Sealed Bearings ,

[wildcard]

It seems that my TLD 50's (our daily go to reel for offshore charter fishing) suffer from the same problem. The bearing on the right side (handle side) gets corroded over time and causes reels to get stiff. Oir reels are used on a very regular basis and are washed with soap/water and drip dry at the end of each day. I am told that salt water is able to get to that particular bearing fairly easy. Our reels are serviced every year, but see quite abit of use against some pretty tuff critters. This is basically my only complaint about the Shimano TLD 50 reels, which is extremely minor considering how well they work for us. So is there a sealed bearing available to replace these "open" race bearings? Thanks, Frank

[Bryan Young]

Hi Frank,

Sealed bearings are available. What is the size?

Also, it would help a lot if some of those bearings are packed with marine grease. It will fill in the space where salt water would normally hold in the bearing.

Bryan

[Tiddlerbasher]

If salt gets into a sealed bearing it will probably stay there and cause corrosion. Grease will help.
But a fully grease packed open bearing is usually a better option - water in, water out - it doesn't get trapped inside.
Using one of Alan's bearing packers makes the job a breeze

[wildcard]

Thank you for the responses. I tried to post back up, but it looks like it didn't go through. It seems that I recall someone mentioning that they use Yamaha grease? We used to have some very sticky/thick grease for auto/truck bearings that I haven't seen in years now. Can this same grease be used on drag washers? Thank you for your help.

[Shark Hunter]

Your drag grease needs to be Teflon based. Cal's is what most people use.

[erikpowell]

Bula Wildcard,
I'll second Tiddlebashers answer. I prefer open and grease packed bearings. or sometimes I leave 1 sheild on the bearing and place it towards the handle facing out of the reel...the inside of the bearing stays open so water (If any gets in) can escape to the inside and exit the drain holes on the reel body rather than stay put inside the bearing.

Bearing packer is nice, it will allow packing the bearing without removing sheilds.
If your bearings are already open, I simply use a small putty knife and my finger to manually pack and smooth the grease in the bearing.
it's like spreading peanut butter on a tiny bagel!  too easy.

yamalube, the blue marine grease is ideal, or any waterproof marine grease you have on hand.
it will slightly stiffen up your handle cranking, but it's worth it.

Do NOT use either of those greases on your drag washer though!
For thiat you must use either Shimano Drag Grease, or Cal's Grease.....these are teflon based

Hope this helps!

[wildcard]

Got it, thank you guy's!

[johndtuttle]

Sealed bearings use rubber seals that are very water resistant, if those shields are popped open (extremely easy), the bearing packed with grease and then the shield replaced I personally think that should be the best of all worlds.

The amount of saltwater that gets past the shields is minimal and is stopped in it's tracks by the grease. Marine bearing grease even fully saturated protects from corrosion for months. This gives you plenty of time to service the bearing again, flush out soggy grease and replace with no harm done. The increase in handle crank stiffness is insignificant in a large conventional reel, imo, too.

Something to consider. Bearing packers are not always easy to come by...I have learned to love rubber seals plus grease on the reels I have that use them.



best

[wildcard]

Thank you guys for your input. Just a little of what we put these reels through, they amaze me daily.

[erikpowell]

That's alot of Fish Tacos.   

[Tightlines667]

Now that looks like some good fun there!

[Cone]

You can also thin the grease you pack the bearings with. I normally mix corrosion x with the yamaha marine grease to get the consistency I want. It will not make the crank handle as stiff with the thinned grease. JMHO
Bob

[Keta]

I prefer sealed bearings packed with marine grease (Yamaha of course) for use in a dirty environment.