I'm in desperate need of help before i lose my mind with a Penn 160 dog & spring

[Eatmycatch]

Hi guy's,

I'm not lazy I searched for any tutorials but I don't think there are any here. I am hoping someone can help me with my problem before I go looney altogether!

I put in a new drag stack and cleaned up my Penn 160. My problem is getting the bridge stack in with this dog the way it is designed on this reel and the spring is different than I have seen.

First the spring for the dog is flat metal in shape of an almost L shape, I say almost because one side is slightly longer than the other.

Second the dog looks like it had thread marks inside the hole when it "popped" out on me, so I am guessing that maybe it goes through one of the screws? But there is a plastic hole on the housing that looks like it is there for the dog to go onto. I am not sure if it goes onto the plastic hole or through a screw.

I also am not sure what the trick is to get stack in while holding the eccentric and spring and screws assembly together at the same time. This is by far my hardest project yet.

I took 3 pictures it was hard holding a camera in 1 hand while holding together the housing, and essentric and spring & screw assembly with the other hand. If you need more pictures let me know I dont know if you can see how I got the spring in right now, or if the spring is even visible. But we have to start somewhere..So here are 3 pics I took.

Thanks you so much in advance for any help in this matter, & feel free to laugh at me if I have it totally backwards I deserve it







After looking at these pictures myself it doesn't even look like the dog will reach the gear on the post if it is in the plastic hole, so I think it will have to go through the screw...I am praying someone has a trick on how to get this back together...

[Keta]

I've never worked on a 160 but from the photo the spring is on the wrong side and is pushing the dog away from the anti reverse gear.  Move the dog to the screw and put the spring on the other side.

With the spring and dog easy to reach install the bridge, holding the partially threaded screws in place with your fingers.  Rotate the plate and put the dog on it's screw, then put the spring in it's place.  Rotate the plate and screw it in place.  Check to see if the sleeve turns and finish reassembling the reel.  It is easy once you've done a few.

[Eatmycatch]

Thank You Keta I'll give it a go...

[alantani]

yeah, the dog goes on the screw.  

[Eatmycatch]

Keta ~ I was on the right track your advice was working... but as I got it together I realized the dog wasn't catching the gear of the sleeve good, so I must have had the dog in backwards....When I went to take it back apart to turn the dog around, the dog flew out on me and I can't find that little $%^#&%$@! for the life of me.....

Luckily when I first opened up the reel...and seen what I was up against.... I went right onto Scotts and ordered a new dog and a spring just in case this happened to me. So they are 1 state away from me and they ship fast so by tomorrow or the next day I should have a new dog and spring to put in. I didn't like the lack of pressure I was getting from the old spring anyway.

I wish I knew a trick to make putting the bridge into the reel to make it a little easier to do....

BTW ~ Do you think an extra fiber washer under the gear would get rid of the play in the reel when it is together. In other words if you pull on the handle in a lateral motion when it is together the whole sleeve moves a little. What do you think??

Alan ~ Thank You very much for this picture, now I know exactly what the plastic little post is for. This puts it into perspective for me.... very much appreciated!

[Keta]

When I went to take it back apart to turn the dog around, the dog flew out on me and I can't find that little $%^#&%$@! for the life of me.....

Things like this never happen to me    I try to keep springs, especialy dog springs, and detents in stock for when things fly.

Once you learn how to get the dog and spring in place it becomes easy.

I use small shim washers under the gear sleve if I'm concerned about end play but I don't think it is a big problem.  I wouldn't put a second washer under it.

[Dominick]

Hey Eat:  even a pro like Lee blows it once in a while.  We have all struggled with the bridge and dog until Alan showed how to do it with the old twist and click method.  See http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=208.0 Dominick

[Eatmycatch]

Thank You, so very much.... this is an excellent tutorial! I just bookmarked this page in case I need it for further reference. This is a small reel  I'm working on....I can't believe how fast things fly away on you. LOL!

[Dominick]

Now we need Sal to show a twist and click for the double dogs.  Actually I don't think the twist and click works for double dogs.  What do you think Sal?  Dominick

[seaeagle2]

All my reels have the "coil" type dog spring, but a trick I use is put a little blob of grease on the spring, it helps keep it from doing the "sproing" thing.  I don't know if it would help on the "leaf" type springs or not.   

[Eatmycatch]

Eagle, I'm thinking the same thing. The grease acts almost as a temporary paste. Good on screws too just tap your finger on a nicely greased screw and it sticks right to it to pick it up...

[Falhooked]

Hello, first post on this sight.  I've been lurking and learning for a few years and until now I didn't need to post, you guys always had it figured and covered.  I have the Penn 160.  I believe I used a link from this site to U-tube on the assembly video of a Penn 155.  Very informative video.  It helped me assemble the Penns 160, 200, and a Jigmaster 500 that needed complete rebuilds.  Some things I vaguely recall include; a shallow bend in the flat spring instead of the tight right angle L helped it engage better.  The pointy angle of the dog should point into the ratchet making it more or less a flush fit together.  All in all it still took quite a few tries to get it to engage as it should every time.  I will search a little and try to find the links and post them later.  Good luck, good fishing.   On u-tube: penn reel conventional sideplate rebuild.

[Eatmycatch]

Hello falhooked...I thank you very much for posting. This is by far the most frustrating reel I have taken apart. I figured out the direction the dog should go to fit flush, by first putting a screw onto the bridge and laying the dog in it to see which way is the correct way to get it to hit the gears flush.

So what I do is put it on the plastic housing in reverse of what it was on the bridge, because the bridge will be upside down when installing it. In othe words where the numbers are engraved on the dog stis facing up on the bridge, so to have it be that way I have to put it on the plastic house upside down...

I am doing something wrong with the spring....everytime I get it together it will click but not stay engaged in other words it will go back wards also..if I could just find a picture of "where" the spring should go. I even found the old dog and the old spring, tried to use the old spring.. I must have did it 20 times..I am quite bald on top of my head anyway so there is not much hair left to pull out...

Some moay thing I am foolish to put so much time and energy into such an old cheap reel, but it is a perfect fluke reel. I already filled down the stand so it would fit into the old smaller fuji seats, and I painted over it with Silver chrome testers paint. I am going to look on you tube to see if I can find a video of the 160 or 155 maybe it will show where the spring is supposed to go.

Yours truly,

FRUSTRATED!

[alantani]

you saw this, right?  http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=208.0

[Keta]

It goes like in Alan's photo, be careful when rotating the plate into position so the dog spring does not get moved.   I prefer the flat spring over the coil spring.

Some moay thing I am foolish to put so much time and energy into such an old cheap reel, but it is a perfect fluke reel.

Not here, some of us do a lot of odd things to reels........welcome to Alan's asylum.  

Why do I have to have a 60 width 112H?  Because I want one and think a spool can be made.  Why did I just buy a reel that was disontinued in the mid 80s and parts are hard to find?  Because I "needed" another 349H.  Why did I buy a widened 349H?  I have wanted one since the late 80's, now I have a nice one.  Why do I buy reels for their parts?  Because it's ceeper than buying discontinued parts, if they can be found.  Why did I put together a 113HW from parts and trade it for a 113?  Because I don't have a 113 and I have the parts to build a 113HW.  I do this on a $14,000 annual income but we have zero debt.  Next year we will have no kids in colege...what fishing gear do I need?

More "insanity" on the drawing board, my shop bench and at the water cutter.