tld 20/25

Bryan Young · April 19, 2013, 01:47:39 AM

I keep forgetting about the swelling of the frame

BOE · April 22, 2013, 01:25:41 AM

Thanks guys, I am going to guess it is to much grease right off the bat, I smear that cals drag grease on fairly heavy and dont get it all wiped off. I live by the, if a little bit is good a lot is better.

I will also check for frame swelling where the cross pin goes.

charris1 · June 09, 2013, 11:34:14 AM

I know this is an old thread, but I figured this is the best place to ask my question...I recently purchased a brand new TLD 25..made in Malaysia unfortunately..I have a few concerns. My friend also bought one. My concerns are..at the same drag setting..14 lbs at strike, 18lbs at full my lever is substantially harder to move along the quadrant than my friend's. It requires a good deal of effort to bring it out of freespool and to move it to strike and full position It is not gritty, it just feels very stiff and under a lot of pressure. His is butter smooth. My handle is much harder to turn as well..I am sure I have very little free spool time if any at all. The only visual discrepancy I could find was that on my reel, there was a ring of grease around my "O" Seal that could be seen when it pops out after the reel is put into gear. On my friend's there is no grease visible. It is just a smooth black surface....what is up with my brand new reel that apparently I may have wasted my money on?? ???javascript:void(0);

Thanks so much for any help!

akfish · June 09, 2013, 01:40:41 PM

It sounds very much like your reel shipped with a bad pinion bearing, or that you crunched it by setting the drag too high. If it gets hard to push the lever forward and hard to turn the handle, you are damaging the pinion bearing. If you pop open the reel and take out the pinion bearing, I'll bet anything that it feel gritty ...

charris1 · June 09, 2013, 02:30:38 PM

So it is abnormal for the lever to get harder to push into strike and full as the drag is increased? The effort required to move the lever should remain constant?

akfish · June 09, 2013, 06:58:43 PM

Yes, when the drag is set too high, the lever will become hard to push and the handle will become hard to turn. This is unnoticeable are moderate drag ranges. The problem is that once you do it -- set the preset too high and then engage the lever just once -- you've likely crunched the bearing and will need to replace it. I see this quite a lot in the shop...

charris1 · June 11, 2013, 12:56:29 AM

I am certainly no expert but I think this issue does not lie with the pinion gear..reason being...I have not forced the lever in any way..I understand what you are saying that if I really try to force it I will crunch the gear. But I have not done that. I was cross referencing with my friend's TLD and I noticed that his lever can meet the same resistance as mine on the quadrant..however..this is only after his preset drag knob is turned another full turn past where mine is set at..and his drag naturally is noticeably higher than my drag when his lever meets the same resistance level as mine. So basically it seems that his lever is butter smooth and meets little resistance at the same drag strength where mine is meeting resistance.. And if I turn my knob back a full turn so that I meet the same butter smooth turn of the lever of my friend's my drag is significantly less... leading me to conclude that somehow my drag seems to be weaker or there is an issue with my preset system..its a turn behind somehow it seems...

akfish · June 11, 2013, 12:59:41 AM

It is not the pinion **gear** that gets crunched at high drag, it is the pinion **bearing.** You may have gotten a bad pinion bearing with the reel. One more thing: Remember to never adjust the preset knob except with the reel is in free spool.

charris1 · June 11, 2013, 01:11:07 AM

So you think the issue still lies with the pinion bearing? I do not see said bearing on the schematics list..is there another title for it? and yes I don't think that will be a problem as the knob seems very tight when the reel is in gear..I don't think I could turn it if I tried

redsetta · June 11, 2013, 01:40:15 AM

AK's spot on.
Part #TLD0215.
Good luck, Justin

charris1 · June 11, 2013, 02:02:30 AM

Thanks for the help guys, if I pull the reel apart to get a look at the pinion bearing, what should I look for as far as it being broken or faulty? And just out of curiosity, what part of the reel is damaged if the preset knob is turned when the reel is in gear, not free spool?

redsetta · June 11, 2013, 02:07:03 AM

The pinion bearing may feel 'gritty' or rough, but it's not always apparent when not under load.
Best just to replace it.
The threads on the spool shaft and drag preset (ie internal) can be damaged by adjusting while the drag's engaged, but they're likely fine.
Let us know how you get on.
Good luck, Justin

akfish · June 11, 2013, 11:28:28 AM

Turning the present when not in free spool can also damage the cam, the brass piece under the present knob. Look at it and make sure the hole is square and not damaged and beginning to round off.

charris1 · June 11, 2013, 02:26:03 PM

All right I pulled the reel apart last night..here were my findings..I could not find anything wrong with the pinion bearing..it felt smooth and was rust free. I may just have one ordered and replace it for the heck of it though. Interestingly, the drag washer on this "new" reel looked like it had some substantial wear. There were multiple black contact rings on the washer. There were also little black shavings of some sort of material in the grooves of the pinion gear and up under the dog and ratchet. It was almost like a plastic..it was not a metal..I don't think it was doing any harm but I went ahead and cleaned it all out and re-lubed.

fishy76 · July 29, 2013, 08:19:39 PM

Hey Alan,

I have two Ocean Master OLD25s, one OLD20C, and one Shumano TLD 20 that I intend to put on the market. Reels are too large for my fishing. Is the tutorial identical in most respects for the Ocean Master and the Shumano? I see minor differences, like the detent for the lever, but inside they seem identical. Think the OLD 20 already has a graphite drag washer. One 20C reel is new in the box, has a great grip and freespool of near 20 sec without line.

Should I use my free time to service these reels or just let them go in like new condition, as is?

Do buyers pay any attention to the reels being serviced/maintained properly and/or prepared for the salt from the get go? Or do prospective buyers want to do the service themselves?

I still marvel at the detail of your tutorials!

Fishy76