Any tricks to removing the rotor and bearing on a DAM Microlite ?

[Sudsy]

I know - it screws on
I'm trying to build one good reel out of two not so great ones.
Got the rotor off one with no problem, the other is not coming off.

Tried soaking it in PB Blaster (FWIW, best stuff ever for breaking free corroded nuts n bolts)
Tried running a drizzle of hot water on it for 20 minutes
Tried wedging the pinion with a bit of wooden chopstick
Tried screwing the handle back in and pinning the main gear
No luck

Also, the main bearing on both, and thus the pinion are not coming out no matter what I do

AAARRGGGHHH

[Rancanfish]

Well, I'm pretty much a newby here but I'd be waiting for Foakes to see this.  He's the resident Dam Quick pro./fan.

[foakes]

Hi sudsy --

Assuming you have a couple of dam quick microlites #265?

These have the curved stand stem -- not straight like the 110 microlites.

Anyway, like you said, the rotors are threaded, and screw on -- and they screw on counter-clockwise.

Put the handle back on -- hold the handle with your hand tightly around the body, not at the end of the handle -- or you might bend the aluminum crank handle.

Grasp the rotor with your other hand, and work it first counter-clockwise (trying to tighten it to break it loose) -- then it should come off in the other direction with just a little wiggling back and forth.

As for the worm-pinion and main bearing -- install the rotor nut back in place -- making sure the 3 screw shield holding the bearing is already removed -- get some wood under the nut -- using a small wrench to pry between the nut and the wood -- like a lever -- it should come out, along with the bearing attached.

Then to get the pinion off of the bearing -- just drill a hole in a piece of wood -- stick the pinion through it, and tap the pinion out with a wooden hammer or a piece of wood to protect the threads from a regular hammer.

Shouldn't be an issue -- but sometimes these are stubborn.

Let us know,  and I will check in later tonight...if you might need additional help.

Best,

Fred

[Shark Hunter]

Yea, What He Said!

[Sudsy]

Those are all the thing's I've been trying - no luck at all so far
I'm going to give it a few days soak in the PB Blaster before I break it.

[Shark Hunter]

Be Patient Sudsy! You'll get it!

[foakes]

Hi sudsy --

Finally back home after working until late tonight.

I was wrong -- the 265 Microlite rotor unscrews counterclockwise, as normal -- don't know what I was thinking about.

But in the case of one really stuck like yours -- the method remains the same.

Once you get the rotor off -- inspect the reel carefully -- clean everything up -- remove the shield on at least one side of the bearing -- clean it out real good with lacquer thinner, or? -- relube with a mixture of good grease and synthetic oil like CorrosionX.  I generally just use oil in mine -- since it is a fresh water reel, anyway.  And it would be a good idea to grease slightly the outside of the bearing when inserting it back into the bearing cup.

It will be easier to get out in 20 years...

Good luck, and if you mess up a part -- let me know.  I possibly have the only stock of old Microlite parts in the world.

And should have enough parts if you wanted to have two reels instead of one.

I am sure you can do this without any issues -- but if you decide you are stuck -- you can just send it to me, and I'll get it back in top shape for you.



Let us know how you do -- and we are assuming that this is the reel you have, as in the photos?

Best,

Fred

[Sudsy]

Sprayed it good under the rotor with PB Blaster
Tried a few more times over the past two days - no luck getting the rotor off.
Oiled it from the pinion side, greased it and reassembled.

Works fine, nice and smooth. Figure I'll fish it as is over the winter, PB Blast it a few more times, and have another go at it come spring before trout opens.

I have about 35 reels on the bench needing fixup cleanup so I'm not spending more time then necessary on this one single reel.

Got a Penn Surfmaster that's making me crazy right now, intermittent stuff that's hard to pin down, but that's another thread.

[Sudsy]

Actually, here's another question.
There's a wobble in the handle, the knob you turn to fold the handle in for transport doesn't seem to want to tighten fully to lock it back in place.

It's as though I'm missing a spacer or something
What's up with that ??

[foakes]

There is a wavy spring washer spacer between the handle and the crank nut.

If it is missing, that is a likely culprit -- or one piece of the puzzle.

However, if it is still in place then the likely cause is cross-threaded threads on the chrome crank nut.  So, this can be corrected by just removing the handle from the crank axle by punching out the pin, backing off the crank nut -- and carefully and squarely reinstalling the crank nut on the axle to re-establish the thread alignment.  You can generally see if the nut is cross threaded, if it wobbles slightly off center from the crank axle.

The steel crank axle is harder than the chrome over brass crank nut -- so it will generally rethreadi the nut OK -- unless it is too far gone.

Show us some pics.

Thanks,

Fred

[Sudsy]

You are the man - dead nuts on
The chrome crank nut was stripped at the bottom.

It took apart (aka dremmeled off) the snapped handle on my parts reel and swapped nuts
Worked like a charm

I also cut and polished the bail from the parts reel to convert this to manual pickup. This should allow it to be used with braided line without any windknot issues.

[foakes]

Glad it worked out...

I pretty much guessed it was that problem -- but I wanted to walk you through the easier diagnosis steps for the benefit of others who may have a similar issue in the future.

You sound like a capable and experienced fisherman & one who knows his way around reels.

Thanks for the pics.

Best,

Fred

[Sudsy]

Thank you, and thanks for your help.

Simple old surf reels are my game, Penn, Mitchell, Crack, Abu........  - the new stuff, like the Shimano and Daiwa's with over 100 little parts in a spinning reel scare the bejeezus outa me.