record no. 60

[alantani]

pull up the schematic and follow along with me....

http://mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/schematic.php?url=Ambassadeur,%20Cardinal/Ambassadeur%20Record%2060%2015%2000.pdf


every once in a while i get something new.  that was the case here.  this box arrived from alaska.  hmmmm, carbon matrix drags?  i wonder what this is all about? 



i pulled it out of the box and the first thing i noticed was the weight.  it's heavy!  much heavier that a normal ambassaduer.  i ran into the house and grabbed my camera.  i've done an ambassaduer post already, but i knew this one would be different.



this one had a very nice live bait handle.  the levelwind assembly is basically the same as all the other ambassaduers.  i fix alot of penn levewind assemblies, but not many abu's. 



the spool design was interesting as well.  i'm not quite sure why it would be beveled like this.



the left side plate should not be removed.  just back out one left side plate screw (key #199) at a time, grease the hole, zip the screw back in, and move on to the next one. 



back out the three right side plate screws (no key #), remove the right side plate assembly and the spool.





add a little corrosion x to the left side plate bearing (key #5230), the idler gear (key #1117079), the worm gear (key #5205), and the click plate assembly (key #12642).



now for the spool.  remove the spool shaft (key #1117122).



lube the right spool bearing.



pull the white nylon sprocket gear (key #23403) and lube the left spool bearing (key #19843)....  HEY, WHAT'S THIS!!!!!!  SOME CHEAPSKATE PUT A BRASS BUSHING INSIDE INSTEAD OF A BEARING!!!!!!  WHAT A BUNCH OF CROOKS!!!!!  well, i guess i shouldn't say that because i don't really know for sure.  it could have been an honest mistake, or they could have intended it to be that way, it which case, it might still be an honest mistake (right?). 



i have whole box full of extra bearings, so i'll just switch it out and lube this bearing with corrosion x as well.



and back into the frame it goes.



now for the right side plate.  remove the set screw (key #14868) and retaining collar (key #20944).



remove the handle nut (key #5327).



remove the c - clip.



remove the handle (key #1117097), the spring (key #5115), the star (key #1117091) and both spring washers (key #5131) and line everything up.



remove both bridge screws (key #13369).



separate the right side plate cover (key #1117131) from the baseplate assembly.



line up all the components of the gear cluster.  interesting, it looks like ambassaduer has switched over to dry carbon fiber drag washers (key #1116906) inside the gear and a hard fiber washer (key #13169) underneath the gear.



i'm going to substitute a penn ht-100 drag washer for the hard fiber washer (key #13169).



this penn washer is a penn ht-100 #6-965.  this washer has been cut down from 24mm down to 15-17mm.  it fits nicely under the gears of the ambassaduers and the smaller shimano bait casters.



because this penn washer is thicker than the stock ambassaduer fiber washer, it is necessary to remove the small brass thrust washer (key #5189) underneath the gear sleeve (key #22079).  i am quite certain that these carbon fiber drag washers will have the same high failure rate as penn ht-100's following water or oil intrusion.  i highly recommend a thick coat of shimano drag grease and then rebuild the drag stack. 



pull the anti-reverse roller bearing sleeve (key #22001).



install it on the gear sleeve with a little grease (they get stuck easily).



grease the bridge screw holes.



grease the side plate screws (no key #).



lube the right side plate bearing (key #5230) with corrosion x.



slide the right side plate cover (key #1117131) straight down on top of the base plate assembly and install the two bridge screws (key #13369).



hold the thumb bar in the "up" position and the right side plate assembly should match up perfectly with the frame.



zip down the frame screws until they seat, then cinch then down a little extra until they are snug.  use good mechanical judgement and don't snap off any heads. 



install the spring washers (key #5131) in the "()" position.



install the star (key #1117091) and the spring (key #5115) with a little grease.



install the handle (key #1117097) and c-clip (key#4490).



add a little grease and install the handle nut (key #20944).



install the handle nut collar (key #20944) and set screw (key #14868).



clean off the excess grease and you're done!

[haggard1]

Thanks for that post, Alan. It's really helpful for newbies like me 

[ReelSpeed]

Hey, just wanted to add my $.02 to this post.  Just worked on one of these for a customer and the little brass bushing is actually there on purpose.  With the way that this reel functions, it does not affect freespool or casting.  It is an odd design, but the anti-reverse bearing is in the middle of the spool, so when you are in freespool/casting, the spool is actually using the left&right side plate bearings for spin.  It only uses the inner spool bearings while being reeled in.  So while it might add some smoothness, it won't give you any better casting or spin...or at least not in the direction that matters.

Aaron

[alantani]

gawd, this is an old post.  did i ever mention that this was translated into russian?

http://vlad.mi.ru/txt/alan/abu/rec60/record60.htm

[BurningHeart]

gawd, this is an old post.  did i ever mention that this was translated into russian?

http://vlad.mi.ru/txt/alan/abu/rec60/record60.htm

Alan Tani in cyrillic, awesome!!!

[Reinaard van der Vossen]

Nice review, thanks Alan.

I just purchased this reel  (a record 61, non high capacity) and took it out for the first time today just to make a couple of cast.  I own(ed) an old 6000 model which I gave to my brother for sentimental reasons (used to belong to my dad) and this reel is the replacement.

It was short fun. I lost the cap which is over the bearing because is had not properly fastened it in the first minute. Of course it fell in 30ft of water. Secondly I had to much line on the spool and it came between the spool and the housing. I'll post pictures if it later.

So I had to take the reel apart. Thank god for Alan's tutorials. Now if I only would take the time to read properly I would not have overlooked: quote "the left side plate should not be removed" quote end

Besides, I have a lefty so it's not my fault

Now I have a challenge with installing the clickerplate. I do have the schematic but it is not clear how to instal the clickerplate. I'm quite sure that I can find the solution in the end but I'm a little carefull as the reel is brandnew

Could someone give me directions?

Edit: found it. As I have a slightly different model I will post some pictures

[wallacewt]

that nice handle is the same as the one on my ambassaduer ld b/c.and i hate it.i want to replace it.i used it yesterday for a good bag of table fish,2/3kg,and the reel worked loverly except for the handle.fingers cramped.age may have something to do with that.abu power handle that mackeraljoe mention,no,  your daiwa one  alan,no,any more i could look at.thanks for all the help and cheers.

[zward]

I'm curious on this reel what is the advantage of having the two anti-reverse roller bearings? (sideplate and in the spool, in particular the one located in the spool?) I have a friends reel that he uses for musky fishing, which when he was reeling in big lures and doing figure eights at the boat the anti reverse(s) would slip and let out line. The roller bearing in the spool only allows the spool to spin in the direction that doesnt matter when casting/retrieving, any ideas what the advantage is? It seems like the only thing the spool IAR bearing is doing is adding another potential failure mode...

In writing this post I think I pinned the failure to the IAR in the spool, as if the sideplate bearing failed the reel would go knucklebuster, and I'm pretty sure it just let out line as if the drag was to loose. Still not at all impressed with the anti-reverse design on this reel..

Thanks a bunch for any input,
Zane

[Mel B]

i have this reel and after looking into it deeply (disecting) i really don't see any advantage or any use for the spool AR bearing because it only functions when the sideplate AR bearing is engaged. if the sideplate AR bearing seizes there goes your fish...gone!  tight lines...

[mackereljoe]

I'm really confuse about this spool anti-reverse bearing and need clarification.  Got the same exact reel and performed tear-down and rebuild several times and did not notice any difference with my old 6000c other than an anti-reverse bearing and it has the abu anti-reverse pawl.  What is the spool anti-reverse bearing looks like?  Appreciate any clarification.

Joe

[Mel B]

hi joe! first remove the entire centrifugal brake assembly and then the right spool bearing, you will see the spool AR bearing inside the right side of the spool. hope this answers your question. tight lines...

[Mooki]

i have this reel and after looking into it deeply (disecting) i really don't see any advantage or any use for the spool AR bearing because it only functions when the sideplate AR bearing is engaged. if the sideplate AR bearing seizes there goes your fish...gone!  tight lines...

While I mneither have really understood why the reel is constructed as it is there is still a logical explanation to the ARB in the spool.
The ARB in the spool forces the rotation (during casting) to use the side plate bearings, without an ARB in the spool rotation would use both side plate bearings and the spool bearing/bushing. In what way this would be better than the standard UltraCast design I don't know, but despite not quite understanding I still find the RCN to be a pretty nice BC.

[mackereljoe]

Thanks Mel B, appreciate the clarification.

[Mel B]

Thanks Mel B, appreciate the clarification.

no problem, glad to help...tight lines.

[Mel B]

While I mneither have really understood why the reel is constructed as it is there is still a logical explanation to the ARB in the spool.
The ARB in the spool forces the rotation (during casting) to use the side plate bearings, without an ARB in the spool rotation would use both side plate bearings and the spool bearing/bushing. In what way this would be better than the standard UltraCast design I don't know, but despite not quite understanding I still find the RCN to be a pretty nice BC.


[/quote]

i agree with you a 100%. there is always a logical explanation for it, also you are right it forces the use of the side plate bearings. but in what way is this an advantage? IMO, it is a disadvatage when you are casting because of this reason, just like how the Calcutta 400BSV. my C4 casts better than my RC-60HC and Calcutta 400BSV because the C4 uses the spool bearings for casting just like most of the "castable" LD reels. anyways that's just my real world experience.  BTW also sometimes  i think engineers do this things just to be different even though they know it does not have real advantages. that's just my honest opinion, tight lines.