Penn Long Beach 60 problem

[Wayne B.]

I just bought a newer Penn Long Beach 60 (paddle type handle knob). The reel looks great. Shiny, no-corrosion chrome and no signs of abuse. My problem is the reel lopes when it is turned. It shows resistance once per spool revolution. When the spool tail-plate bearing cap is loosened it only Lopes when it is turned with handle side up. When it is turned tail-plate side up it spins just like new. When I tighten the the bearing the bearing cap to 1/16" axial play, it lopes in any position. I tried a different bearing cap, no change. I visually inspected the gears and they look like new. ANY IDEAS?

[CooldadE]

How about the handle side bushing ?

Cool

[Wayne B.]

Loose or tight, no difference.

[CooldadE]

So the different bearing cap you changed was on the non-handle side ? If you have an extra handle side bushing cap you might want to swap it out to see if that helps...

Cool

[Wayne B.]

I suspected the shaft spindle might be bent. I chucked it in a drill and it wobbled about like all penn spools. I then put the spool in another 60 and it worked fine. I put the spool from my donor reel and put it in my problem reel. Both work fine!!! No idea what the problem was. I had only removed the tail-plates for the swap out. Who knows?

[broadway]

If you screw in the non handle side bushing too far before reassembling the reel, the spool may not have seated properly within the spring and bushing.
I screw that bushing in about half way and then tilt the reel so the spool is seated properly on the pinion,  then I screw that bushing in.
Guess who taught me that?  ....SAL!
Happy you're all set, just pay attention to that next time, Wayne.
Enjoy your reel.
Best,
Dom

[Wayne B.]

Thanks Dom!

[alantani]

which ever side of the spool has the hop or rub, try replacing the bushing on that side first.  hopefully this will be a cheap and easy fix.  if that still does not work, then it might be the spool.  hopefully replacing the bushing will fix the problem.   

[Wayne B.]

Thanks, Alan.

[mo65]

   I have had this happen too. I've taken a part from a reel thinking it was bad, and have it work fine in another reel. This is why a Penn part has to be obviously trashed before I will toss it. Bushings...for sure...do not play by the rules.

[Cuttyhunker]

Rather than trying to fix the good reel, I'll do my best to "break" the good one, switching out parts one at a time from the problem reel to the good one to isolate the problem.  Seems like your spool is okay.  Once it was just equalizing the bridge bolt torques.

[Bryan Young]

I'm sorry for my ignorance. What is lopes?

[Wayne B.]

Sorry, maybe my ignorance. I used the word lope to mean the reel experiences a spot during spool rotation where the handle experiences a higher resistance.

[Wayne B.]

Once it was just equalizing the bridge bolt torques.

I am not sure what you mean. How would the torque on the bridge bolts affect the rotation of the spool?

[Swami805]

Check the screws that hold the frame together, if the frame isn't square that could cause your problem