Daiwa Saltiga LD35 2-speed - can't make it go into freespool??

[johndtuttle]

Hey Jon,

when you remove the spool you have to completely unscrew the Drag Preset knob from it, typically, if you do this, the Drag Cam inside will get out of it's tracks....have you tried making sure everything is seating properly inside the lever drag assembly?

[Jon_Kol]

Hey Jon,

when you remove the spool you have to completely unscrew the Drag Preset knob from it, typically, if you do this, the Drag Cam inside will get out of it's tracks....have you tried making sure everything is seating properly inside the lever drag assembly?

I took it apart once again now, and I can't find anything wrong with it. I also remembered that the pre-set cam was so tight in its place that I did not attempt to remove it, so it has actually not been moved or taken out of position at all during the service.

But since the spool is engaged as soon as the shaft enteres the pinion gear and nothing seems to make it "let go" of the gears, thereby making it go into freespool when needed, doesn't that point to either the gears or the spool/spool shaft as to what is wrong here? The lever and the drag knob doesn't give any effect until I screw the numb quite a bit forward to increase the drag, yet there is a quite massive drag in the spool itself as soon as it is entered into the pinion gear and seated there.

[johndtuttle]

Hey Jon,

when you remove the spool you have to completely unscrew the Drag Preset knob from it, typically, if you do this, the Drag Cam inside will get out of it's tracks....have you tried making sure everything is seating properly inside the lever drag assembly?

I took it apart once again now, and I can't find anything wrong with it. I also remembered that the pre-set cam was so tight in its place that I did not attempt to remove it, so it has actually not been moved or taken out of position at all during the service.

But since the spool is engaged as soon as the shaft enteres the pinion gear and nothing seems to make it "let go" of the gears, thereby making it go into freespool when needed, doesn't that point to either the gears or the spool/spool shaft as to what is wrong here? The lever and the drag knob doesn't give any effect until I screw the numb quite a bit forward to increase the drag, yet there is a quite massive drag in the spool itself as soon as it is entered into the pinion gear and seated there.

Either the "stack" of pinions is not nesting correctly, or, the drag cam is not seated right. Completely remove the drag preset knob and make sure the cam has not popped out of it's track. This is usually what causes very high drag as soon as you close the reel (as compared to just poor free spool).

The only way the spool and gears should be interacting is through the force of the drag plate on the spool drag washer. All the rests nests together but  floats. The drag plate functions as a clutch plate in a car...it's friction on the washers links the drive train force to the spool and it alone. How it does this smoothly is a function of the drag cam and it's proper seating in the lever itself.

[MarkT]

The pressure plate bearing that's the top one in the picture does slide easily on the spool shaft, doesn't it?

[Jon_Kol]

The pressure plate bearing that's the top one in the picture does slide easily on the spool shaft, doesn't it?

No, this one is stuck. It's the bearing which I mentioned in one of the earlier posts, which I did not dare to push and pull much because of it being so stuck. Any chance this might be the reason as to why the freespool is not working?

[alantani]

i think that's it!   

[MarkT]

That's absolutely it!  If it's stuck to the shaft,  the spring can't push the pressure plate away from the drag washer when it goes into free spool.  It was left in gear and the bearing got corroded to the shaft.  Now it can't go into free spool!  Don't ask me how I know this can happen.

[johndtuttle]

That's absolutely it!  If it's stuck to the shaft,  the spring can't push the pressure plate away from the drag washer when it goes into free spool.  It was left in gear and the bearing got corroded to the shaft.  Now it can't go into free spool!  Don't ask me how I know this can happen.

Oh der....of course....You can see the spring compressed underneath it failing to have it's original function.

Soak the bearing in Corrosion-X or other penetrating oil for a while next to the shaft then use 2-screwdrivers on either side to apply equal leverage and see if the bearing will slide off the shaft.

The spring may be fatigued from being compressed so long and may need to be replaced.

[Jon_Kol]

Well, nothing is better than to have solved the mystery! I'm very thankfull, guys! A special thanks to you MarkT, who spotted the bearing and asked the question that a fairly unexperienced reel tweaker like me needed. Thank you so much!

I hope to have time to post a tutorial when this reel is done, as it was (as mentioned) soaked in salt and what else from many trips out to the salty seas in the northern part of Norway. I was really happy that I managed to fix both the clicker and the gear shifter so that the low and high gear now work, but this last part of not getting freespool was really starting to puzzle me.

I probably should have pointed out more clearly that the bearing seemed stuck, but being my first service on such a reel from Daiwa, I thought it might have been pressed tight against the shaft from production. Gradually it dawned on me that I was quite sure that I had not experienced freespool from it straight out of the box it was sent to me in.. obviously that was correct.

So I've learned several things with this reel.. I busted one of the screws on the dog cover (still have no idea how that happened, one screw came out fine, the other was like turning a screwdriver in butter) and I never managed to get it out.. the head is all gone. :-( Not looking forward to informing the owner about it, hopefully the dog will never fail.. if it does and he needs a repair, I will of course cover the expenses. And now I've learned that the bearings on a shaft should be able to slide up and down the shaft.

So all in all.. I'm happy that we found the fault in the system. Now I'll soak the bearing and hope that it will come loose. It seems to spin really nice, kinda thought it would be all rusted stuck.

Guys, I actually feel happy again! Haha imagine that. I'll keep you posted, thanks once again!

[johndtuttle]

Well, nothing is better than to have solved the mystery! I'm very thankfull, guys! A special thanks to you MarkT, who spotted the bearing and asked the question that a fairly unexperienced reel tweaker like me needed. Thank you so much!

I hope to have time to post a tutorial when this reel is done, as it was (as mentioned) soaked in salt and what else from many trips out to the salty seas in the northern part of Norway. I was really happy that I managed to fix both the clicker and the gear shifter so that the low and high gear now work, but this last part of not getting freespool was really starting to puzzle me.

I probably should have pointed out more clearly that the bearing seemed stuck, but being my first service on such a reel from Daiwa, I thought it might have been pressed tight against the shaft from production. Gradually it dawned on me that I was quite sure that I had not experienced freespool from it straight out of the box it was sent to me in.. obviously that was correct.

So I've learned several things with this reel.. I busted one of the screws on the dog cover (still have no idea how that happened, one screw came out fine, the other was like turning a screwdriver in butter) and I never managed to get it out.. the head is all gone. :-( Not looking forward to informing the owner about it, hopefully the dog will never fail.. if it does and he needs a repair, I will of course cover the expenses. And now I've learned that the bearings on a shaft should be able to slide up and down the shaft.

So all in all.. I'm happy that we found the fault in the system. Now I'll soak the bearing and hope that it will come loose. It seems to spin really nice, kinda thought it would be all rusted stuck.

Guys, I actually feel happy again! Haha imagine that. I'll keep you posted, thanks once again!

Quick note: The reason some may have missed it is that some reels DO have pressed on bearings. The Shimano Trinidad is notorious for this where as most others slide freely.

The tell was really the compressed spring....when the drag is full it is compressed. When you release the drag lever that spring is what pushes the drag plate off of the drag washer allowing free spool.

[MarkT]

I had this same problem with my Avet MXJ a few weeks ago which is why I thought to ask.  I actually took apart an SX to compare to because the bearing seemed pressed on.  It wasn't!

[Jon_Kol]

Quick note: The reason some may have missed it is that some reels DO have pressed on bearings. The Shimano Trinidad is notorious for this where as most others slide freely.

The tell was really the compressed spring....when the drag is full it is compressed. When you release the drag lever that spring is what pushes the drag plate off of the drag washer allowing free spool.
[/quote]

Great stuff, I learn so much here. Hopefully I'll be able to contribute here one of these days as well.

[Jon_Kol]

I had this same problem with my Avet MXJ a few weeks ago which is why I thought to ask.  I actually took apart an SX to compare to because the bearing seemed pressed on.  It wasn't!

Thanks, it was really helpfull. I looked at the lever and the setup within it again and again, as well as the stack of gears with the pinion gear etc.. couldn't seem to find anything wrong. So it was really great to finally have a solution as to where the problem originates from.

[Jon_Kol]

A good dose of rust remover spray (the kind that sprays with a temperature at around - 40 Fahrenheit), some good multi-spray and letting it soak over night finally did the trick. Very pleased with this, I must say.

Now to order a few new bearings for the man who owns this reel, when installed this reel should be good to go. Hope he'll like it better now.

[Jon_Kol]

Well, guys.. last night it all came together. Literally. I got the rusted bearing out, as my previous post showed, but even after that the reel would not freespool. New bearings and what-have-you-not.. Still as stuck as a nail. I figured the reel could either drive me crazy, or I could try to stay focused and think straight one step at the time. Luckily I managed to go for the last part. A couple of nights ago, after yet another attempt at trying to see the problem, I had this idea right before I fell asleep - what if the compressed spring wasn't the only thing that had gotten out of place there? Last night I looked closer at the drag plate and the cover, and suddenly - there it was! My hunch had been correct, I had overlooked something there. Upon inspecting the drag plate and removing the cover, I found that the O-ring had been pushed out of place and through the hole of the cover. It was on the opposite side of what it should have been, and would therefore not push the sideplate as it is designed to do. I re-installed it according to the schematic, and there it was.. my long awaited freespool.

It was a great moment, and I was really happy that I managed to find that silly little thing that had made me head spin several hours every night. Seeing that Mr. Tani mentioned that these can be tricky reels to put back together, made it even better to know that it is now working once again. It's been my first ever go at a Daiwa reel of this type, and I think I've taken it so many times apart now that I can almost draw a schematic by memory haha.

I'd like to say thanks once more to all the people here who commented and helped me out when I was wondering about the reel not going into freespool. Your comments mean a lot, and I've also learned from them. So thanks to all of you.

Here's the reel now - cleaned, and with a few new bearings. No more salt, non-working clicker, non-working 2-speed gear, non-working freespool etc. I hope the owner will be happy.



- Jon -