Newell - pinion gear frozen to spool!

[dianeandsteve]

Hi All, I am new to this website, I got on specifically to find out why my spool was frozen on.  The rest of the reel is very clean, all screws came out easy, washers cam apart easy, no corosion or signs of it, However my spool is tuck solid? now what.

I just had my first bout with one of these "frozen pinion on the spool shaft" episodes!!!  I lost!  

The customer's reel was a salvaged 546 sideplate screwed onto a 550 body.  The reel was so corroded that in the process of removing the sideplate, one of the sideplate screws broke because it was frozen in the reel base.

I then removed the bridge screws and saw the frozen pinion on the tiburon spool.  I figured that since the reel was so far gone that if I could separate the pinion, I could either fix the reel or have the guy salvage the nice tiburon aluminum spool.  After soaking the pinion with wd-40 for a couple of nights with failed success, I closed everything up and told the person that the reel is too far gone and it would cost more money to chase the problem.  If he wanted to tamper with the frozen pinion and risk damaging the tiburon spool shaft, that would be on his ownis.  It was bad enough that the reel base needed replacement because of the broken frozen screw....but to pursue further and risk the added cost of a new pinion and a new spool....

At that point, he knew when to draw the line and concluded that it would be cheaper to simply get another reel.  I suggested that he should just disassemble the reel and salvage what ever parts that he could salvage and use it as a "replacement parts reel".

Geezzzz, I cannot imagine that someone would allow their reels to sit without washing the salt off and applying the proper grease and oils.  This stuff is nasty!!!  Gotta know when to say...this is beyond fixing!

Thankfully the customer was understanding about the lack of maintanence on his behalf.

To the fisherman and fisherwomen....please, if you're going to pack away your reels for a while, or better yet, immediately after each fishing session, please hose down your equipment with fresh water.  Also, it is cheaper and a lot less of a headache in the long run if you maintain your equipment every so often or have someone professionally service it for you.  

[alantani]

i'm afraid it will be carl newell's legacy.  stainless steel will rust.  it just takes more time.  the bearing will come off, but it will take some work. 

[Gaffer]

Sucess!! Thanks to An email from Alan suggesting the 2 screw driver technique

I just picked up a Newell 636 and 322. Both had the the frozen Pinion to spool problem.  They have been soaking for a few days. I was able to free up the 636 with the 2 screw drivers at 180 degrees method. Worked like a charm.

The 322 is turning out to be a little bit more problematic. There is literally no room to insert the screw driver tip between the pinion and and the spool.

My question is: Has anyone ever tried electrolysis bath to remove the rust?  Basically you mix a solution of water and Arm and Hammer Washing soda in a bucket. Put a sacrificial Stainless Steel piece of metal (anode) in the bucket. Take a 12v DC power source and attach the positive lead to to sacrificial anode and the negative lead to the Pinion Gear.

In theory the rust should get eaten up and the pinion gear should slide right off.  My question being will I damage anything on the spool or the bridgeplate when doing this?  I can't get the spool off the bridgeplate so would have to drop everything into the bath together.

[codisking]

I've got no experience with your experiment. However, I do have quite a bit of experience with aluminum and electrolysis. From what I have seen, in salt water, is that the stainless bits stand up pretty well but the aluminum will break down very quickly if you do not keep an eye on things.

I would be curious to know what you learn in this process, but like I said, be careful. It might be worth trying a different approach. Rather than pry the gear off of the shaft, you might try pressing the shaft out of the gear.

[codisking]

http://www.amazon.com/Mascot-Precision-Tools-Wheel-Puller-Stationary/dp/B0006O98HG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1432360725&sr=8-5&keywords=mini+gear+puller

This is not a press, but the same concept.

[Tightlines667]

You could easily improvise a press to do the job as well.  I am not real familar with using an electrolisis bath.  I think it might work in a short-controlled run.  But I suspect aluminum's sacrificial nature would leave and currently corroded or exposed aluminum with a higher surface area somewhat vulnerable.  I know we have members with experience using different bath techniques, the first that comes to mind is used by gunsmiths to prep barrels for treatment.  There might be something that works wonders, but it would likely be cost/time prohibitive for most.  I'd be interested to learn more...

But I think I like the 'Keep it simple stupid' mantra.  Though I sdmit I don't always follow it myself.  Keep us posted if you do decide to try something difderent, or learn something.

[Gaffer]

I wound up using the 2 bamboo chopsticks method.  2 pieces of a chopstick on the frozen pinion held tight with vice grips.  A firm pull and it slid right off.  I was amazed at how easily it came off that way.

[Mac53]

Nicely done!  I always knew there had to be another vital use for chopsticks!   

Mac

[thinkwahoo]

You can try sliding a big screwdriver between the lip of the spool and the side plate then apply pressure. This will usually get the pinion shaft to pull out of the pinion gear. Keep in mind you're applying pressure to plastic parts, and there's a limit to how much pressure can be applied before damage can happen to the spool or side plate.

[johndtuttle]

i'm afraid it will be carl newell's legacy.  stainless steel will rust.  it just takes more time.  the bearing will come off, but it will take some work. 

Saltwater will destroy *everything*. It is only a matter of time, some things faster or slower.

If you have spent anytime around boats (and I know you have, Alan ) then you can find rust on all kinds of pure stainless stuff. My favorite is cleats. Pure stainless of the most corrosion resistant alloys known that are strong enough to tie a boat up with...they rust in time.

The whole damn boat is a Battery! 

[Brendan]

Sorry to drag this one up, but I am experiencing this and was wondering if anything else has been used for this. Once again I apologies. Thanks in advance, Brendan.

[Bryan Young]

Sorry I missed this Brendan


I have been using TSI321 on the spool and pinion bearnnng and haven't had problems yet.

[Brendan]

No problem. Dwight saved me on that project. After soaking it for days a torch was the solution.
Thank you Dwight & Bryan.

[Marco450r]

Ok so i have the same problem bought from some one said it will need minor service long story short my pinion is stuck to the spool its frozen looks like ive started damaging the pinion where can i buy one for my Newell C332-5

[Bryan Young]

Ok so i have the same problem bought from some one said it will need minor service long story short my pinion is stuck to the spool its frozen looks like ive started damaging the pinion where can i buy one for my Newell C332-5

You can use the Penn 505 pinion gear.  You will need to remove the pinion gear ring and braze it to the Penn pinion gear, because the ring is larger on the Newell than the Penn.  Then you will be good to go.