Old Man, Old Reel, Abu Garcia 4600C

[nashbill52]

Thanks for your site!  I have an old Abu Garcia Ambassador 4600C that makes a soft clicking noise as the reel freespools on a cast.  I've done a basic disassemble of the main parts adding a drop of oil on the bearings.  I don't see anything amiss.  Any ideas?

[foakes]

Hi Bill, and welcome aboard --

There are good sounds and bad sounds.

As a general rule, most ABUs will make some noise when casting --

Won't hurt anything -- but should not be there.

My first step would be to take off the handle sideplate -- inspect the centrifugal brakes -- clean them with alcohol or similar -- clean out the brake race with a Qtip and alcohol -- just a drop of oil on the spool ends when assembling -- same with the bearings (but you did that) -- when reassembling, adjust the spool cast control tension caps to your satisfaction -- cannot be too tight -- or too much to one side -- this will prematurely wear out the bearings.

Bearings do not click -- they whine, sound OK, or stop working smoothly.

So this is likely something to do with the spool, as line peels off when castings
.
If this doesn't work -- take another look at the light metal tabs or wires the brakes ride on.  Sometimes they can be bent back into a better position, just slightly.

Good reels -- simple and well built.

Give us a report.

Best,

Fred

[tholmes]

Something else that you might want to check is the idler cog that runs the levelwind. A broken or chipped tooth on the gear can cause exactly the symptoms that you describe.

Been there, done that.

Tom