Shimano Citica 200E not smooth?

[dsuydam87]

Howdy all!

First time poster long time troller. I had a couple Citicas 200E that I took apart all the way down to the frame and assembled them the same way shown here http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=3200.0
I used the Penn reel grease for the coating and Quantum Hot Sauce on the gears and degreased and oiled all the bearings. The reels perform very well cast great, spool winds evenly, drag is strong etc... BUT they aren't smooth. They sound a little loud and not quite like a pepper grinder but not smooth? Is this just the way they sound after reassembled? I know the reel is older but to me the gears weren't worn or anything beyond the I would guess normal corrosion. I don't know if I over/under greased the gears or what? I appreciate all of the help in advance and I really hope I can get these amazing reels back smooth again!

[ReelClean]

I have never used hot sauce, but I understand that is a fairly thin grease?  Possibly reel feels/sounds more "geary" compared to thicker original grease?
Someone who has used it can probably chime in.
cheers
Steve

[Zimbass]

In many cases it is the ARB (roller clutch bearing) that causes the geary feeling.

Try and replace that, and get rid of Hot Sauce. Superlube or Shimano grease on the main gear and pinion gear would be my recommendation.

Cheers,

Terry.

[Pro Reel]

did they feel the same before the service? I do hundreds of that reel a year. If they feel rough when they get here, then I I already know that just cleaning them wont make them smooth. You most likely need new gears, unless it's the roller clutch or pinion bearing. If the pinion bearing was rolling smooth and if there wasn't any pitting or corrosion on the sleeve or rollers of the clutch, then you need new gears. Gears can look fine and steel feel rough. Sometimes they can look bad and feel smooth. It's all a matter of tooth wear. Call shimano customer service and order a drive and pinion gear. When the new gears get to you, inspect them very closely with a 10 power or greater magnifying glass. I have a small 10 power on my bigger regular mag glass. Look for any shipping or handling damage to the tips of the teeth. If you see any flat smashed looking spots where they banged into each other and made a small dent in the soft brass, call them back and tell them to send you a different set. 25% of the gears I order are damaged when I get them. If you put a new set in with even a tiny blemish on the tip of a tooth it will feel like a glitch on every turn of the handle.

[dsuydam87]

They were smoother before service. Like I said the function well they are just noisy. The gears were in pretty good shape to my knowledge (some discoloration and normal corrosion under the drag washers) but I know the ARB on both reels was pretty rough. Can you repair them or is it just better off replacing them? When I say repair I mean recondition. I know I have had an ARB fall apart in the past but I can't recall if it was one of these reels or another I was able to get it back together though. I was wondering if maybe it could be my bearings but those seemed to be fine when i checked them. I am pretty certain that its something along the driveshaft.

[Gfish]

Question for Pro Reel: Are 25% a the gears you order, defective from Shimano company, or from all reel companies combined?
Gfish

[oc1]

I agree with ReelClean.  It's probably the Hot sauce on the gears.  Coat them in grease and then try it.  Hot Sauce is for bearing and only lasts for a few hours of casting.
-steve

[handi2]

And remember there is only a super thin layer of grease left on the gears especially in these reels. Especially if they have the newer micro module gears which i dont this this reel does.

I would check the bearings closely. Hold the bearing with your fingertips while you turn it with a Q-Tip. You should feel nothing at all.

The clutch bearing is a cheap replacement.

[dsuydam87]

I went ahead and changed out the hot sauce for the Penn Grease (Blue on the thicker side) and they feel smoother. The hot sauce was all off the gears on the sideplate of my reel so that was definitely an issue also checked the ARB and they both felt good hopefully swapping the grease on the gears help and I did know to put a thin coat not overloaded with grease. Gonna get on the water tomorrow hopefully they are smoother!

[handi2]

I went ahead and changed out the hot sauce for the Penn Grease (Blue on the thicker side) and they feel smoother. The hot sauce was all off the gears on the sideplate of my reel so that was definitely an issue also checked the ARB and they both felt good hopefully swapping the grease on the gears help and I did know to put a thin coat not overloaded with grease. Gonna get on the water tomorrow hopefully they are smoother!

I bet they will be smooth when that fish is on!!

[dsuydam87]

Still noisy on the retrieve  but they do feel much better. I caught a few fish though and you were right I can't here any noise while reeling a fish in LOL! 

[Pro Reel]

Question for Pro Reel: Are 25% a the gears you order, defective from Shimano company, or from all reel companies combined?
Gfish

I have better luck with shimano than I do with any other. I ordered 20 drive gears from Bass Pro Shops for the pro qualifier last year and 15 of them were damaged. I get abu gears for revos from abu Garcia and have the same problems. Shimano individually wraps their gears in bubble wrap. The other all just put them in a plastic bag where they are free to bang into each other and get dented during shipping. What I don't know is if shimano wraps them in bubble wrap at the shipping dept before packing to ship to me or if they come from japan already wrapped. If they are stored together in a parts bin then they can still get damaged before they wrap them.

[RatzReelz]

I wouldn't put hot sauce on a zebco 33 that I was throwing in the trash. We've seen more reels damaged by that so called grease than any other lube.