Do avets get smoother over time

[FatTuna]

They feel about the same at that drag setting but I may of damaged the pinion bearing. When I received it I was playing with it and buttoned down the drag and I heard a little pop.

Hard to say if you damaged anything. Might have been something shifting with the lever/drag cam that made a pop.

I've replaced a lot of Avet pinon bearings. A damaged one can be subtle. As in you can turn it with your fingers and it feels fine. Once you put pressure on it, it feels bad. A lot of them that have been used are clearly damaged though. Think coffee grinder or really hard to turn.

With a brand new bearing installed, they require a bit of effort to turn at higher drags. I'm always conservative with the drag on Avets because of this.

The bearing might be fine, that reel puts out more drag so the handle being harder to turn seems like it could be normal.

[Wicho5981]

No coffee grinder or really hard to turn .the resistance in handle is subtle when at higher drag so it may be normal.

[mike1010]

Wicho, are you sure it's not just the difference between brand new stainless gears and gears that have been broken in?

Mike

[Wicho5981]

It may be but I don't have many experience with stainless steel gears hopefully thats the problem.

[the rockfish ninja]

To some degree yes, but that depends on the usage and how it's maintained. If you're like me and don't have a lot of reels, I use the crap out of what I have, in tough conditions (surf,rocks) so I take them completely apart a couple times a year or they wouldn't be too smooth. If it's a reel that gets used periodically from a boat and kept clean, the bearings and gears will smooth out over time. The physics of metal against metal sometimes polishing itself and grease breaking down to a light film over time.

At least that's how my Avets behaved.

[AJ]

I had an early Raptor that did the same thing.  Finally traced it to a high spot in one of the gears.  I sanded it down and everything is fine now.  Taking apart the gear train is a PITA.  If this is a new reel consider exchanging it for a different reel.
The roughness might have gone away with use but...??  Good luck.

[DaBigOno]

They feel about the same at that drag setting but I may of damaged the pinion bearing. When I received it I was playing with it and buttoned down the drag and I heard a little pop.

[billm]

Hi,
  I have and SX and an SXJ.  Bought them both new.  The SX is slightly rougher to turn but has twice as much gear noise than the SXJ. It was like that straight out of the box.   I've read this in other forums about the SX.  The reels are both well maintained and never have the drag pushed very high. 


Bill.

[Wicho5981]

Most of the noise will go away over time

[mike1010]

I've got my hands on two SXJs, an SX, and an MXL.  The ones fished less are noisier, the ones fished more quieter.  Close enough for jazz.

Mike