Doing My First 7000 Rebuild & Have A Quick Question

[Walleye Guy]

I am doing my first rebuild on a 7000, lot #731200.  I disassembled it a few weeks ago and degreased and polished it and now am reassembling it.  She's a beauty.  My problem is that there are two 5142 circlips (used to retain the 5143 bushings) in the pile of parts but the schematic that I have only shows one on the left side (opposite of the handle).  So I'm just looking for confirmation that this reel only uses one circlip.  The schematic came from the Abu website but seems to be accurate for this reel.  Besides the schematic only showing one clip, another reason that I think it only uses one circlip is because the side plate opposite of the handle has a tiny little slot for the circlip but the handle side plate doesn't have that slot.  Anyway, I just wanted confirmation from someone more knowledgeable than myself before I finish reassembly.  Thanks in advance!

[Wompus Cat]

7000 c7000 7000c-3 ?
Pics would be helpful  but in general other than building a 1/4 Race car you need to put all the stuff back in it that came out .

[Wompus Cat]

I have a couple of 7000 c-3's and they have Bearings and the 5142 clips hold them in place. So use one on each end .

[Walleye Guy]

This reel is just a plain 7000 with bushings instead of bearings.  It has red end caps with a chrome frame.  The left end cap has a back stop for the bushing and then a groove for the circlip to hold the bushing in place.  However, the right end cap (the handle side) has a back stop for the bushing but no groove for the clip.  Check out the attached schematic which I've been using and you'll see it's not calling for a circlip on the right end cap.  This seems strange to me.  I agree 100% about not having parts leftover but I wonder if someone over the years thought there should be a circlip on the right side too and added it.

[Wompus Cat]

Would not be the first time things were added in assembly that were not necessarily suppose to be there and as you found out and  ifin they ain't a place for it then it is
superfluous . Having parts left is Really Bad in Heart or Brain Surgery ,,,,,,, Reels..... not so much if they work as good or More Gooder.

[Walleye Guy]

Here are two pictures I took last night of the handle side and opposite of the handle side.  The red arrows point inside the end cap bushing bore to the shoulder/back stop for the bushings and the blue arrow points to the groove for the circlip.  It's difficult to see but this was the best I could do with my phone.  On the handle side, I felt with a pick and verified that there is a shoulder at the bottom of the bushing bore...not a groove for a circlip.  I'm still hoping someone out there with a lot of experience with 7000's can verify that no circlip is needed on the handle side.  This reel is lot #731200 so it was made in December 1973.  It's an older model with only bushings.  Thanks again in advance for any more advice that comes in.

[Walleye Guy]

I found this link on lunch break today.  This reel has spool bearings whereas mine has bushings, but at the 21:00 mark you can see the author remove the handle side spool cap and the bearing drops out because there is no circlip to retain it.  At the 30:45 mark he reinstalls the bearing and immediately puts the spool cap on with no circlip.  Mine had a circlip on the handle side although I don't recall if it was on the inboard or outboard side of the bushing (I think the inboard side).  I'm starting to lean towards the fact that my reel had an extra circlip installed at some point.  Also, a quick edit from my original post: regarding the schematic I attached, I noticed that my reel has the earlier style bait clicker than the one shown on the schematic, so it's not 100% accurate.

[Wompus Cat]

https://alantani.com/index.php?msg=410155

[Wompus Cat]

You have exactly what it takes to be a good Reel fixer upper .
An inquisitive Mind and cautious apprehensions when something does not seem right.
I think most likely someone not so KEEN EYED as you tore into your Reel in the past and stuck a clip there because he thought it was suppose to be there .
I ,just for grins tore one of mine down last nite ( one with Bearings and guess what )
No clip on the handle side .
So  just use it till you  lose it or Bruise it and start all over again like we all do .

[Walleye Guy]

Thanks Wompus Cat, I appreciate that.  I actually worked at a sports shop when I was in high school repairing reels during the winter months when the regular repairman went to Florida.  I absolutely loved it.

Confession: I'm a mechanical engineer and spend most days caring a lot about minutiae details that most people care about very little.  : )

True story: once during a not-so-serious skirmish with my wife about a house project where I was hung up on some details and she was ready to move on, she told me "You should come on over the It's Good Enough Side...We Have A LOT of fun over here!"  She's more the Free Spirit type so we balance each other out. 

[Gfish]

Alright! A details guy. The Ambassadeur baitcasters I have(2-old 5000's) come with a little tube of spare parts, including if I remember right, a circlip. Maybe someone "thought" they lost the head-plate one and used the spare. Interesting that there is no lateral groove ("little slot") in the bushing holder.

[Walleye Guy]

Gfish, yes I love details.      My wife says it's an illness for which there is no treatment.  You are correct about the circlips in the 5000 spare parts tubes and that is the same P/N (5142) of which I now believe I have one extra.  I thought the same thing about not using a circlip on the handle side bushing bore but apparently, if our theory is correct, that bushing is designed to float axially (but won't rotate radially because of the tick mark on the OD).  I spent an hour or so looking over some early 70's 5000 & 6000 Ambassadeur schematics the other night and I learned something: all of them (at least the drawings I looked at) have the identical set-up on opposite of the handle side (a shoulder built into the end cap to retain the bushing on the inboard side and a circlip on the outboard side) but the handle side uses the circlip in the inboard side (ie no shoulder built into the end cap) and nothing on the outboard side (which is the way I think my reel should be).  So what I learned is that the design intent appears to be the same for all of these reels: the spool bushing on the handle side is apparently supposed to be able to float axially (parallel to the spool centerline) inside the bore whereas the bushing on the opposite side of the handle is supposed to be trapped between either two circlips (like the late 50's & 60's 5000's) or an end cap shoulder and a circlip (which looks to have started in early 70's).

[Walleye Guy]

Well, I can't leave out the finished product can I?  Attached are some pictures of the reel and the Conolon rod.  On a side note, I put out a post for advice on repairing the end guide on this rod here:  https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=34699.0.  According to the previous owner's son (it belonged to his dad and his dad passed away), the combo saw brief saltwater use.  I spent a good amount of time and elbow grease cleaning it piece by piece and there is hardly a trace of corrosion.  It's a gorgeous combo and I hope to use it at Lake St. Clair this year for a giant muskie.

[Walleye Guy]

Please see the attached picture of the drag washers that were in this reel.  P/N 6950, circled in red, appears to be original but the other three washers circled in blue seem to be made from a different material.  Are these Carbontex, Smoooooth Drags, etc?  I've not yet experimented with aftermarket drag washers before so I'm wondering if someone can tell me if these are original or aftermarket and if yes who made them.  Thanks!