Penn 330gti - pinion gear stuck to spool shaft

[JSimpson65]

After searching the internet for some solutions to my problem, it seemed like this site was the place to go.

I'm trying to cleanup a Penn 330gti that I've had sitting around for over 10 years. Was originally just going to do a little cleanup/regrease and see how she worked, but seem to have run into a problem. The pinion gear seems to be frozen to the spool shaft. I hit it with a few shots of Kroil to see if it would help loosen up. I'm hesitant to start using force for fear of breaking something.

The bridge (I think that's what it's called) seems to not want to come off over the pinion gear either. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Here's a shot of where I am right now:

[Bryan Young]

Soak assembly in wd40 then use heat to help get parts separated.  Then, while warm, take a plastic mallet and tap spool while holding on the plate.  If that doesn't work, repeat then put pinion gear between two blocks of wood in a vise and twist spool, then when loose, take out of vise and tap spool shaft with plastic mallet while holding plate.

[JSimpson65]

Thanks for the info. I soaked it with Kroil again last night and will give it a try tonight. I'll try to heat up just the pinion gear with a torch and give it a little persuasion. My biggest concern is not damaging the spool or the bridge - pinion gear is cheap but if I have to replace the spool as well we're getting up to a point where it's not worth fixing.

[Irish Jigger]

Be careful when twisting as pinion is engaging with drive flats on spool spindle. If there is space to accommodate two thin screwdriver blades you may be able to prise the pinion off the spindle but do take care.

[JSimpson65]

Irish Jigger - thanks for the heads up on not twisting too much. I will keep that in mind if I get frustrated and tempted to just grab the pinion gear with a set of vise grips and twist if off!

[alantani]

i've gotta do a post on this one.  first, you need a section of wood, two inches in diameter and foot long.  the diameter of a closet clothes hanging bar works well.  hold the bridge plate and bang on the top of the spool shaft until the pinion gives or the bearing gives.  you only need a quarter inch.  ok, it's still stuck.  find two small matching flat screw drivers and work them underneath the ring of the pinion gear.  or the bearing.  slide the screwdrivers in at a 180 degree angle from each other.  now gently twist both screwdrivers clockwise to apply firm but even pressure on opposite sides of the pinion gear.  it will give. 

ok, got it?  good. clean up the corrosion, grease everything and continue on with the the rebuild.  be careful not to bugger up the teeth of the gears.  if you do that, you will probably have to buy another and they are very expensive. 

[JSimpson65]

Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement.

I tried holding the bridge plate by hand and hitting the spool shaft but no go. I took a couple pieces of 1" , 1/8" thick angle iron, and wedged them under the bridge plate to give it a little more support. Placed the whole thing onto my bench vise to support the angle iron, then gave it a few hard taps - bridge came off, bearing still under pinon gear. I then noticed that the pinion gear had about another 1/16 of an inch to seat fully on the spool, so thought it would be easier to knock it down then try to pry it out to at least un-freeze. Wasn't sure if this was a good idea to seat it further, but I've never been one to let common sense get in the way of a good plan. Put a small deep socket over the spool shaft and onto the pinion gear, and one tap seated it fully onto the spool. At this point I knew it was all down hill, and managed to pry the pinion gear off:



Thanks again,

Joe

[alantani]

is it just me, or does that spool shaft look like it's sticking out a little too far?   

[Irish Jigger]

Well done
I would replace that bearing (8x16x5) which incidentally Penn do not itemise on their parts list.

[JSimpson65]

is it just me, or does that spool shaft look like it's sticking out a little too far?   

I think it's just the angle of the photo. Everything went back together fine and she works as good as new now. I re-oiled the bearing before tapping it back into the bridge. It seemed to spin pretty well so I kept it. In hindsight, probably would have been a good idea to replace since I had it out anyway.

Thanks again,

Joe