Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Conventional and Bait Casting Reel Rebuild Tutorials and Questions => Penn Tutorials and Questions => Topic started by: ShoreKasterHI on September 25, 2012, 05:43:55 AM

Title: Eccentric problem
Post by: ShoreKasterHI on September 25, 2012, 05:43:55 AM
Hi i am servicing my friends reel but when i put it together and pull on line and try to freespool it wont give only when i take away the pressure. Is this normal? Any ideas on what could be wrong?
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: redsetta on September 25, 2012, 07:36:38 AM
G'day SK, that's normal - it'll always be tight going out of gear under load as the pinion and main gear are bound together by the load pressure.
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: Alto Mare on September 25, 2012, 10:52:08 AM
Hello SK,  I believe you're talking about initial drag settings. On some of my reels when drags are backed all the way, I can pull the line out with little effort, others are a little tighter.
As Justin mentioned, this is normal, you can play with the tension springs and spacers to get to where you want it to be.
When in gear you can only adjust the tension, not really used for free spooling.
Sal
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: ShoreKasterHI on September 26, 2012, 07:53:30 AM
Let me try this again... When i set some drag on my reel, grab the line and pull it so there is some tension then flip the lever to freespool it goes smoothly. But with his reel the lever is somewhat stuck as if something is binding up. The only way it will freespool is if i take away the tension. His reel is a senator 113h. Not gonna have time to open his reel till friday but figured i'd ask here so it would give me a idea of what to do when i open it back up.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Brian
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: Alto Mare on September 26, 2012, 09:18:18 AM
Sorry for misunderstanding your previous question. It could be a few things, I would start with the yoke and and check for wear, usually it's related to the clutch assembly.
Sal
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: saltydog on September 26, 2012, 12:39:11 PM
X2 the cluth could have a prob,but it is a simple fix.
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: Keta on September 26, 2012, 01:21:41 PM
A burr on the pinion gear is another possible problem.
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: redsetta on September 26, 2012, 09:14:48 PM
Apologies SK - I clearly misunderstood the question.
The lads have you on the right track now.
Good luck, Justin
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: alantani on September 27, 2012, 03:26:40 AM
check the eccentric to make sure it is not rounded off where the freespool lever attaches.  check the eccentric spring.  look for damage to the jack, and finally the yoke.  follow the money, from the freespool lever all the way to the pinion gear.  something is worn or bent out of shape.  you will find it as soon as you open it up. 
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: franky on October 15, 2013, 12:55:55 AM
Its been awhile since seeing this topic, but now I have this same exact problem in one of my reels that I'm working on.  I changed the Yoke and the eccentric jack.  If there is no tension or pressure, the eccentric lever shifts perfectly and easily.  However, if you pull on the line to give the spool some tension and you try to shift the eccentric lever, the lever seems stuck as if it will not go into freespool.

I did notice when looking at the spool shaft, right where the spool shaft meets the spool there is the rectangular box like area that sits into the pinion when the reel is engaged.  I noticed that some spools have an angle cut on two of the opposing corners of this rectangular box.  The spool on this reel does not have it.  All four corners are square.  Could this be the problem?  I am tempted to dremel a very small angle off of the opposing corners to maybe help guide the pinion off the rectangular box area when the eccentric lever is being put into freespool, especially when under slight tension. Slight tension as in the weight of a 10 ounce lead dangling prior to casting.  

Any other thoughts?  Does anyone else notice the angle cuts in the opposing corners of this rectangular box at the base of the spool shaft that the pinion sits over?  Are these opposing cuts suppose to be there?  Should I attempt to dremel it or should I just leave it alone and tell the person its normal and he just needs to lax the tension prior to casting and then put the eccentric lever into cast mode.
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: Bryan Young on October 15, 2013, 01:08:26 AM
It's not the corners.  The shaved corners help the pinion gear slide to engage the spool.  Is the squared section of the spool shaft clean?  How about the pinion?  If it looks good, I'd probably take a micro file and file down the squared section of the spool shaft ever so slightly so that the pinion slides down smoother, and therefore, should slide up smoother.  Don't forget to oil it with corrosionx, tSI or the like.
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: franky on October 15, 2013, 03:59:06 AM
Thanks Bryan,

I took a very fine sand paper and made sure the pinion slid up and down the shaft easily.  I'll try the file on the rectangular box area.

Oh and thanks for the bearing puller head.  :)
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: franky on October 15, 2013, 08:25:19 PM
Okay,

I last night I filed and sanded the boxed area at the base of the spool spindle. 

The pinion slid on and off the entire spool shaft including the boxed rectangular area very easily.

I greased and oiled everthing up and assembled the reel.  It seemed to have worked a little better.  Under a slight pressure, the eccentric lever was still a little resistant but it shifted a little better than before.

I took it out to cast and kept in mind...don't think, just cast like you always do.  Well, with the 10 ounce lead dangling, I found myself naturally thumbing the spool prior to releasing the eccentric lever to prevent the lead from dropping and causing a birdnest.  While shifting the eccentric lever, all I did naturally was to move my thumb down a couple of milimeters (very small) and it allowed the eccentric to shift very easily and smoothly.  It other words, it removed the forward pressure of the spool and the whole clutch system performed perfectly.  Keep in mind, I did not have to think about it nor did I change my casting style to accomodate this particular reel.  I just casted naturally like I would any other penn, newell, shimano, diawa, etc.  The reel worked perfectly.

In this case, the filing and sanding of the rectangular area at the base of the spool spindle and the spindle itself was the answer in addition to checking the whole cluth system.

Thanks all,  :)

Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: Bryan Young on October 15, 2013, 09:47:45 PM
Glad it worked out Franky.
Title: Re: Eccentric problem
Post by: Shark_On on July 09, 2015, 03:32:16 PM
I know this is an old thread, but thought I would add my solution to the same problem.

The OP said basically he did not have free spool, unless he removed drag pressure, which is not free spool, it is less resistance.  Also mentioned the eccentric lever did not feel smooth and right.

His description sounds like my problem as well.

I took apart three of my reels to clean and grease, and after reassembly had the same problem with one, no free spool except to lighten the drag pressure, and the eccentric lever did not feel the same, although it moved and had spring pressure.  Positive that I had done everything correctly, I searched around for some answers.  I tried a few things tightening, loosening, didn't work.

Frustrated about taking it apart again, but found I had installed the eccentric jack under the pinion yoke, instead of on top of the pinion yoke.  Everything assembled and worked fine with the mistake, so it was not obvious to a rookie like me.  Maybe someone else has done this too, or am I the only ding dong?

Made the correction, reassembled and now everything is fine, the free spool works perfectly, and the lever clicks and moves freely as it should.

So as an additional reference to anyone searching the forums, check your eccentric jack to make sure it is on top of the pinion yoke.

Thanks to everyone for their pictures and references, I use many of them and never comment, this place is a wealth of knowledge.