Do I Need to Re-lube my Old reels?

[MarcosG]

Hello,

I have some spinning reels that are about ten to twelve years old. Some of them have never been used and some maybe five times within all these years. The ones I used were for fishing off the pier (beach). They were cleaned and wiped off with dump cloth, lubed externally with either silicone spray or REM oil and wiped again and back to its original box.
I now will be retiring and moving close to the ocean where I will be doing a lot more fishing thank God.
My question is: Even though those reels are old but well kept without much usage, do I need to open them up and change the original grease? Not sure if grease goes bad after a certain period of time.
Most of the old reels I have are Peens SS and Baitrunners 6500B.
One of the Penns I cleaned and re-lube inside since it was the one I used mostly. The Shimanos are a little more involved I think, but there is I wonderful tutorial here written by BigT that I could follow (way more work than the Penns). The Shimanos are the ones that I used the least or never used at all in all these years.
They all spin fine without grinding noise. Just want to make sure before I start using them.
Sorry for the long story and my English as well. The bottom question is: Do the grease loose its viscosity inside of the gears, pinion and bearings after ten years without usage?
If you guys say yes, that I should remove the old grease and replace with new one I'm already prepared (Yamaha Grease, Penn Grease, Corrosion X, Shimano Permalube, Shimano and Cal's drag grease).

Regards to all

[Bryan Young]

Hello MarcosG,

Most grease will get hard over time while others do not. I would at least open them up and spray CorrosionX HD in the gear box if you don't want to get too involved with removing old grease. Otherwise I would recommend a complete cleaning of the older reels. Especially those older Penns. The grease that they have used smells like what was used on those old locomotives.

[FatTuna]

The grease does dry out over time. It does lose viscosity. Ideally, the reels should all be serviced.

I'd start with the Penn SS as it's a much easier reel to work on. If you get stuck, people here will help you out.

The 6500B is a tricky reel. The spool shaft is held in place with two E clips. Not to mention, the clutch mechanism. I'd leave the secondary drag alone. That does not need to come out or be serviced unless damaged. Just focus on the gears, clutch, and drag. The drag in that reel is a felt material. I'd swap it with carbon fiber. Typically the rubber seal holding the drag in place degrades over time. The screws will corrode also. The clutch should be cleaned. I like to spray it with a solvent and then hit it with keyboard duster. It cleans it right up without dislodging the delicate springs. Then just relube with oil, no grease. The gears you can use any approved grease. Personally, I like Penn blue.

[MarcosG]

Thank you all for the advices.
I'll will start with the Penns and leave the shimanos for last since they require a little more time. I'll follow the tutorials posted here and try to keep it simple.
Just one last question, Does Corrosion X or grease damage plastic parts and rubber gasket?

Thanks again

[Bryan Young]

Does Corrosion X or grease damage plastic parts and rubber gasket?

I have not found that to be the case.

[Porthos]

The key words in your original post was "...will be retiring..." That is a trigger for a full rebuild/maintenance roster for every reel one was mentally or time-wise unready to undertake while still holding the status of a working stiff.

The answer is "YES" and enjoy every minute with every one of your reels.

[MarcosG]

Yes, re-lube it is then. I have 21 reels that I have purchased over the years. With so many reels one would think that I fish all the time when that's not the case. I kept them all because I had a feeling that one day I would be using them a lot.
I already have all the lube that I need and the tools as well (a man without tools is nothing). Just need some small brushes. I will be using the tutorials here as references for some of the the reels, specially the shimanos.
Thanks guys

[MarcosG]

Yes, re-lube it is then. I have 21 reels that I have purchased over the years. With so many reels one would think that I fish all the time when that's not the case. I kept them all because I had a feeling that one day I would be using them a lot.
I already have all the lube that I need and the tools as well (a man without tools is nothing). Just need some small brushes. I will be using the tutorials here as references for some of the the reels, specially the shimanos.
Thanks guys

Two years ago I had a little problem with my 8500 SS where I applied too much grease and the anti reverse was not working properly. I'll be doing less this time.