Shimano Calcutta 400 - carbontex upgrade

[redsetta]

G'day lads, here's a Carbontex upgrade (courtesy of Dawn at Smooth Drag) for the Shimano 400.
I just found Alan's tutorial for the 400, but seeing as I've already taken the photos etc, I figured I'd post it anyway.
I'll be sure to do something new next time!  
Righto, off we go...
The 400 is a cracker little reel, despite not having an anti-reverse dog.
This one was thrown out by a customer who'd fished it for a few years, lost most of the internals and eventually given up on it.
I replaced what was missing and restored the rest, and have caught some great fish on it since - including all the snapper in a previous post.

First up, loosen the two side plate bolts - I generally keep them firmly finger tight, perhaps with just a little tweak to finish 'em off.
Pull the spool and and loosen off the handle nut cover..

Loosen the handle nut and check for the friction washer, which will usually be stuck to the bottom of the handle.

Remove the star drag and check for the star drag spacer, which (once again) will usually be stuck to the bottom of the star.

Remove the drag spring washers (bellevilles) - there are a number of configurations, but generally they'll be two thick (), beneath two thin ().
Remove the two screws and lift off the side plate - the anti-reverse bearing can now be pushed out of the side plate, along with the roller clutch inner tube.

The main gear may not slide easily off the drive shaft, so remove the top drag washers.

You should eventually be able to slide the main gear off...

Slide off the the last drag washer and the anti-reverse ratchet.
This is what it all looks like once removed...

Here are the new Carbontex washers and the old Dartanium versions.
Apply Cal's to the new fiber washers and reassemble as per the following pics...

The main gear goes down next, followed by the washer with the largest ID.

Steel drag washer (keyed, no ears) next, followed by greased fiber (the remaining two are identical).

Eared washer next, followed by the last greased fiber washer.

The last keyed steel washer goes down next, followed by the roller clutch inner tube.
Apply a little Cal's grease to the tube internal (a good idea of Alan's)...

Slide the tube down the drive shaft and position the tube keys in the keyed washer.
Reinsert the anti-reverse bearing into the side plate.

Position the side plate on the set plate and replace the screws.

Replace the spool and carefully align the spline with the pinion gear.
You'll need to slide the 'Quickfire clutch' (ie thumb cast control) upwards to align with the clutch plate.

Nearly there now... Tighten the two side plate bolts and replace the two thick bellevilles.

Replace the two thin bellevilles so the final configuration is ()() and be sure to apply a light coating of grease to each one as you go.
I use a slightly larger star drag spacer on my 400.

Replace the star drag and apply a little grease to the contact patch of the friction washer.

A little grease on the handle, where it touches the friction washer...

...reattach the handle and handle nut plate...

And just like that, you're done!

Hope that's of some value.
All the best, Justin

[Bryan Young]

Nice work Justin.  How do you get those 2 pictures to sit side by side each other?

[alantani]

yeah, that's what i was wondering.  also, do you know if there is a way to incorporate an ambassaduer style dog into this reel, like the later models do?  i wanted to check that out but never got around to it.  alan

[redsetta]

G'day Alan/Bryan,
Right click on the photo file and scroll to 'Open With'.
Scroll down to 'Paint' and left click.
If the image is too large in 'Paint', ie you can't see the whole thing in one window, click 'Image', 'Resize' and try 50%.
Keep resizing till it's about four inches high.
Look to the right-hand side of the photo and you'll see little dots at each corner and one in the middle.
Click the middle dot and drag it out more than twice the width of the image.
Go back to the image folder and 'Open With' 'Paint' on the next image.
Hold down 'Ctrl' and click 'A' to 'Select All'.
Hold down 'Ctrl' and click 'C' to 'Copy'.
Close the second 'Paint' window and go back to the first.
Hold down 'Ctrl' and click 'V' to 'Paste' the image into this window.
It'll overlay the first one, but simply click-and-hold on the image and drag it to the right side of the first.
Line it up nicely and then click back on the white space to the right of the images.
You'll see the dot again.
Drag it back to the edge of the second photo.
Save as a new filename and you're done...
It sounds complicated, but it's quick and easy once you've done it a few times.
Hope that helps.

PS I considered adding an Ambassaduer-style dog, but I'd have to replace the current square-tooth anti-reverse ratchet with a regular bevill-edged version.
There's a redundant screw hole on the set plate for a dog set-up, but I'm not sure if the new ratchet will disengage the clutch pawl effectively.
I'll have to give it a crack now, though!

[Bryan Young]

Oh that's how you do it.  Thanks Justin.

[redsetta]

G'day lads,
Just finished the dog upgrade for the 400A - which was easy as pie.
The 400B dog (part BNT3361 Anti-Reverse Pawl) was about $2 and I used a stainless (316 marine grade) screw I had lying around.

There's a redundant screw hole where the dog goes and the plastic set plate can be tapped with the screw - being very careful to align it properly (and be gentle with the plastic.)

In this instance, the screw head was a little large and interfered with the main gear very slightly.
I changed out the screw, shimmed the dog/pawl up a fraction with two tiny copper washers, and 'job done'...

All the best, Justin

[plastic tiki]

Now that is fricken mint!!

nice work Justin, mmmmm.... i've got one that could use that treatment coming in the next week or two.

[Bryan Young]

Ooh, nice...gotta love dogs pairs.

[joeleo2000]

Justin, that's an awesome upgrade!
I am working on a friends 400 right now and would like to do this mod. Can you tell me what the dimension of the screw and washers you used? 

Best Regards,
Richard

[redsetta]

G'day Richard,
I'll pull it apart tonight a measure it all up.
I'm in NZ, so the timing's a bit off for you guys stateside...

[joeleo2000]

Justin how is the mod working for you? The reel I'm working on was reversing while my friend was on a fish. i cleaned the anti-reverse bearing and it looks to be in good condition. This is the first time I have seen the anti-reverse bearing not hold. I am hoping the anit-reverse pawl mod will stop it from happening again.

[redsetta]

It's working well.
I've 'bench-tested' it exhaustively with a dud anti-reverse bearing and it all worked as expected.
I also fished it last weekend without issue.
The true test will come if I hook into a unexpectedly large fish and the bearing fails...
I'll get those measurements for you tonight.
All the best, Justin

[redsetta]

The dog is shimed up 0.5mm.
The screw is 7.5mm long (from the base of the head to the tip) and 3mm thick.
Hope that helps.

[joeleo2000]

Justin thanks for taking the time to get the dimensions.
Going on a parts search Friday!

[Board4life]

Is it common for the Calcutta 400b to be a little stiff after carbontex upgrade? Stiff meaning it is slightly harder to turn the handle. Everything seems to be working fin, just a noticeable increase of resistance when cranking.