Newell No Letter Series 550 3.2

Started by franky, February 28, 2011, 08:20:34 PM

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franky

I just did some work on the reel and got it to work normally when the reel is in gear.

However, when i put the casting lever into the casting mode, the handle which is normally suppose to be able to revolve is stuck and there is a grinding feel.

When I return the casting lever back to the fighting fish mode, I can feel and hear the pinion engaging normally and the reel functions normally. (everythings fine)

I then took the reel down to the park and tried casting it.  I put the reel into casting mode and the reel casted very well.  However, while it is in the casting mode, the handle will not revolve and something seems stuck in the sideplate.

When I brought the reel back home, I opened both the "No letter 550 reel" and my "S-550 reel" to compare internal parts.  I did notice that the pinion is much bigger in the no letter series reel.  The eccentric jack was also smaller than the eccentric jack in my S-550 reel.

In my S-550 reel, if you put the casting lever into the casting mode, the eccentric jack moves from the pinion outward and away thus lifting the yoke.

In the No letter 550 reel, if you put the casting lever into the casting mode, the eccentric jack moves toward the pinion thus lifting the yoke.

Its amazing how the two reels operate differently.  I am not sure if the eccentric jack from the current S-series model can replace the smaller jack in the no letter series reel.  ???

In either case, when the casting lever is in the casting mode, the pinion is flush with the bridgeplate, therefore I would think that the pinion is disengaged with the spool shaft.  For some reason, the handle does not want to freely revolve while the casting lever is in the casting mode.

???Any ideas?  ??? 

alantani

when you crank the handle with lever in free, the pinion gear still turns.  i'll bet it's rubbing against the bearing or side plate.  a shorter pinion gear (or one that travels less) might be the answer.  alan

hey, keith!  any chance you can get mr. downie over here to look at this?  
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

franky

Thanks Alan for the reply.

By the way, does newell make shorter pinions?  Also, for some reason, the pinion on the no letter series is fatter (outside diameter and inside diameter) than the pinion on the S-series.  I do however know that it has to be a newell part because the spool shaft does fit in the pinion.

It was strange, because when I compared the spool from the S-550 and the spool from the no letter 550, the spool shaft on the no letter series reel was fatter.

If they do make the shorter pinion with the bigger inside diameter to accomodate the spool shaft, I think we might have a bingo!   

alantani

let's wait and see if we get an answer.........
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Keith K

Quote from: alantani on February 28, 2011, 10:09:18 PM
when you crank the handle with lever in free, the pinion gear still turns.  i'll bet it's rubbing against the bearing or side plate.  a shorter pinion gear (or one that travels less) might be the answer.  alan

hey, keith!  any chance you can get mr. downie over here to look at this?  

Shout out to "reel man"!  Pick me up.  Over.

Keith K

Printed here with permission from "reel man"

there are some shim washers behind the left side bearing cup. There should be 4, thin stainless steel shim washers. The reason for this is the larger ID bearing is thinner than the bearings used in the standard 500 series reels.

The standard bearing is .375 OD, .125 ID, and .156 thick. The bearings used in the 3.2, 500 series and all the 600 series is different, thus the reason for the shim washers.

Pull the bearing out of the right side cup and see if there are more than 3 or 4 of these shim washers. If there are more then remove the excess shim washers until the reel operates smoothly.

You should be able to do this without taking the reel apart.

franky

Thank you Keith, Alan, and the "reel man".  :)

From the sound of it, I guess the objective is to move or shim the spool so that it is positioned more to the right (handle sideplate).  Unfortunately, the no letter reel has the black plastic bearing cap rather than the stainless steel removable bearing cap  >:(.... I'll give it a try.

Oh, I've also learned that the difference in size of the pinion between my "S-series 550" and the "no letter series 550" has nothing to do with the series itself (i.e. P-series, S-series, G-series, C-series, blackie series, etc.).  Rather, it has to do with the gear ratio of the reel.  My S-series 550 is a 4.6 ratio and the no letter that I worked on was a 3.2 gear ratio; hence the bigger pinion on the 3.2 model.  I used to think that all the pinions in the 500 series reels were exactly alike -- just that the threads on the gears were fewer and wider apart for the 3.2 model and more and closer together for the 4.6 model.  Interesting... ;)

What I am also going to try is to remove the spool entirely and put the lever into the casting mode and see what happens.  Hopefully things work out....