Penn Spinner 550SSG- rubbing sound when turning.....

[rscotth]

So I picked up a Penn 550SSG from a guy here on Craigslist for a decent deal with an Ugly Stik rod. Of course I was gonna do an exploratory maintenance. The reel has been "into" before and in decent condition with blue Penn grease inside. Anyway...once I started loading line onto it I could hear a constant rubbing sound. It is not noticeable when reeling it with no line on the reel I can only assume it would get worse when fighting a fish.
I took off the rotor and can see a very slight rub mark inside the rotor where the trip cam has worked but I don't think it's the cause. I even cranked down on the rotor nut a little tighter than I normally would in an effort to minimize the distortion / rubbing but it didn't help.
Anyone else ever seen this issue? Kinda sounds like a bad bearing, possibly the "98B" rotor bearing? Any ideas............
I'm going to be hitting the ICW for soem flounder this afternoon with the kids- will respond tonight when I get back.
Thanks
RSH

[foakes]

Hi RSH --

Could be a bearing or mechanism, but...

Kind of depends on what the sound is --

Rubbing, metal on metal, metal on graphite, at the bottom of the spool travel, underneath, tinny, heavy, inside, etc, etc.

Could just be a thrust washer under the spool worn out, wrong, or missing, a bent spool shaft, a tweaked spool, tweaked rotor, clicker loose, and a few other things.

I would eliminate things before ordering any parts --

Observe the operation and where the noise is coming from -- remove the spool, and try it without the spool on -- if there is still a noise, you have eliminated half of what could be wrong -- oil the bearing and clutch -- see if the noise changes at all.  A bad bearing will be a little rougher operating, and also have a hollow sound or vibration.  This reel has 3 bearings, plus the clutch -- all expensive, especially if they do not need replacement.

Let us know how you do -- and what you discover.

Best,

Fred

[Alto Mare]

Those graphite reels flex, yes, even the smaller ones. I have none.

[rscotth]

Thanks for the replies- the only thing I changed was the teflon washer under the spool. I replaced it with a carbon fiber but the rub is still there even with the spool off. It is a plastic to plastic kind of squeak and thoroughly irritates me. Something is wrong and I just can't figure out what it is but most likely something slightly bent or tweaked somewhere. What a shame since it is such a great looking reel . I guess it going in the "pile" of other parts........
RSH

[the_reel_doc]

Know I'm a little late to the game but try turning part # 98S around. It might be in there backwards and the rotor does not sit properly when it is backwards.