Calcutta 400B binding

[Rick hern]

Hey Guys,

Long time fan of the forum. Hopefully someone will have an idea of what's the issue here with my Calcutta 400B. I fish it on a 1266 allstar with 50# braid for stripers in heavy current. Last fall I had a few nights of big fish in tight quarters and the reel handled them well. I did nop service at the end of the year other than backing off the drag.

Took the outfit out the other day for the first time and noticed that the reel was binding a bit, almost like a bad idler gear. I took the sideplate off and was surprised that the binding was in the right side plate, not the idler. Then I noticed that one of the set plate screws was out a bit. Thinking I had found the issue, I tightened it back up, put the reel back together and made another cast. Unfortunately, this only made it bind MUCH worse. Backing off the screw allowed me to reel in but it obviously wasn't going to be fishable(only outfit with me and bass breaking in front of me.....Dohhhh).

When I got home I took the sideplate off again. Everything looked good inside but when I went to reinstall the sideplate, it didn't want to snap together tight. If I forced it, it would go but the reel would bind. Thinking that the set plate maybe warped?  Anybody have any ideas?

[alantani]

hi, rick!  welcome! 

there are several places that can stick when it comes to the old 400b.  make sure the leaf spring dog is in it's proper place.  that's the most common mistake.  sometimes washers are out of place, so check those.  and lastly corrosion.  check the AR bearing, the bearing above it and the spool bearings.   the answer is in there, somewhere.  it's not that big of a reel.  i'm confident you'll find it! 

[oc1]

What kind of line is on it?
-steve

[Rick hern]

It has 50# powerpro. Weird thing is it worked perfectly last year, hasn't been opened since. I will check the AR bearing.

[Rick hern]

hi, rick!  welcome! 

there are several places that can stick when it comes to the old 400b.  make sure the leaf spring dog is in it's proper place.  that's the most common mistake.  sometimes washers are out of place, so check those.  and lastly corrosion.  check the AR bearing, the bearing above it and the spool bearings.   the answer is in there, somewhere.  it's not that big of a reel.  i'm confident you'll find it! 

Thanks Alan. I have taken the right side plate off, removed the AR bearing and it still binds.  The only thing I can think of now is the bridge plate/set plate being warped. Your thoughts?

[alantani]

yeah, just tear it down. clean up all the parts and put it back together again.  the problem is in there, somewhere....... 

[Swami805]

I'm no pro by a stretch but warping those frames or spools would take a lot of force, if that reel worked fine ,sat for awhile,then started binding, likely something is corroded. Pull it apart, clean all the bearings really well, lube it and get it back together.