Penn 350 Leveline

gt2003 · March 16, 2022, 07:11:51 PM

Inherited this reel from my late Dad. I serviced it and replaced the drag washers w carbontex. It works great EXCEPT, when i reel in, the 'leveline' bar doesnt consistently turn. Anyine know the fix for this? I could fish it anyway but would like to have it working at 100% if at all possible. Thank You!

RowdyW · March 16, 2022, 08:09:02 PM

Check the nylon gear that turns the shaft. Possible worn or broken teeth.

Bill B · March 17, 2022, 05:18:54 AM

The level wind worm bar does not move in a continuous fashion. Kind of tick tocs if that makes sense. Otherwise there is an issue in the gear train as Rudy stated. Bill

Gfish · March 17, 2022, 05:45:06 AM

Used to have one of these. Don't remember a nylon gear. Does it have one?

Maxed Out · March 17, 2022, 06:42:47 AM

Make sure your tension knob is correctly adjusted. Just a hair of wiggle on the spiral bar is where it should be. To much slop can be an issue. Too tight ain't right either

gt2003 · March 17, 2022, 03:06:43 PM

Thanks folks. I just took it apart and looked again. There is nothing nylon in there. Everything is brass. All gears appear to be interlocking as they should but apparently they aren't. My initial thought is to replace the 76-350 and 78-350 dogs and their springs along with the brass gear that the leveline bar itself rides inside. Obviously there is something in there that isn't meshing enough to get the gear turning.
Thank you for the recommendations on adjusting the spool tension. Unfortunately that didnt work but it was worth a shot.

Do these actions sound reasonable? Thanks again

Gfish · March 17, 2022, 06:15:53 PM

Yeah. Kinna sounds like that brass levelwind gear could be moving away from the main under pressure or it could be stripped(?) where the bar fits in.

Maxed Out · March 17, 2022, 06:22:00 PM

Like Fish said, the spiral bar doesn't turn all the time. It's supposed to turn intermittently

Gfish · March 17, 2022, 06:29:41 PM

Ok. I remember rebuilding mine and it being surprisingly complicated, years ago. Had to look at the Mysticpennparts schematic—-yeah. Did see that one part—-a "spiral gear" is no longer available, the other pertinent parts are, though.

gt2003 · March 17, 2022, 07:29:40 PM

Luckily I've found all the parts except for the springs from 1 seller on ebay. Hoping he'll combine shipping and I can get them on the way.

Yes, @Gfish , I had the youtube servicing video from 2ndchancetackle on and let it walk me through the process. Thankfully for this project it won't involve taking out the main gear, drag stack and the hidden 'dog' that's tough to get back in. This was my first saltwater reel project and it tested my patience!

gt2003 · March 18, 2022, 10:22:04 AM

Quote from: Maxed Out on March 17, 2022, 06:22:00 PMLike Fish said, the spiral bar doesn't turn all the time. It's supposed to turn intermittently

Yes, but of there os even minimal pressure on the bar, even less than regular line pressure, the bar won't turn at all. Thats why i'm thinking there is an issue.

gt2003 · March 30, 2022, 08:20:44 PM

Quote from: Gfish on March 17, 2022, 06:15:53 PMYeah. Kinna sounds like that brass levelwind gear could be moving away from the main under pressure or it could be stripped(?) where the bar fits in.

Not 100% sure on that but I've got new parts to work with now. They came in last week so I can break into the project fairly soon I hope.

Is there a 'trick' to getting the leveline bar in correctly? It has a 'post' on each end and they are both different sized so it doesn't appear it can be done put in backwards. Correct?

Thanks for the input. As mentioned below I just got a little concerned because if there is ANY type of pressure, even minimal, on the leveline bar, it won't advance. It wants to turn but it's like an old arm clock with a low battery, it just can't do it!

gt2003 · March 31, 2022, 12:44:39 AM

SUCCESS! Looking closer, the spiral drive gear has 'teeth' that need to be pointed in a specific direction for the dogs to mesh properly and rotate properly. I can't tell u which direction right now but I'm not opened mg it again to find out! I went ahead and put in the new dogs and drive gear but honestly think i just had the drive gear upside down. Hope this helps someone moving forward!

Bill B · April 02, 2022, 04:11:05 AM

Glad you stuck with it. Some f the best lessons are learned this way. In the beginning I reassembled a Long Beach and mixed the bridge screws up. Couldn't figure out why the reel would go not free spool. 3 reassemblies later I found the error of my ways. Bill

Cuttyhunker · April 03, 2022, 02:45:44 PM

The spiral bars are 20 or 30 bucks on ebay if you can find them. They need to be very smooth for proper function, I have had small imperfections in the chrome plating defeat the level wind hanging
the line so it couldn't slide across evenly. A little attention with 4-0 steel wool or 600 grit paper usually smooths things out enough. From what I've learned here, the system is actually superior in reliability to the worm drive design in the 209, 309, etc, but it was a failure in the marketplace even being heavily advertised by Penn as "The Reel with a Brain."