Removal of outer AR-B parts from a Tekota 600 LC - any good advice?

[Jon_Kol]

Hi!

I got sent a Tekota 600 LC which had.. well.. been fairly neglected by the owner. I'll let the picture speak for itself.



Anyway, I got the reel back to how it's suppose to be, but for the first time I came across a failed AR-B bearing in a Tekota. The inner pins fell out, so did the plastic housing. But the frame is stuck like crazy to the sideplate, and being a Tekota, there's nowhere to apply pressure in order to squeeze the frame out of its pressed-in position.

I reached a point where I had to try my Dremel, in the hope of getting some of the tention out of the stuck parts. So far, no effect. The metal seems more like Titanium than SS, I have no idea why it's so hard and won't buckle.. I'm very close to cutting the stuck parts in half, yet it still won't budge. I'm gonna have to keep trying to weaken the material, but if it doesn't work, I'm just gonna have to order a new sideplate for the guy. I've also tried putting the sideplate in a freezer, and shock treat it with boiling hot water right at the stuck parts. It had no effect.

I really wish Shimano would design the sideplate so that this section of the reel could be possible to remove, instead of having it fixed with rivets.

Has anyone of you come up with a great solution as to how these AR-B's are removed (fairly) easily?

[exp2000]

Wow   That is a doozie!

OK, this is just my take. Others may have better ideas.

Obviously you have to drift it through from the outside inwards. This may require some force so you need to support the riveted plate to avoid distorting the housing. I often use a PVC pipe joiner for this kind of work.

If the outer bearing race is masked by the housing, you need to fashion a bent blade screwdriver or similar to slip under the housing lip to make contact with the bearing race. Then use a small hammer to drift it out working your way around the perimeter.

If it won't budge you need to apply heat. You could use a small torch but on this reel an industrial heat gun would probably a safer option. These can really put out an awful lot of heat so remove any plastic components. BTW that screw securing the trip lever is prone to seizure and will sometimes shear the head when attempting removal thus requiring a new screw and lever.

You can alternate heat with cold by using electronic contact cleaner or any Freon based aerosol sprayed on the bearing race to break the interference fit.

A last resort that has worked for me is to submerse the affected area in a penetrating oil or similar overnight while it is in the freezer. While I have not tried it you could also try bleeding acid into the fit to dissolve the rust holding it tight.

I find that the A/R bearings in this model are inferior quality compared to older Shimanos. The outer races are more prone to rust and pitting so often require replacing.

Good luck.

[akfish]

I actually see this problem frequently. On the 700 and 80 Tekotas, you can tap the edge of the ARB from the outside and get it out. You can't do that on the smaller Tekotas like the 600LC. My only solution is to take a Dermel cutting tool and cut a slit in the edge on the side plate so I can use a bunch to tap out the bad ARB. The star will cover up the cut and if you fill it with grease it works OK. Not a good solution, but it does work...

[handi2]

Usually a nut driver fits well.

[Jon_Kol]

Well, finally the race gave in. Man, I've spent many hours with this reel.. wish I had purchased the Dremel tool earlier, this thing really did the trick when I decided how to tackle the problem.

I decided to focus the Dremel on a particular area, wearing down the metal gradually in that place. When the race was almost cut all the way through, I noticed that the metal still would not budge when put under pressure at the cut slit. I therefore took another Dremel tool, and rotated it all the way around the inside of the race, wearing down the entire circle of the metal. Not cutting slits (as the tool don't have cutting discs small enough for this task), but making the metal thinner and thinner all the way around the inside.

Finally, after quite some time of using the tool, I could see the race moving towards me when prying the race at the slit. I slipped the tip of a small fishing hook in at the top of the race, and could pull the whole thing out. Really happy that the idea worked out.

Thank you for the comments and suggestions, I appreciate every comment.

Here are some photos that I took during the process of working on the reel, from the moment I opened it the first time, and to the finished service earlier today.


Just after opening the reel


Not a nice sight


After some quick cleaning. Note how rusted the AR-B is in this picture.


After use of Dremel tools. Some slight damage to the inside of the sideplate due to attempts at prying the race using a thin screwdriver. This slight damage does not affect the housing of the AR-B at all, luckily.


Here after quite a lot of Dremel use. Notice how the metal in the race has worn down and become much thinner.


The race coming out, after being worn thin using Dremel tools. Note that the race has been worn quite thin and thereby losing a lot of the pressure that it originally had when installed in the sideplate.


The race fully removed from the sideplate


The new AR-B installed


The inside of the reel after been cleaned and greased - ready for use once again

[steelfish]

dang , that looks like a lot of work

hopefully you charged the service by the hour LOL

[exp2000]

I got a reel like this once. There were barnacles growing in it 

When he came to collect it, I just had to ask: Turns out he found it in the tidal zone on Eighty Mile Beach.
~

[Jon_Kol]

dang , that looks like a lot of work

hopefully you charged the service by the hour LOL

I wish I did This reel belongs to a kid who's about 16 years old, I told him that if I was to charge by the hour for the job I've done on his reel, he'd be better off buying two new 600 LC's.  He has also promised to take better care of the reel from now on.

Seriously though, I like helping people with stuff like this, and since I've yet to give up on a reel sent to me, I really wanted to get this &#%"$£!! bearing race out of the sideplate hehe. But yeah, it did take quite some time.