thread!
Just bought I used exw 4/02 and took the left side plate off to perform the drag upgrade. Looks like it had already been done as the cir-clips are located on the short posts of the drag plate.
I gather that once upgraded, the lever will be stiff to push up to and beyond strike, which it is, but knocking it back into freespool requires additional (firm) force to make it 'clunk' into position. Is this normal??
I'm getting about 25lb at strike. Would love to get 30 ;D
Thanks in advance!
Tim
You are exceeding the capacity of the reel, that's what is causing the resistance when going to full. You will destroy the pinion bearing.
it's a good 60 pound reel with 18 pounds of drag at strike. it can grudgingly fish an 80 pound topshot with 24 pounds of drag at strike. anymore is really pushing this old reel pretty hard. :-\
Ah ok, thanks Alan. I bought this as the price was right and thought it was possible to hotrod it to a 100lb reel giving 30 at strike as per your step by step. Looks like it's back to the rusty internationals for me then!
just button down the preset knob and see if you can get 30. i'll bet you can. then muscle that lever forward and see how well it holds up. worst case, you have to replace the pinion bearing, but it might work out. give it a try!
Joined your site yesterday and this is my first post. I picked up a 4/02 ex and a exw recently, both look like new. I'd like to have them improved as shown in this thread. Do you still have access to the needed parts? Cost to have done? thanks
The only extra part you might need is a larger handle grip. Otherwise, it's a standard service.
Thanks, you'll be seeing them sometime in the not too distant future. :)
Based on Alan's tutorial and reviews on this reel, I took a chance on buying one that had some free spool issues since the price was right. The reel was new in box, old stock EXW. When I popped the side plate and pulled the spool off, it became clear what the main source of the problem was. The outside brake plate was not sitting straight on the spool shaft.
https://youtu.be/8iIuYC4z5C4
After messing around with it for a while, I was able to get it to sit straight by replacing the lock washer (key #18) with two 3mm flat washers. I tried using no washers at first, thinking that this problem could explain why many of the reels Alan's seen don't have it, but the screw head was slightly too small to provide a solid surface for the brake plate to sit straight. One flat washer improved it, but two washers made it the best. The thickness of the 2 flat washers ended up being close to the same as the lock washer.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/XOi6ZmMTlv2A2qz-5zjER3ieI-ufbBbQ4KGl4HfF1XOwrLhK7xDJlrmlm5AwlPjUNq2dBiLz80Wip7wWsTQ_eBf9ApV0Scgy74MHFGj-WdZY8uwL37ygxazkfl2IXz03ZLMl4WjNXKl-ilsuGylrfLoUkhXCeagXbFsiRU1Ti7av91s3xCMxLweYlG95ljgI07xc_2D_hTnAKVJO_de2A_y_0LpBmJszTFMf9iesSJ_1E4CCvzRjWcyjtvCH6bkzaLG4aMjm7oTT82DrRTE6GbIXKOHYP-xnpi2QtOYtKeFu-QWWr3zOnufIAFrYYtwfj5fL9YpGWnqeyt5xB0pTfSeO_IBD6-ZdfwEnvwE__JTF6J6XUfylP2Vivg4wCUus1m1G09EBgbYZkitKny1gyJPcIjMeZbyoUQi1s4IfczIRLbCMaSSkp4Ug7qSVZ0cZyPpz9RKYHFdzvfRoBgR-GEZe5kOtTSdmIpVtP7zgpHjSg8XXizqWl5JYRORrZ1yjkFOok_pmXLMZs_NTDoHBGt66OPZLiMYEZ63tODunpXMg0eBlD09cpmOgRL0ZM1M-0ZdSteWxlhVc5CJDK2KE9fzFB-d7_-ITiwWJzM2UqFDN4OOp1OrbrrfKb5a_kHV2fg50AnzwbW8CnQz_QCorHNINJUCa4q5iQxnshk4bunjZX5CAw5rdAIPy47CIv8UjaMYI-Td9VciY1T6WyNjC0gXK=w800-h600-no?authuser=0)
This was much better!
https://youtu.be/hvUUv3dCWZc
At this point I did the full service, greasing all non-spool bearings and screw holes, oiling the spool bearings, and greasing the drag washers with Cal's. Of note, all 6 of the drag plate posts appeared to be the same height, so I didn't have the option to move the drag plate closer to the spool. So I went ahead and put it all back together. After doing that, the free spool was improved, but not great.
So back apart the reel came again. I added a shim underneath the inside brake plate, but the thinnest I had was 0.018", which pushed the drag washer into contact with the drag plate at all times. Maybe if I had one that was 0.010" it would have worked.
For the next option, I changed the Belleville stack from ()() to (((( and believe it or not, that did the trick. Now the reel has 35 lbs of drag at strike with over 30 seconds of free spool. But, if I turn the reel handle side down, the spool rubs up against one of the drag washers slightly and stops spinning. Any pointers on what needs to be done to fix that are appreciated.
Eric
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/oppVxIkl5G_rA822RsSRDShStipWdU_6CfIMk0weI5qg-ZVJiqh-wwSXTgMBPD7RqLPUqUPe6p-aonBi1tA65YNTFy8XJ_DenbuiSOxOAQpbIGl3JSD790YqouwPRYsoTO94t_vf2A5rSGuo6yI4PUuplV_OhVRVHmpfvISrXOEEia8fY2h3krOSRC4HH9dZ5n0zvdgeSn5TB8QtY6Bia0WWJI3mhS0NtL7kkSMrcDvcNTsyJmrZjGo3TC75E9hshzb0vGfm2ktYCIgsBr76abjE4ndxrCzcPD2YVX7sRL96C4sOMKUowbb_oK83el-WVTEGZH5KkFWXRX204Bfn0d7TBRdhFV77ZahKWfte2Ekj06DvvbYyPPRc7KT-j51EMMonIWNCD77pXnibEvuWvBeJtV68gBm7R5QYxFIYrN7ptPMF_Z7SX-E7MTCRVJSA3MYbOUuZAAWzhLzjEjqIkoK7MMrWlcWueX1-yJFo-ZF_kFHnXF5KjfuFhkImllsoyBUwfjm4W--3rwCx66jUlLbVhTjqynCMnJpThOXn4eV6Oi_11kYdSmjt7oULixW_Rs9LJSiOHFyphWjhURCppNdZlTUUbzrflet7UHib6GPOzJWZXnldEVdkf_Hkgmv2bLU3GK5_srkfjQxsNjVR62omx_3NfM_ZvikXKukmLchU_dwSWR8eEmaHqdofzCuqgvCaRtSwM4hN_izA7eeWKgy4=w535-h800-no?authuser=0)
shimming the right spool bearing to take out any play should do the trick! otherwise, looks great!!!!!!
Installing the washers like (((( reduces the height, maybe try ((() or add a shim in there like (((I)
Thanks guys. I think I'm understanding it now. ()() is too tall. (((( is too short. I need to find that magical stack height that doesn't push the drag plate up against the outside drag washer but also doesn't allow the drag plate to fall onto the inside drag washer when the reel is tilted to the right. Is it correct that adding a shim like |(((( or ((((| won't change the drag curve from what is now, but changing the Belleville orientation like ((() or (((|) will (however slight it might be)?
Luckily I don't have to pull the drag plate off anymore to do this. The C-clips on there now have been taken on and off so many times, I had to true them up with some small needle-nose to get them to stay on the last time. So I might have to buy more for next time. I did all my work removing and replacing them inside a gallon sized ziplock bag so that the couple times one did go flying, it didn't go far. :-)