torque 300 (1st gen) hard to crank

Started by steelfish, July 22, 2015, 12:47:07 AM

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steelfish

guys, have you ever heard about a penn Int torque 300 that is hard to crank when fishing, jigs or iron, only when fishing not in testing it on the table.

I have a guy that brought me his torque, the reel was serviced 6 months ago by myself and everything was good inside.
this guy had fished with it about 5 times sinde them, until this last time, he told me that the reel was "heavy" to crack almost like when you put too much drag on a TLD 30II and crank you normally feel a bit of resistance on the high speed and when you activate the low speed the crank becomes really smooth and easy.

I opened the reel up and dont see anything wrong, if I crank the reel feels smooth and silence only the sound of the two dogs working, if I put the reel in free-spool the spool spins freely and smooth but really short time average 8-10 seconds (when my Baja special spins freely for 25-30 seconds).

but the problem wasnt when casting with it but when reeling the jig back, the told me it was 3x harder to reel than his torium 30, and only when reeling back the lure.

this is new to me, that problem if there it was a level drag them the culprit would be the right side bearing.

do you guys think that the spool bearings are toasted and the reel become heavy to crank when the lure is in the water but why it feels free and smooth when testing it on your hand with no lures?


any help?
The Baja Guy

Bryan Young

Does it only occur when the drags are tight or it doesn't matter?
:D I talk with every part I send out and each reel I repair so that they perform at the top of their game. :D

MarkT

Sounds like a bad bearing. Tie the line to something, give it some drag and crank on it see if you get the problem.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

johndtuttle

#3
This is one that is a little hard to diagnose over the web, but would take just a few seconds if the reel was in hand...:)

The Torque 300 (I used to own one) is one of the greatest Wahoo reels ever made due to it's fast retrieve but is also know for compromising pure cranking power in the process.

Wahoo Bombs have little resistance on the retrieve, but lipped plugs like Rapala X-Raps were particularly painful to retrieve due to the high gear ratio and deep diving lip and required pump and wind to get them to the boat. For deep diving lipped plugs they got the nickname "torque-less". :D

The question for your friend is has there been a change in this, or is he simply using different lures?

Problems with the bearings should be easily sorted by simply applying some fast oil and seeing how they respond...but unless there is a grinding sensation during retrieve they are unlikely to be the source. If they are causing problems they usually make a grinding sensation or noise.

Anything else as well would make grinding noises (gears worn etc). Without those noises or felt vibrations, probably just "torque-less" for the lure he wants to retrieve.

steelfish

Quote from: Bryan Young on July 23, 2015, 01:06:29 AM
Does it only occur when the drags are tight or it doesn't matter?

Well, it only occurred when retrieving a lure when jigging, if you crank the reel without a lure on the water there is not "heavy" sensation when turning the handle
The Baja Guy

steelfish

Quote from: MarkT on July 23, 2015, 02:08:40 AM
Sounds like a bad bearing. Tie the line to something, give it some drag and crank on it see if you get the problem.

Nice call.
The Baja Guy

steelfish

John.
My friend dont remember if the reel was like That before, but he told me That the same kind of lures That made the reel feel hard to crank(he got exhausted) just reeling the jiggs back, well, when using the torium with the same lures the reel felt really easy to crack.. and both reels are 6:1
Not a single grinding noise at all.
The Baja Guy

nelz

This reel is known to have an issue with occasional pinion breakage. Just guessing here, but what if the pinion has developed a hairline crack? It could cause these symptoms, but be ok in free-spool since it disengages completely.