Spool and Ball Bearing failure

Chris Musselman · January 31, 2012, 08:07:07 PM

Hey guys, I have an Okuma Akena that has a bearing shot (end of spool/cast control cap). Is it possible that the spool assembly could have been bent while operating the reel when the bearing is bad?

Pinion is making a grinding noise in the Akena. When I put the Akena spool in my Isis the Isis pinion grinds (same design/spool assembly). So do I need to replace the spool and the bearing together?

alantani · January 31, 2012, 09:35:31 PM

maybe pull the spool and roll it on the table. watch the end of the pinion gear and see if it's bouncing. if the spool shaft is bend, the spool will usually rub against the frame. try replacing the bearing first.

coastalobsession · January 31, 2012, 09:44:55 PM

Do what Alan said.

Chris Musselman · February 01, 2012, 04:02:02 PM

Thanks guys.

One more question. I took apart my Isis when it was brand new and put it back together and it immediately started to sound like a coffee grinder (seems like a common term here). I reassembled the thing like 5 times before giving up and sent it to okuma to be repaired. Okuma did a repair, said they replaced the pinion and drive gear and full relube. When I got it back it sounded exactly the same. The sound is coming from the pinion gear area, but obviously they just replaced that so its fine. What's the next most common thing that I should look at?

Dominick · February 01, 2012, 06:02:25 PM

Quote from: coastalobsession on January 31, 2012, 09:44:55 PM
Do what Alan said.

OR ELSE...

alantani · February 01, 2012, 06:03:33 PM

funny, dom. now play nice....

chris, you mean this little guy, right? the isis? it should not sound rough. you still have idler gears on the spool and levelwind assembly. i would look at those next.

Killerbug · March 09, 2012, 09:09:43 AM

Quote from: Chris Musselman on February 01, 2012, 04:02:02 PM
Thanks guys.

One more question. I took apart my Isis when it was brand new and put it back together and it immediately started to sound like a coffee grinder (seems like a common term here). I reassembled the thing like 5 times before giving up and sent it to okuma to be repaired. Okuma did a repair, said they replaced the pinion and drive gear and full relube. When I got it back it sounded exactly the same. The sound is coming from the pinion gear area, but obviously they just replaced that so its fine. What's the next most common thing that I should look at?

Hi Cris,

There are something Okuma did not tell you, and that is that they do not use stainless steel bearings in their baitcasters like ABU and Shimano does. I have a few myself, and I have replaced the spool and endcap bearings with Stainless steel ones. The handle bearing I leave as is, because crome steel ones are generally stronger than stainless ones, and packed with grease they will be fine.

Seen in this light Okuma baitcasters(and spinning) are among the most expensive reels you can buy, because they all need a bearing upgrade. The Okuma conventional reels has a much better quality, but their Chinese made baitcasters are not yet up to the task.

I was actually considering the new ISIS myself, but your story seems to confirm that Okuma is still having problems with the assembly lines. A pitty, cause the engineering of their the reels are fine, or at least ok.

more on the subject here, http://esoxhunt.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=61