975 international lever drag

Started by alantani, December 07, 2008, 04:51:24 PM

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alantani

there's been some discussion of this reel in earlier posts.  i'm hoping that i can now bring everyone up to speed on the design issues that have brought so many of these reels to me for repair.  i will start out by saying that i think the penn 9 series internationals are beautiful reels.  i love the classic look of penn gold.  always have.  add that, for me,  the repair of any reel is personal, not business.  perhaps this is the reason that the 9 series internationals have been a particular disappointment.  here is the schematic.....

https://www.mysticparts.com/Assets/images/pennparts/schematics/975LD.pdf

and here is a penn international 975 lever drag bait casting reel.



the first thing is to pull the rod clamp screws (key #34) and grease them.



back out the three "take apart screws" (key #38 and 38n)....



.... and remove the side plate assembly and spool assembly as a unit.



here's a shot of the left side plate bearing (key #55d).  take a moment now to lube the bearing, the clicker assembly, the idler gear (key #64) and worm shaft (key #42) with corrosion x.  



now, i'm going to remove the handle in this tutorial, but it is generally not necessary unless there is a problem with the right side plate bearing (key #26) or the anti-reverse roller bearing (key #98B).  to just service the spool, you can leave the handle on.  

remove the handle cap screw (key #32) and handle nut cap (key #110A).



remove the handle nut (key#23), the handle assembly (key #24), and the gear stud cover (key #9).





take a small pen knife and pry off the preset knob cap (key #144C).



remove the preset knob screw (key #50A), the preset knob (key #144) and the cam assembly (key #19).







the spool pulls straight out.  with everything lined up, it's time to start on the spool assembly.



ok, so here it is.  here's the problem with the penn 975 lever drag reel.  it's the same issue found in the accurate reels.  note the configuration of the drag cover.  when the drag lever (key #21) is pushed forward, the pressure plate/drive plate (key #117) forced against the drag washer and the spool is engaged. unlike the larger internationals, the center hole is large, allowing water intrusion.  

you can see the gap that is created.



the drag cover has reverse threads.  remove it by turning it clockwise.  



here is the water intrusion i was talking about.   note the surface rust on the bearing spring (key #41) and the right spool bearing (key #55B).  



here's a shot of the underside of the drive plate (key #117) and bearing (key #55).



i pried off the shields from the drive plate bearing (key #55) to show the rust inside.  this bearing is a 0.1875 x 0.375 x 0.125.



retaining ring pliers help to remove the spool retaining ring (key #69C).



fortunately, the middle spool bearing (key #55C) was rusted to the spool spindle (key #71R) and came right out when i pulled on it.  you may not be so fortunate.  screwing the preset knob back on the spool spindle gives you an easy way to pull the spindle out.  commonly, the middle spool bearing is stuck deep inside the spool.  removal can be extremely difficult.  the bearing on the left is 0.125 x 0.375 x 0.156 and the one in the middle is 0.1875 x 0.5 x 0.196.



here is a photo from another spool with the middle spool bearing stuck DEEP inside the spool. soaking in corrosion x and alot of wiggling with the spool spindle finally removed the bearing.



here is the heart of the problem with penn international 975 lever drag.



and to make matters worse, the drag washer is installed without drag grease....





ok, this is as far into the reel as we're going.  we're going to fix this and make sure it doesn't happen again!  first, let's grease the spool.



clean and then grease both sides of the drag washer.



install the drag washer and clean off the excess grease with a clean rag.



now for the bearings.  we'll clean them out, lube them with corrosion x and see how smoothly they spin.  i was actually able to rescue 1 out of 3.



the owner wanted this reel rigged for light duty, so the belleville disc clutch springs (key #18) were re-installed in a stock "()()" configuration.  



back into the spool it goes.



install the retaining ring (key #69C).



install the drive plate (key #117).



install the drag cover (key #156) and note the gap that is created when the drive plate is engaged from "free" to "strike."





the spool spindle is slotted and fits only one way into the side plate.  



install the cam assembly (key #19).



install the preset knob (key #144).



install the preset knob screw (key #50A).



press in the preset knob cap (key #144C).



grease the right side plate screw holes.



install the right side plate assembly.



install the gear stud cover (key #9), the handle (key #24) and handle nut (key #23).  put a little grease on the handle first.



install the handle nut cap (key #110A) and screw (key #32).



grease and install the rod clamp screws (key #34) if you have not done so already.



squirt a little corrosion x into the handle grip and you're done!



i wanted to get the spool rebuild portion out first.  the side plate rebuild portion will come out next, and i've been working on a way to decrease the risk of water intrusion by turning this penn lever drag reel into an avet by opening up the drag chamber.

update 6/4/2012 - when i first wrote this, i did not realize the importance of packing the right main side plate bearing with greaes.  in this case, the right side plate comes apart very easily.  the bearing is a 7 x 19 x 6.  it has to be pulled and serviced.  pull and clean the anti-reverse bearing while you are at it.  the AR bearing can be lubed with corrosion x.  


"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

dblply

OK...  I have taken my 975 LD apart, removed the shields, lubed with Reel-X, reinstalled them and they spin reeeaalllllyyy nice... BUT...  when I reinstall the black drag cover it slows everything waaayyy down.  The reel will work fine for normal live baiting and trolling, just isn't "free-spool" worthy...

The question:  I don't believe I am over tightening the drag cover...  So what should I be looking for to solve this problem?

alantani

i had the same problem with a couple of reels.  what i did was to grind away at the black cover to leave only a ring with threads to hold the drag washer in place.  the pressure plate could pass in and out freely.  it basically turned the reel into an avet!
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

wallacewt

i had same prob;couldnt figure it out;i took worm and level wind off and it works terrific.dont know why,fished yesterday with it,perfect,better reel without the level wind.go figure ???

dblply

I took the reel apart again, ground down the drag cover and things were working nicely...  Put everything back together and took it into the back yard to test...  Tied on a 2 oz hookless wooden plug...  Gave it the usual cast and WHOA...  Can you say "professional overrun" that would rival an Osprey nest...  So after I got the mess picked out, adjusted everything, and gave it a more conservative attempt with my more educated thumb... Now I have a pretty large backyard and on a canal with plenty of casting space...  I threw it past the yard, into the other side of the canal and almost hit the neighbor's boat...  The reel just rips now...  it NEVER cast like this before...

Thanks for all the help...

Loolee 3

This reel has put more salmon in my boat than any other.  Very simple to use, and all I had to do was lube it and grease the washer!  For Northern California salmon it works wonderfully with a Seeker SA 853F (8 1/2')which is technically a mooching rod, two piece. 

Effortless action when fighting a fish! 


Steve

Loolee 3

... uh.. and now one of them is having a "slipping" issue so off to the workbench she goes with this thread as my shop manual!  Thanks again for the great write up!!

AlohaDan

Well I screwed up something.
This was my 3rd effort to do maintanace on my 975 so I anticipate things would go smoothly :'(

HELP! No drag!! >:( >:(

I was after the shaft bearings since it had been over a year since I did the Xtreme reel lube. No problems getting to them as I did not remove the handle only the preset knob cap 144C, preset knob screw 50A, and the preset knob 144.

The spindle and shaft bearings were still in good shape, probably because in addition to Xtreme  I had greased everything else. Two of the bearings had shields removed in anticipation of redoing them so I used 301 as a reel test case against another I intend to use the bearing packer on..

Just put in back together. Well as Alan says the spool spindle is slotted and fits only one way into the side plate.

True, but>>>> ??? ??? ??? ??? Can't get the drag to engage.

What am I doing wrong??

Aloha

Dan

redsetta

G'day Dan,
Is the lever moving at all?
If so, did you reinstall the retaining ring (key #69C)?
Good luck, Justin
Fortitudine vincimus - By endurance we conquer

exp2000

Hi Alan,

Just serviced one of these. What are you using to remove these bearing shields?

I have tried a sharp hook but it seems to work only about half the time.

The other half, I am unable to prise the shield retaining clip out.

I will try to find a smaller sharp hook but just wondering on this job how many you were successful with?

PS: Amazing quality reel but I really find the slotted screws a pain :(
~

alantani

a small, very sharp hook is still the best.  i find that it helps to firmly hold the bearing with hemostats, then dig in with the hook. 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Norcal Pescador

I think the hardest part is finding the gap in the locking ring on the really small bearings. Once I've found it I position the hook point so it goes in the same groove as the lock ring and pop/pry the end of the ring out. Use a quality hook with a good sharp point; Owner, Eagle Claw, Gamakatsu, or ?? about a #2 to 1/0.
Rob

Measure once, cut twice. Or is it the other way around? ::)

"A good man knows his limits." - Inspector Harry Callahan, SFPD

hurt locker

Just opened one up to service it and followed the tutorial. Can't thank Alan enough. Good free spool. Love the reel. Thanks again Alan.

Phishface

Quote from: alantani on December 23, 2010, 06:50:43 AM
i had the same problem with a couple of reels.  what i did was to grind away at the black cover to leave only a ring with threads to hold the drag washer in place.  the pressure plate could pass in and out freely.  it basically turned the reel into an avet!
Hi Alan: I have spent most of the evening working on my 975 LD and my frustration has reached a leval that I need to ask for help. The Problem- when fully assembled the freespool is great, but when I engage the lever drag to strike and turn the handle it isn't smooth, it's turning with resistance, it's as if I was I pulling against the drag while just turning the handle. None of my other levered drag reels do this. Will grinding down the the black plastic drag cover stop this from happening? I intend to sell this reel, will modifying the drag cover destroy the the value of this reel? I hope this is the right way and place to pose this question. Thank you for the great resource this site provides.

Penn

Quote from: Phishface on October 01, 2019, 06:35:39 AM
Quote from: alantani on December 23, 2010, 06:50:43 AM
i had the same problem with a couple of reels.  what i did was to grind away at the black cover to leave only a ring with threads to hold the drag washer in place.  the pressure plate could pass in and out freely.  it basically turned the reel into an avet!
Hi Alan: I have spent most of the evening working on my 975 LD and my frustration has reached a leval that I need to ask for help. The Problem- when fully assembled the freespool is great, but when I engage the lever drag to strike and turn the handle it isn't smooth, it's turning with resistance, it's as if I was I pulling against the drag while just turning the handle. None of my other levered drag reels do this. Will grinding down the the black plastic drag cover stop this from happening? I intend to sell this reel, will modifying the drag cover destroy the the value of this reel? I hope this is the right way and place to pose this question. Thank you for the great resource this site provides.

How high is the drag set?  The 975LD max drag is about 10lbs, should be set below 7 at strike. 

tony