Penn 525 Mag freespooling issue

[Whit]

Hi Alan:

I have a Penn 525 Mag that is just driving me nuts.  Recently I had to replace the frame because the integral bearing on the right side went bad.  After doing the cleanup and rebuild, I put the reel together but when I got to tighten the last three screws (on the left side plate) to finish the job, the ability to freespool almost went away, just like that.  The spool turns only a little.  It does click in and out of gear.  And when in gear you have to force the handle to make it turn.  I've taken it apart and tried putting it back together several times, without success.   I've loosened the tension knob on the right side.  What next?!!!! 

Thanks!

Whit

[akfish]

Sounds to me like you have either a bad spool or your new frame is warped. I've gotten a few replacement frame from Penn that were bad out of the box; I'll bet that's the problem. Is there any chance you have a friend with a 525 that you can stick your spool in to see if it spins true?

[alantani]

sometimes you can overtighten the frame screws and the frame warps.  try backing out all the screws on the frame, then turn the screws until they just barely seat and try the freespool.  then tighted each screw a quarter turn and see if the spool turns freely.  repeat the process until you are happy with the amount of torque or until the spool warps again and you loose freespool.

um, IF this is cause, that is.......