Newell 338 Handle Stuck / Rusted

[FlyinFish]

Hey all, know of Alan from various other forums and came across this one in searching for some help...

I've got a P338 that I haven't fished for about 2 years. I was taking it apart to replace the drags. I've had problems with the drags on this reel since day 1, and it's been to Newell about 3 times with no change. But that's another story...

I realized I can't get the handle off the gear shaft. It seems to be rusted or corroded on there. I've tried spraying some WD-40 which didn't really penetrate, and even soaked it in vinegar for a few days. The vinegar actually helped dissolve some of the corrosion, but not enough.

Any thoughts on what to try? I can post up some pics if it will help.

Thanks all!

[redsetta]

G'day Flyinfish and welcome aboard,
Albert's got a good technique, which has helped out other members in the past.

...before you try anything drastic, submerge the whole side into automatic transmission fluid and acetone combination (ratio not critical). Let it stand at least overnight.
Just shooting it with WD40 may not do the trick.  WD40 is a "water displacer" (hence WD) and not really a penetrating fluid.
ATF with acetone is much better, even better than some commercial penetrating products.
If overnight soaking doesn't do it, try longer (even a week if you must and keep the solution covered so it doesn't evaporate).

Thread here: http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=4180.msg31409#msg31409
Hope that helps.
Let us know how you get on.
Good luck, Justin

[alantani]

you've got to muscle this one.  work the handle back up and down, leveraging the arm against the drive shaft.  there is a danger that you could loosen the bridge post thatt holds the sleeve to the bridge, but that is a chance you will have to take.  you can also try to use the star to lift the handle arm up.  sometimes that works.   

[Bryan Young]

Try holding the handle where the shaft is between two fingers and tap the shaft with a plastic hammer of sorts (like the handle of a screwdriver).  Between that and using the star, it should break free.

[FlyinFish]

Thanks for the input guys. I've tried leveraging the star and gripping it any way I can but it will not budge at all. I've also tried banging on it with no luck. I'm going to try the fluid/acetone and see what happens.

[Bryan Young]

I would be careful about acetone.  It will soften plastic.  We used to soak and clean our bowling balls in acetone before league to make them softer so we could get a better grip (hook).  Yeah, that was against the rules, but we were not bowling for money, only trophies,...and everyone in our league was doing it...well, only the guys throwing hooks.

[redsetta]

Good call Bryan - I hadn't considered that.
Cheers, Justin

[FlyinFish]

Hey guys, sorry for the late update, but here's what happened... So I had let it sit in vinegar for a few days, and tried it with no luck. I tried scraping, yanking, and banging. I let it sit another few days and went and picked up the ATF to try out. I decided to give it one more try before doing that. I yanked on it hard with no budge. I banged on it a bit, and noticed some white stuff flaking off and hitting my table. I banged a bit more and more came off. A few more bangs and it was loosened up and came right off. Used some vinegar to whipe the rest of the salt build up off and I was good!

Now... here comes the next hiccup... I didn't have a rubber hammer so I just hit it with a regular small hammer. When I put the reel back together, I couldn't get the handle to turn freely. Bearings and spool and everything where all in the right place. Tinkered with it forever and finally realized that when I hit it with the hammer, I bent the edges of the main gear shaft (that holds the drag stack) in just enough at the top that when everything was tightened into place, it didn't spin nicely around the shaft that's attached to the internal reel plate. I sanded the top edge just a little bit and it was back to normal. Phew!

I added an extra fiber drag washer outside the main stack to try and fix my drag pressure problem, and while it's not butter smooth, it works pretty well.

Slapped it back on my 540 and took it out for my first albacore trip since moving to WA from CA. Worked very nicely for throwin' plastics, and hope to swim some surface iron with it later in the season when the fish are more aggressive.



Thanks for the help guys!

[redsetta]

Great stuff FF - thanks for the update!
Good luck with the rest of the season, Justin