Bearing Question

[topwater]

I guess I need advice, I'm a bass guy and all my reels are freshwater reels for bass fishing. This year I decided to take them all and crack them open  clean and lube them up. The first thing I noticed is that after cleaning and re-lube they sound louder. Case in point, I have 2 identical reels Pflueger Patriach , one I opened degreased and lubed and put back together and then compared the action which felt smooth to the original unopened reel but the cleaned and re-lubed reel sounds louder. I did notice two things, the main gear had little or no grease on it and it ran so quite and smooth. Will grease make the reel louder on the main gear ? Also, I soaked the bearings in degreaser and after blowing them dry I lubed them with a bearing lube by dropping 2-3 drops on the bearing and waited for them to soak in. Is that the proper way to lube the bearing ? or do I have to pop them open and grease them or lube with the seal open ? Im not sure but I think the noise is coming from the bearings, or is it over greased main gear ?

[Ron Jones]

How did you "blow dry" the bearings? Making bearings spin with compressed air is really hard on them. 3 drops isn't a lot of oil either. Does that reel have an anti-reverse dog or bearing? If it is a bearing then those have special lubrication needs as well. If it has an AR dog, you may just have cleaned the reel well and now are hearing the dog do it's job. That is music to many of our ears around here.
Ron

[johndtuttle]

I guess I need advice, I'm a bass guy and all my reels are freshwater reels for bass fishing. This year I decided to take them all and crack them open  clean and lube them up. The first thing I noticed is that after cleaning and re-lube they sound louder. Case in point, I have 2 identical reels Pflueger Patriach , one I opened degreased and lubed and put back together and then compared the action which felt smooth to the original unopened reel but the cleaned and re-lubed reel sounds louder. I did notice two things, the main gear had little or no grease on it and it ran so quite and smooth. Will grease make the reel louder on the main gear ? Also, I soaked the bearings in degreaser and after blowing them dry I lubed them with a bearing lube by dropping 2-3 drops on the bearing and waited for them to soak in. Is that the proper way to lube the bearing ? or do I have to pop them open and grease them or lube with the seal open ? Im not sure but I think the noise is coming from the bearings, or is it over greased main gear ?

Grease is going to be "quieter" than oil. If you removed much old grease from the bearings then that is likely the source of the increased noise. Regardless of the oil, they may be faster than before and well protected but they will transmit more sound.

Also, if you have increased gear noise after cleaning them and relubing the same can occur where old grease is dampening sound or if you have removed the gears for a thorough cleaning you can have some roughness as over time the gears may have lapped into each other creating wear patterns not easily appreciated that work together to increase quietness. When you replace the gears in a new position they suddenly have to go through this process again before they return to the new quiet norm. That's the theory anyways

[philaroman]

what are you trying to achieve w/ your lube?  you may want different lube in different bearings, depending on function.  if you want minimal noise & maximum protection/longevity -- pack them w/ grease.  you may want thin oil in spool bearings, for better speed -- you'll get better casting distance, a little more noise & faster wear.  if the oil you used is thinner than Pflueger's original lube -- that would account for some added noise, even if you did everything right.  on the other hand, what did you use to degrease your bearings -- are you sure it evaporated completely, with no residue?  there could be something left over, breaking down your fresh, new oil.  if you're not sure, rinse 'em several times w/ Acetone (PURE!!! -- NOT, nail-polish remover); spin them dry (Acetone evaporates quickly) & re-lube according to function/need.

[philaroman]

in other words, what john said...  but I already typed & spell-checked & wasn't about to delete