International 50 Drag Plates

[dbiscayne]

just tore down a new to me International 50, the stainless drag plates have hot spots on them.  Is that it for the drag, time to upgrade to the newer 117DN-50?  The metal is still flat, no grooves, same for the original asbestos washer.

[alantani]

you're good.  and hopefully this will work to replace the old drag washer.

https://www.mysticparts.com/PennParts/Parts/117DN-50.aspx



"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

[dbiscayne]

I'll give it a shot as is then, maybe something else will expose itself once I find some time to use it & give me a reason to tear it down again.
A second old 50 I picked up doesn't have holes drilled in the reel stand for a clamp, is that unusual?  Time to break out the drill I guess.

[Tightlines667]

I'll give it a shot as is then, maybe something else will expose itself once I find some time to use it & give me a reason to tear it down again.
A second old 50 I picked up doesn't have holes drilled in the reel stand for a clamp, is that unusual?  Time to break out the drill I guess.

I always upgrade theses old donuts to the new c.f. and grease with Cal's drag grease.  The performance is much better, and worth the added cost IMHO.  Sometimes you can find 3rd gen replacement washers and save a few bucks from buying the newest ones.

I also, always replace the Bellevilles/spring washers, and make sure to properly test each bearing after cleansing.  Any felt roughness warrents replacement.

I have never seen one of these old stands without holes for a rod clamp.  Replacement stands are tough to come by too. 

Good luck on the service.

John

[dbiscayne]

good point on the bellevilles hadn't thought of replacing those.
the bearings felt smooth, didn't open up the shields though, the spool spins very nice.
I do get a slight not so happy feel through the handle, like the gears aren't meshing just right, it seems to happen only through about half the handle rotation.  Could there be too much grease caught up in the gears?  I cleaned them pretty good with a nylon scrub brush, then dabbed on some marine grease tried to go light but might have got too much on them.
The feel changes as the drag is adjusted.

[Tightlines667]

If there is a notable 'bump' when turning the handle, determine if it is at the same location with respect to the handle or the spool rotation, and if it is in high or low gear.  This typically indicates uneven gear wear or damage.  If it's the former it is likely the main, if its the later, the pinion gear.  You can test, mark and find the problem with the side plate off, and the pinion seated.  Look for spool wobble relative to the side plate, any binding may be a bent spool shaft.  If the increased resistance is related to how much drag pressure is applied, or grinding in general is felt you either have a damaged pinion bearing, marring on tye drive shaft, or a spool spacing issue/i.e. Belleville stack height needs adjusting.  You may try polishing up the drive shaft, and bushing with some high grit sandpaper.  Check the clicker ratchet and pawl for wear too.

Make sure you put the cupped washers back in the correct orientation, as this affects spacing, and may be causing binding as you increase the lever, esp. If they are compressed/worn.

I would pack the non spool bearings with grease too.

John

[dbiscayne]

there's no wobble at all, spins pretty nice in free spool, the ratchet & pawl looked pretty good too.
just placed an order with Scott's will let you know how it goes - lots of good stuff on the way.

thanks for all the quick responses too.

[dbiscayne]

OK new problem now that the drag has been upgraded to the newer style, hopefully somebody has some insight - I've replaced the belleville washers, upgraded the drag to the 117DN-50 Drive Plate Assembly with Dura-Drag Washer & used plenty of Cal's, double checked all the bearings, spool shaft is nice & straight, and the roughness I felt after the first tear down has gone away I think the bellevilles might have allowed too much slack as previously installed & were letting the gears move around (they were (()) as I received the reel, went with ()() setup this time).

The spool shaft fit into the new Drive Plate is now a very tight fit, when reassembling the reel I noticed the side plate did not bottom out with the posts and stand, I had to tap the spool shaft (gently) to seat it further down then assemble.
When moving the drag lever back to free spool the reel doesn't 'pop' into free spool like it should, drag stays engaged although it does adjust from full to a light drag like it should, just never get free spool regardless of how the preset knob is adjusted.
I did not replace the left side bearing spring/drag spring.
Is this because the shaft is getting stuck in the Drive Plate?
Will rearranging the bellevilles help this?

[Bryan Young]

I agree with your assessment of the possible problem.  I would start with the bellevilles configuration.  If you measure the height of the bellevilles in the (()) configuration and the ()() configuration, likely ()() is taller than (()) which could be the issue, moving the spool closer to the drag plate.  Second contributor, and it could be both, the the tightness of the drive plate to the spool shaft.  The drive plate should be able to slide freely on the spool shaft.  The ID of the drag plate may need to be opened slightly.

[dbiscayne]

took a tiny file to the drag splines & just a bit to the spool shaft splines till they slid in & out nice & easy, that was the ticket, it pops into freespool just fine now.  thanks for the help.

[Tightlines667]

took a tiny file to the drag splines & just a bit to the spool shaft splines till they slid in & out nice & easy, that was the ticket, it pops into freespool just fine now.  thanks for the help.

Great to hear you got it sorted.

I have done this to a few myself.

John