Penn 210m - Hard to turn handle intermittently

[Azar]

Morning fellas,

A bit stumped on this one.

I tore down both my Penn 210s and let the metal parts soak in vinegar and knocked off most of the corrosion. I re-assembled them and one is fine, but one is smooth but will all the sudden stop when your turning the handle. I hit the eccentric jack and the handle spins freely, the spool spins freely but will randomly hang up, and I noticed the line guide acting a bit strange. The line guide will move along just fine, then get stuck at an end...or start heading back the wrong way halfway on the worm gear.

Honestly, I re-assembled the 2nd one around 1:30am this morning...so I very well could've put the pawl in crooked or something. Also, reviewing the schematics, I noticed that there should be a spring for the worm gear on the right side? Neither of my reels had one...weird. Anyways, what should I check? Can I put the worm gear in backwards?

[sdlehr]

Did you have them both disassembled simultaneously and then mix-and-match parts after the cleaning so that maybe each isn't the same as it was before you cleaned? Since you have two, one of which works fine, my approach would be to substitute part for part from the good reel into the bad reel one at a time, starting with the spool (and that may be all you need to do), to see which part substitution alleviates the problem. You might find that just swapping parts between reels finds you a solution that is satisfactory.... and about that pawl problem - you probably need either a new pawl (they do wear out regularly, many reels bought new came with a spare pawl or it might be the worm gear that is having a problem) - look closely at both with good lighting and magnification. A worn pawl will often fail first at its furthest excursion on the worm gear. I've never worked on one of these, don't know what to tell you about the spring thing.... is there side play in the worm gear?

Edit: based on your description I think your problem is in the drive train - crank/gears/spool. The eccentric and clutch probably don't have anything to do with this problem. When you disengaged the clutch and the spool didn't spin normally, that pretty much indicates that the spool is what is having a problem. Sometimes (on other models) all you have to do is back out one of the lower bridge screws 1/4-1/2 turn to clear the spool flange. Maybe I'd try that first; not sure if it's going to help on this model, I've not held one of these in my hands yet. If that helps, screw it back in and grind a little off the tip where it exits the bridge on the inside. When this occurs we're just taking a fraction of a mm off the tip of the screw.

[foakes]

Hi Azar --

Sid may be exactly right on this -- but if on my bench -- I would eliminate a few more common things first...

First off, most catching issues on a LW can be traced to one of the 14 parts in the LW system.

Plus, you do need a spring on the head side -- it is part #44A, if memory serves.  This may be most of the issue.

Most typical because of the line strain involved -- is either the worm gear shaft, or the pawl is worn.  The worm could also be burred.  I don't know how many times I have tried to visually see a problem with a worm shaft on these -- only to switch out the shaft and pawl -- and everything is good.

To check this -- just unscrew and remove the pawl.   Then operate the reel to check if it's still catching.

The LW parts for the 210 are the same as the 209.

It can be nearly 8 of the 14 LW parts causing the issue -- or if not the LW -- spool, perhaps.

Parts are readily avilable for these -- but I would start out by determining if it is in the LW or a deeper problem -- otherwise too much wasted expense.

If neither of your 210's have worm springs -- I can send you a couple at N/C -- then you can start your determining the cause after they are installed.

Worm only goes in one way.

Best,

Fred

[mo65]

  My 210 doesn't have the spring either. That spring and adjustable bearing are the type used on the 209. Maybe some 210s used that pair, but all that I've seen have the non-adjustable/no spring bearing.
Probably what's causing your spool hesitation is a bind in that levelwind assembly. Maybe a busted tooth on the nylon idler gear? Maybe a chunk of debris in one of the levelwind gears?