Hello, first post and question - Shimano TR 100-G

[bill r]

*Sorry, this might have been better in the beginner thread, admin please move if so.

Hi all, great forums here!  Looking forward to doing a better job of maintenance and light DIY service of my slowly growing pile of gear.

Here I have a reel with a malfunctioning level wind. It wants to hang up at one spot. If I pressure it with my thumb while reeling, it will advance a bit and then hang again, trying to reverse prematurely. Spool and worm gear turn fine. Popped the side plate and verified the level wind plastic gearing looks intact and clean. Removed the pawl and at a glance it looked to be the right shape, but took a zoomed in picture, attached below,  and it does look slightly deformed on one side.  Is that enough to bugger these things up? Or do I need to keep looking?

Thanks,

Bill R.

[Hardy Boy]

The worm gear is toast. It does not take much of a nick, scratch or worn tip. I've seen hundreds like this ..   new worm gear is needed.

Cheers

Todd

[foakes]

Welcome aboard!

Typically, on a Level-Wind reel —- if it is slightly hanging up in the same spot —- the culprit would more likely be a rough spot or burr on the LW worm rod.

But the pawl also looks like it has some rough spots.  So it could be a combination of factors where one part is rough and causing a mating part to become rough also.

Probable fix is to replace both the worm and the pawl, couple of drops of synthetic oil like ReelX —- and that "should" fix the issue.

This is true with most level wind reels, whether fresh or salt water.

Another factor that causes this issue is too much of a "line angle" which puts too much side pressure on the line guide and pawl.

Fix for this is to occasionally let the line out 2/3rd's of the spool —- then line up the line guide with the same position on the spool —- and reel it back in under near full star drag so the line doesn't slip —- and this will help to keep the correct straight-on line loading.

Lots of folks on here ready to help.

Best Regards, Fred

[Keta]

Hi.

You got good advice, I would replace the worm gear and pawl.