My 331 needs a companion

TJAndrews · August 22, 2018, 08:08:57 PM

The 330. Note all the grease on the spool.

Midway Tommy · August 22, 2018, 08:52:58 PM

That much grease in that location is insane and asinine.

TJAndrews · September 07, 2018, 12:07:32 PM

Well, I took one of the covers off for a "Quick" look inside, and as expected found dry, hard, brown grease. I will go through them in a few months, once the growing season is over and I finally get the time to do a good job. And since it's been a good 20 years (or maybe more) since I re-greased the inside of my old 331, I'll do that one, too.

I've read many posts on this site concerning the ongoing debate over which grease to use. I won't be using the reels in salt water, so that part's not a concern. Being a farmer, I have always have a case or two of Tractor Supply general-purpose grease cartridges around for my machinery, and I was just going to use a little of that. It works well on all types of machinery, and doesn't seem to harden, except when sitting outside, unused for several months, in winter weather - something I'm NOT going to do with my reels!

Any reason why I shouldn't just use it?

foakes · September 07, 2018, 04:18:27 PM

Likely, whatever grease you use, will do a good job initially, TJ —

For me, it goes a little further than that.

For instance, reel grease should have the right viscosity, stay on the parts where applied, play well with synthetic oil, and lastly — washes out and evacuates well when the next service comes around.

For freshwater, on Quick, Mitchell, Penn, and other quality golden age spinners — I use a grease such as Yamaha Marine that has been cut with a few drops of TSI321 or CorrosionX synthetic oil. Other lubes should provide similar results.

The five easiest and cheapest things to do to prolong the life of a Spinner and get consistently solid and smooth results when fishing are —

* When not in use, back off the drag knob to near free drag

* Pop off the spool — add a drop of oil to the spool axle/spindle before storing

* Store reel off the rod in a soft cloth, breathable bag

* Use effective and proven greases (whatever your choice) , plus check lubes before a trip

* Replace the mono line whenever needed, at least every season or two, depending on your judgement

Just my opinions and style. Lots of ways to accomplish the same thing — this is just what works for me.

Best,

Fred

Midway Tommy · September 07, 2018, 05:18:41 PM

Fred gave you some great advice.

About the only things I can add is forget about the multipurpose implement grease and go with a thinned down marine grease or straight superlube. Your reel will operate better, and longer between lubes, if you use synthetic grease and oil.

TJAndrews · November 27, 2018, 03:27:17 PM

Thought I'd give you guys an update on my progress with my "new" reels...

I started with the 330's greasy spool, removing the ancient monofilament, wiping as much grease away as I could with paper toweling, and disassembling it. To my great relief, everything was there, and in good shape- except for all the extra grease. I wiped down all the parts with the toweling, and saw that if all the grease didn't do anything else, it kept the fiber drag washers from wearing - they looked brand-new. I chose to just wipe everything as much as I could, knowing I was leaving a thin film of grease, deciding that was the perfect amount of lubrication for those parts. Checking it out on the reel after re-assembly, the drag now works and adjusts perfectly.

I then turned to the reel's gearcase. I removed the cover, and the handle/drive gear assembly. I decided NOT to go further than that at this time. The existing grease, while somewhat dried out, wasn't as "hard" as I thought it was. It needed to be thinned, more than anything else. I removed as much as I could easily from the gears, and worked a few drops of "household" oil into various places to thin down and loosen up the grease that was there. I've done this sort of thing more times than I can count on farm machinery, when faced with a piece of equipment I didn't really trust myself to disassemble without breaking something. It usually works, and it did this time, too. After replacing the grease on the gears and re-assembling, the cranking action no longer felt "difficult" to use. It feels as nice as the 331 that I've had for so long. Yes, a half-assed job by you guys' standards, but still more maintenance than the reel has seen in a long, long, long time.

I put some nylon cord on the spool for backing, then filled it with the 20lb. test monofilament I use on my original 331 on the St. Lawrence River. I'll be mounting it on the 7' fiberglass rod that I built for my old Mitchell 304 many years ago, and the 304 goes into early retirement. My old 331, after some new grease in the gear case, will stay on the 7' Ugly Stik that I built for it, of course.

The "new" 331 is next, and I'll probably do a similar job on that to bring it back into usable condition. But before that, Cyber Monday came along, and with it a one day only sale on Amazon. A 2-piece, 7' Ugly Stik Elite medium power rod for $15 off the regular price, $5 less than the price of a GX2, lowest price for one I've seen anywhere. A good match, I hope, for the "new" 331 when the time comes, so I bought one. It's supposed to be here on Thursday.

I'll post photos when everything is done.

Tiddlerbasher · November 27, 2018, 03:48:54 PM

You will soon be upgrading to Adam's drag kits

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=22913.0

theswimmer · November 27, 2018, 09:08:45 PM

TJ ,
You got my hat.......
Just ask any one who knows me !
JT

TJAndrews · November 27, 2018, 10:45:31 PM

Dang, look at that... I just noticed that all three reels need the "rubber buffer" on the bail, according to my manual part number 1.00 109. The tiny black button that cushions the bail when it flips over. The one on the "new 331 is completely gone, and the other two are worn enough that they might as well not be there.

Fred, any chance you have three of these on hand? If not, any ideas for a DIY replacement? Hot melt glue, perhaps? Or do I really even need it?

swill88 · November 28, 2018, 12:28:29 AM

Very nice work TJ...Thanks!

My advice? Take JT's hat.

Steve

Midway Tommy · November 28, 2018, 12:31:07 AM

I use a rotary leather punch for varying sizes and make my own out of mud flap rubber. I glue them into the hole or onto the flat surface, as the case may be. It's a simple process and IMHO easier than trying to find or ordering the part.

foakes · November 28, 2018, 12:56:18 AM

Like Tommy sez, TJ —

They are fairly easy to make or improvise...

But here are (3) new ones that I will send you.

N/C.

PM your address so I can get them in the mail.

Best,

Fred

TJAndrews · November 28, 2018, 01:44:36 PM

Quote from: foakes on November 28, 2018, 12:56:18 AM
Like Tommy sez, TJ —

They are fairly easy to make or improvise...

But here are (3) new ones that I will send you.

N/C.

PM your address so I can get them in the mail.

Done! And just in case I mess up (Don't let this get out, but it's been known to happen!), I'll keep Tommy's suggestions in reserve!

foakes · November 28, 2018, 04:15:45 PM

Got it, TJ —

Going out today from the Post Office.

Best,

Fred

TJAndrews · November 29, 2018, 08:02:29 PM

Well, there they are, ready to go (except for the bail bumpers).

The right/top one is the 330, mounted on a 7' fiberglass rod I assembled myself many years ago, the rod that I used to pair with my Mitchell 304.
The center one is the "new" 331, mounted on the new 7' Ugly Stik Elite.
The left/bottom one is my original 331, mounted on the 7' rod I assembled for it a few years before I did the other one, using an Ugly Stik blank.

If you look closely, you can see from the wear on the paint that my "old" reel has seen a lot more use than either of the "new" ones.

They make a nice Christmas present to myself. Unfortunately, I doubt I will get much of a chance to fish with them before August.