Accurate BV 400 handle increasingly stiff to wind thmore the drag lever engaged

[Nigel R]

I have an accurate valiant BV400, left hand, single speed , purchased 16m ago, I live in the UK and  fish around Cornwall-I use it for a days boat fishing, once a month on average, spay and clean it with deionised water after and leave it in freespool, indoors. It was working fine until this Christmas when it became stiffer to wind the more you increased the drag lever, it spun ok in freespool. I took it to be repaired and he found everything was ok except the side plate bearing (7x17x5mm) wasn't running as freely as it should. This was replaced and it seemed to solve the problem, however the problem has now recurred. I have the preset strike drag set at 3-4lb and when the lever is at strike it's a bit stiffer to wind  but as you move the lever forward it gets significantly stiffer, almost impossible to wind! I'm getting a premium  quality SKF SS bearing to replace it but I wonder if there could be anything else going wrong. I haven't been inside the reel myself, there seems to be a lot more parts than in a Seigler SG,I used to use and did venture inside! The bearing seems to have failed again very quickly! I've seen other posts suggesting it's this bearing that's likely responsible but I would be grateful for any thoughts/advice. Many thanks Nigel R

[MACflyer]

Welcome Nigel. It definitely sounds like a bearing issue. Don't know much about the Valiants, but my fishing buddy had the same issue, and has replaced the same bearing, anti-reverse maybe?, twice in the past 1 1/2 years on his small Penn Fathom lever drag. He was told it's because he's adjusting the drag tension knob while the lever is forward, thus crushing the bearing. Maybe the Valiant is similar? Someone with more experience than me will be along shortly with the exact answer. Cheers, Rick.

[Swami805]

Welcome!  Most likely the bearing as you describe. One way that happens is tightening the drag knob with the lever engaged, it should be in free spool. Nice reel when working properly

[Nigel R]

Thanks for the advice, I don't think I've adjusted the preset drag in anything other than freespool, but interesting thought if you think the bearing may get crushed. The new bearing will have metal shields as opposed to rubber seals, so wonder if this will make it anymore resilient! Will have to see when I receive it and take it to my accurate man, although I think most of his experience is with accurate boss extreme reels which is why I'm reaching out!

[boon]

Any possibility they used a cheap bearing when they replaced it? The pinion bearings go through a very hard time, a low quality bearing will fail really fast.

[Brewcrafter]

The new bearing will have metal shields as opposed to rubber seals, so wonder if this will make it anymore resilient!

The sheilds have little/no effect one way or the other.  There are many wise folks on the forum here that actually ditch the sheilds when doing service.  The whole thing you are experiencing (as Keta Lee pointed out) and a common failure point on many lever drags regardless of brand, is that the pinion bearing really is not happy having a lot of side load on it.  Countless other threads here to discuss the engineering symantics; I'm not going to bore you with that but as others have said change out your pinion bearing and all will most likely be fine. - john

[alantani]

water is getting inside the pinion bearing.  that's why i pack that bearing with grease. 

[MarkT]

The new bearing will have metal shields as opposed to rubber seals, so wonder if this will make it anymore resilient!

The sheilds have little/no effect one way or the other.  There are many wise folks on the forum here that actually ditch the sheilds when doing service.  The whole thing you are experiencing (as Keta Lee pointed out) and a common failure point on many lever drags regardless of brand, is that the pinion bearing really is not happy having a lot of side load on it.  Countless other threads here to discuss the engineering symantics; I'm not going to bore you with that but as others have said change out your pinion bearing and all will most likely be fine. - john

On the pinion bearing, keep the shields and pack with grease. I take the shields off the spool bearings and lube with tsi-321.

[Nigel R]

Well I have taken the reel (and bearing) to be my repair/service man today and will report back on his findings in due course. Thanks for the advice/comments so far.

[Nigel R]

Got the reel back now, he just the replaced the bearing and it is working find, he did find the bearing was 'tight' but it did run, but not as smoothly as it should. No signs of rust. He felt my drag setting at strike was a little high, but I set it to stop a diving pollack! Rather than just leave it in freespool between trips, he recommends  that I also back off the drag, to take the pressure off the bearing, which I don't normally do. So I'll start doing that, just have to remember to reset each time, which I suppose is good practice. Hopefully it lasts longer this time. It's a lovely reel to use when it's working!
Nigel

[boon]

Unless I'm somewhat mistaken there's no point backing off the drag preset, there is no meaningful pressure on any of the components when the drag lever is in freespool.

[Keta]

When in freespool there is zero pressure on the pinion bearing.

[alantani]

Unless I'm somewhat mistaken there's no point backing off the drag preset, there is no meaningful pressure on any of the components when the drag lever is in freespool.

correct.....