Reel upgrades - where to start question

Jnorris · February 18, 2018, 03:26:17 AM

First post and would like to start by thanking Alan and everyone else who helps make this such a great site! I'm a rookie but this board helped me tear down (clean / lube) and reassemble my first 2 reels. I have a decent collection of reels and decided to start maintaining and upgrading some of them. I fish freshwater only... everything from Muskie to Crappie but the majority will be casting for Muskie.

I was curious if anyone could help point me in the right direction concerning which upgrades would be best and for which reels. I want to upgrade a few but not sure which reels would benefit the most from specific upgrades (bearings, drag washers, levelwind, polishing, etc).

My primary Muskie reels are an Abu Morrum M5600C, Abu Revo Toro Winch, Shimano Tranx 300, and Abu Record 60. I also have a 1972 Abu Ambassador 5000, 1983 Abu 5500C, Penn Peerless #9, and some line counters (Okuma) and spinning reels.

I cleaned / lubed the Morrum and removed a bearing shield from one side of the spool bearings but I didnt notice much difference in free spool after removing the bearing shields. I wondered if I should do the same with the levelwind bearings or possibly upgrade to ceramic bearings...

Any tips / advice is appreciated.

Jim

MarkT · February 18, 2018, 03:37:07 AM

Did you lube those now opened spool bearings with TSI-321?

Jnorris · February 18, 2018, 03:54:24 AM

I cleaned them with carb cleaner and used Abu reel oil... is TSI-321 a lot better? If so I'll be ordering some...

Bryan Young · February 18, 2018, 04:31:45 AM

First and foremost upgrade is to be sure that all reels have greased carbon fiber drag washers. I would use Cal's purple grease as I believe you are fishing in the cold some of the time.

Next is TSI321 on your bearings and blow off excess. It's an amazing lubricant.

Tiddlerbasher · February 18, 2018, 12:49:35 PM

Yep what Bryan said. If you dilute/thin the TSI321 with IPA (isopropryl alcohol 99%) 4 parts IPA to 1 part TSI321 you will get just the right amount of oil on the spool bearings. I keep a jar of it ready mixed. Clean the bearings (I prefer shields off) then drop them in the mix - quick shake of trhe jar - fish them out. Quick spin and you are good to go. The TSI321 is probably the best oil out there for reels - it lasts for ages. May not be quite as quick as some but it's quick enough and has outlasted any other oil I've tried.

philaroman · February 18, 2018, 01:35:36 PM

Quote from: Jnorris on February 18, 2018, 03:54:24 AM
I cleaned them with carb cleaner and used Abu reel oil... is TSI-321 a lot better? If so I'll be ordering some...

didn't think Abu oil was even as good as Penn or Shimano... nothing quantifiable -- just didn't like it
have yet to try TSI321, but would trust the folks here & make it my next purchase

Jnorris · February 18, 2018, 05:24:55 PM

Thanks for the tips I'm gonna call Smoothdrag on Monday looks like they also carry the TSI and Cals.

On the Morrum it seems like most of my drag is from the levelwind. The levelwind has small bearings. Should I also try to remove shields from those bearings?

Also I was curious what the best options are for the thin brass plates used in the spool tensioner... replace, polish, and should these also get TSI?

Am I correct in thinking that properly cleaning and lubing my stock bearings is good enough (as long as bearings aren't worn) rather than replacing with ceramic bearings?

Thanks again!

alantani · February 18, 2018, 05:32:23 PM

peering down the rabbit hole, huh? jimmy, you're on the right track......

happyhooker · February 18, 2018, 05:45:59 PM

Welcome, Jnorris. We do a bit of muskie fishing here in Minn. A bit of a specialty.

Frank

Jnorris · February 19, 2018, 04:11:13 AM

Good to know, Alan. I'm just glad I found your site otherwise I'd probably be stuck in a gopher hole

Thanks Frank yea from what I've saw online you guys have some awesome Muskie fishing.

Well I pulled a rookie mistake and ruined one of my spool bearings trying to get the other bearing shield off. These are the press in type and hard to remove without a lot of poking / prying. Guess I'll be ordering bearings after all

Bryan Young · February 19, 2018, 05:14:14 PM

If you got the shields off okay, try putting the bearing on a shaft and side load it a little while Turing the bearing. If it seeks smooth then you may be okay.

Jnorris · February 20, 2018, 12:55:38 AM

Thanks Bryan I'll give that a try. When I turn it by hand I can feel a very slight rough spot. I ended up ordering some bearings earlier today. Also ordered some TSI and Cals along with some smoothdrag washers.

Ron Jones · February 20, 2018, 12:08:33 PM

It sounds like your on your way. As far as the levelwind. The only true solution is to throw it in the trash and get a TC bar. It sounds to me like you want to cast well, and that just doesn't happen with levewinds.
Ron

Benni3 · February 20, 2018, 01:12:56 PM

I was talking to a friend who is muskie guide and he uses lots or drag to get the fish in quick so thay don't die,,,,,thay are very powerful and fast fish

Jnorris · February 27, 2018, 04:18:48 AM

Happy to report that I now have carbonex drags (from Smoothdrag) in 5 reels. Greased with the light Cals and lubed bearings with TSI-321. The hardest part was removing all the wire bearing clips (to open them up for cleaning / lubing). Ended up using a bent #6 black nickel crappie hook to pop the clips off (worked good after I got the technique down).

Thanks again to everyone that helped point me in the right direction. I can't wait to get out and start casting... 10,000 casts per Musky means I have a lot of casting to do