Fin Nor Offshore 9500OS - standard servicing

Started by redsetta, September 25, 2011, 10:59:15 PM

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redsetta

My work's cut out for me today - it's gonna be great... ;D
Mowed the lawns and dug the potatoes before breakfast, so the rest of the day will be spent in the workshop.
A good assortment of reels, but only one that's not been profiled here before, so welcome to the Fin Nor 9500OS (Offshore).





Righto, let's get inside - off comes the spool and side plate.
The main gear slides right out as it uses a spur gear (#37A) on the right side.



Continue with the disassembly till you're down the the pinion gear (#31A) and small pinion bearing (#45).
This reel is basically new, so I've decided not to pull the large pinion bearing (#29) and gear.



Paint a thin layer of grease on all internal surfaces and replace the O/S gear (#37) and bearing retainer (#46).



You'll need the rotor assembly in place to finish off the internals, so disassemble the bail arm as shown, clean, grease and reassemble.
I quite like this simple set up for beach fishing/surf casting as there are no bearings to fail (nylon bushings only - #15) and it'd take a considerable amount of salt build-up to compromise the line roller (#16).



Replace the anti-reverse pawl (#28) and anti-reverse actuator spring (#30A) etc, along with the retainer plate (#29A).
Apply a thin coat of grease to all internal surfaces and reassemble.
Back to the internals... Grease and replace the O/S slider (#38), insert the spool shaft assembly (#26) and fasten down the retainer (#38A).



Flip the body over and slide in the greased spur gear (#37A), then replace the cleaned and regreased right-side bearing (#40).



Fasten down the crank collar (#41B) and flip it back over to insert the main gear (#31B).
Clean and grease the left-side bearing (#40).
Replace the main gear washer (#31C) and slide the bearing onto the main gear above it.
Close up the body with the cleaned and lightly greased left-side plate (greasing the screws/screw holes as you go).
Fasten down the bearing cap (#44) and you're done with the body/internals.



Now, onto the spool assembly. Flip it over and remove the spool retainer (#9), followed by the drag washer (keyed - #8C).



Remove the drag friction washer (#8B) and the last drag washer (eared - #8A).
Clean the underside of the spool throughly and apply a thin coat of Cal's.



Replace the drag washer (eared - #8A) and the greased drag friction washer (#8B).



Replace the drag washer (keyed - #8C) and the spool retainer (#9), and fasten down.



Flip the spool over and remove the top spool retainer (#2), along with the drag stack (seven plates in total).



Separate and clean each component. Regrease with Cal's and reasemble as follows:
  • Metal drag washer (eared - #5)
  • friction washer (greased - #4)
  • metal drag washer (keyed - #3)
  • friction washer (greased - #4)
  • metal drag washer (eared - #5)
  • friction washer (greased - #4)
  • metal drag washer (keyed - #3)
  • retaining ring (#2).
Slide the spool back on the main shaft and fasten down with the cleaned and lightly greaased drag knob assembly (#1).
Wind the handle firmly into the crank collar/main gear (holding the spool to fasten in down) and the job's done.



The frame is all alloy and reminiscent of the Penn SS series in the approach to overall construction.
The spool sleeve is plastic, which is an obvious weak point, but I've yet to hear of any issues arising from this.
The internals appear to be a mixture of alloy and stainless and there's been considerable discourse on the use of weaker cast aluminium for the main gear.
(Though it's worth noting that Fin Nor isn't the only manufacturer to have had some issues with alloy quality.)

This aside, the single biggest issue I found with the 9500OS is the weight.
Compared with its competitors (the ones I had to hand, at least) revealed the following...
  • Penn 8500SS spooled weight (40lb mono backing/40lb Sufix braid): 1lb 12oz (800g)
  • Shimano BTR6500 spooled weight (50lb Spectra): 1lb 13 1/2oz (880g)
  • Fin Nor 9500OS spooled weight (50lb Spectra): 2lb 8oz (1120g)

Undeniably, it's a monster and wouldn't be my first choice for slinging poppers all day.
I've never fished a Fin Nor, but - in design terms - it appears to be simple, considered and utilitarian.
The drag set-up is solid and, barring failures elsewhere, is likely to handle itself well against most pelagics.
A couple of striped marlin have even been taken locally.
As noted, it'd benefit from better quality alloys but, naturally, this would push it into a higher price bracket.
I expect it's a balancing act of price versus quality for new (or revitalised) companies trying to generate market share.
All the big brands have had their issues - particularly in the early stages.
Hope that's of some interest/assistance.
All the best, Justin
PS Schematic here: http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/albums/fin-nor/Fin-Nor_Offshore_OFS95.pdf
Fortitudine vincimus - By endurance we conquer

Alto Mare

Very nice Justin, that reel looks a lot like the Penn 9500SS. It appears to be a decent reel, I'm just not crazy about the anti reverse bearing, that's one of the reasons why I don't like the Penn SSM models. I'm old fashioned, what can I say. Thanks for sharing, I always enjoy your detailed tutorials. Keep'em coming bro. Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

redsetta

Thanks Sal.
No a/r bearing in this one, just the fairly agricultural-looking a/r pawl that binds against the inside of the rotor.
Despite being simple and effective, I'm not mad about the design either.
A (double) dog-and-ratchet man myself...
Cheers, Justin
Fortitudine vincimus - By endurance we conquer

Alto Mare

I see it Justin, I just wasn't expecting to see it on that reel.
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

wallacewt

hi justin,interesting reel,dog at 90 deg to the teeth looks a bit suss;but if it works ::)

redsetta

Yeah, fair call Wallace - wouldn't be my preference either.
I can't speak for its performance, but it's overall design isn't too far off the mark.
Cheers, Justin
Fortitudine vincimus - By endurance we conquer

Tile

The antireverse design on this reel has one advantage: no twisting is applied to the rotor shaft. The antireverse crown should have been made out of bronze with the option of replacing it if it wears. I wouldn,t recommend this reel for heavy saltwater fishing especially for larger species. I see this reel perfect for freshwater fishing and especially for wels catfish and large carps coupled with a 3,7 m specimen rod.

By the way I noticed the 220GTO.
In solid fiberglass we trust

wong2a9

took apart my 7500os and serviced it but now the clicker doesnt sound.  anyone know how to fix this?

redsetta

G'day wong,
The tension spring is likely to have jumped off its post under the spool.
The pic below shows how the spring 'legs' sit on either side of the post.
Let us know how you get on.
Cheers, Justin
Fortitudine vincimus - By endurance we conquer

wong2a9


strike115

Hi...what do you think about removing the clicker? it doesn't look so strong...

redsetta

G'day strike,
Removing it would have no impact on performance, but you wouldn't hear line being stripped or the pace at which it was peeling.
It's under no real load, so I don't think it's a weak point as such.
Over to your personal preference really.
Cheers, Justin
Fortitudine vincimus - By endurance we conquer

strike115

Hi Red,

i'm not concerned about the noise/scream of the reel...even because i will be still able to hear the line running out during the fighting, but i'm rather scared if the clicker falls apart during the fighting...i want to avoid any kinf o f trouble.

redsetta

QuoteHey I read your post on the disassembly of your OFS 9500. 
I have a 6500 and the A/R just stopped working all of the sudden and the reel has only a limited amount of use. 
I spoke with someone at Fin-Nor and they instructed me to order the A/R pawl, spring etc. to possibly solve the problem. 
Do you have any experience with this?  And/or do you know how I can disassemble the reel to the point of replacing these? 
I am relatively new to actually fully servicing the reel in this fashion as I have always been lazy and just sent any reels in for servicing.  I am unable to find anything about this on the web. 
I love this reel, and it has a bit of sentimental value so I would like to fix this situation if possible. 
Any help would be much appreciated.  Thanks!

QuoteG'day and welcome ww,
It should be fairly straightforward.
Remove the drag knob, then the spool.
Undo the the rotor nut and remove the rotor plate beneath.
The rotor should just slide off the spool shaft now.
Once that's off, you should be able to see the pawl and spring.
It's actually a 'torsion' spring, rather than a 'compression' spring and is quite delicate.
It's likely the spring is either broken, bent or pinched.
Let me know what you find and we'll figure out what action to take.
If you run into any difficulties, let me know.
I'll post your question and this response on the tutorial page because that'll allow you to post photos - pics always help when things get confusing ;)
Good luck, Justin
Fortitudine vincimus - By endurance we conquer

snappercatcher

Hi Justin
The only issue with these reels as far as I can tell is if not maintained the anti-reverse pawl does get clogged up with salt and doesn't move, so a good clean and all ok. Have seen the odd snapped pawl also.