Silstar 50W Noisey Gears

Kurly Kiwi · May 26, 2011, 07:03:51 AM

Hi Team, in case your not familiar with these reels - they are a graphite body, 4 bearing, overhead style, lever drag. I estimate they were made about 15yrs ago. I have now brought two of them and the problem I have is they are both noisey when winding. I'm sure they never came out of the factory like this. I brought a second hand Okuma 50w to compare - and yep, they are the same reel (couple of very minor changes I've spotted). The Okuma is relatively quiet, so swapped around first the pinion and then the drive gear with the Silstars to isolate who was causing the problem. Neither combination significantly quietened down the whinning noise of the Silstars. (It's definitely the gears & not bearings) I know - your immediate thought is the gears are significantly worn with age, but this is not the case. One Silstar has done almost no work in it's life- (couple of fishing trips and caught 1 shark). I put both pinion and drive gear under the microscope, but nothing conclusive there.. I'm now wondering if possibly they originally came out noisey and when they were taken over as Okuma, perhaps they changed the angle of the teeth to quieten them down - anyone got any suggestions, thoughts or ideas to try.

For your info, Parts are difficult to get here in NZ, the agents sell reels but the back up service hardly exists. If I can be absolutely certain that a new pinion and drive gear is the only way to fix the noise, then I will go ahead with that option.
Thanks, Kurly

alantani · May 27, 2011, 06:15:09 AM

check to see if the leading (pressure) edge of the gear tooth is worn or slightly deformed. when a reel makes noise, it's either gears or bearings. alan

Kurly Kiwi · May 27, 2011, 08:48:48 PM

Thanks Alan. I was hoping you might have another trick up your sleeve.
All the bearing have been taken out and examined - only a minor imperfection with two of them, but I will replace the 4 of them anyway.
I'm going to put the brass drive gear in a tumbler and give it a good polish. More out of interest to see what, if any, effect it will have.
If I get any startling results I'll drop you a line.
Cheers - Kurly

alantani · May 27, 2011, 09:21:39 PM

no, skip the tumbler. tried that. it just made things worse.

the gear teeth have to mesh perfectly. once they get the slightest imperfections, they will never be the same. if there is damage to the leading edge of the gear teeth (and i bet there will be), then the gears must be replaced to regain that new feeling again. nothing else will work. $:-\$

Kurly Kiwi · May 28, 2011, 10:09:12 PM

Oh - OK (I won't try the tumbler then).
It looks like the best action is to go ahead with replacing both the pinion and main gear.
Thanks Alan.

Cheers, Kurly

Kurly Kiwi · May 29, 2011, 03:19:50 AM

Hi Alan, Finally struck gold as to the problem.
This afternoon I laid one drive gear on top of the other for comparison ... and found that the teeth ARE different.
The Okuma has a slightly deeper tooth than the older Silstars, and squarer on the end. Then comparing the different pinions meshing into the teeth of the drive gears, there was a slight difference there too. I'm sorry, but I don't have any way of measuring all this, but it can be clearly seen when you start looking specifically at this area.
Sorry if I've wasted your time on this blogg - if I'd looked harder at the beginning, I should have spotted this.
Cheers - Kurly

alantani · May 29, 2011, 04:00:46 AM

no problem. glad it's working out. alan

wallacewt · May 31, 2011, 04:27:02 AM

hi kurly
the silstar 50w is that the bluefin (bf)series.

kamuwela · May 31, 2011, 07:39:04 AM

just a quick tip for future. when i have problem's i use blueing dye to see exactly where gear mesh points are. just and old automitve differntial tool for percision setting of gears and many other purposes. most gear's are set in the center not too deep or not to far out either.

Roger · May 31, 2011, 02:45:15 PM

Quote from: kamuwela on May 31, 2011, 07:39:04 AM
just a quick tip for future. when i have problem's i use blueing dye to see exactly where gear mesh points are. just and old automitve differntial tool for percision setting of gears and many other purposes. most gear's are set in the center not too deep or not to far out either.

Now why didn't I think of that. GREAT IDEA.........

Kurly Kiwi · June 01, 2011, 06:25:30 AM

Blueing dye - what a good idea. I will remember that trick for another day.

Thanks kamuwela.

Wallacewt - sorry but I don't know about BF series. I went looking for a picture to compare but couldn't find one. Mine has TR-50w Graphite Titanium written on it. I matched it very closely with the Okuma Titus T-50w (and theres a few pictures of those on the internet if you want to look), after someone told me they were made in the same factory as Okuma. They were right cause I can interchange parts.
I haven't seen big silstar reels for sale here in the NZ shops, only the spinning reels. These old silstars occasionally pop up for sale as a second hand item. They seem quite robust and have resisted the salt corrosion quite well. The weak point appears to be the handle, but I'm intending to replace that anyway. I got to use the reel towards the end of summer while trolling for marlin. Picked up some small albacore tuna. Just real noisey in the gears.

We're into winter now, so it's time to service the reels in front of the fire.
Cheers Kurly