P220 Freespool Could Be Better

[russ1962]

Hello All,

This is my first post and I have a question regarding the freespool in my P220.

I purchased the reel from someone who had it sitting in a drawer for 8 years and gave it a good cleaning and replaced the drags and spool bearings with a set of stainless steel bearings from Smooth Drag.
The freespool is better, but still only 'so-so' in my opinion and could be better. My P332 freespool is much better and that is what I'm comparing the p220 to.

How many seconds of freespool is considered average for an empty spool?
What else can I do to improve the freespool?

Thanks in advance!

Russ

[bluefish69]

Hi Russ

Small reels like the P220 do not spin as long as a larger diameter spool.

Loosen the left side bearing cap a little just enough to give the spool a tiny bit of side to side play.

If your bearings have grease in them that will slow the reel. I open my bearing flush them & use TSI 301 or TSI 321

Let me know how you make out

[russ1962]

Hi Bluefish, thank you for the response!

There isn't any grease in the new bearings, just a drop or two of ReelX and nothing else.
The left side bearing is backed off just a bit and sideplay is a few thousandths of an inch.

[alantani]

if the freespool is slow, then here's what to do.  first, tear the reel down again and clean the bearings.  put both bearings in the side plates, then assemble the frame, spool and side plates without the gear cluster.  adjust the bearing cups for "zero load, zero freeplay," spin the spool and it should spin forever.  you have a bare spool spinning on the two bearings and that is it.  not enough?  clean the bearings again.  still not enough?  replace the bearings again.  ok, we're good. 

now reassemble the side plate after cleaning and lubing the inside of pinion gear.  give it a spin again.  any decrease in freespool is now due to the friction of the spool shaft against the pinion gear.  not enough?  check the alignment of the pinion gear to make sure that it's not cockeyed and bend the yoke as needed to properly align the pinion gear.  still not enough?  get some polishing compound, a Q-tip or a bent piece of clothes hangar and a small piece of cloth, and polish the inside of the pinion gear.  likewise, polish the spool shaft.  then lube both generously.  reassemble the reel and give it another spin.  this time it will work!   it's not a hard process, just tedious.   

[russ1962]

Alan, Thank You for the tips! I'll get right on it.

Russ

[alantani]

take pictures!

[Brendan]

     What were the results? And what affected them most?
Brendan.

[russ1962]

Cleaning the inside of the pinion gear and spool shaft made a huge difference!
Now it freespools like a champ! 

Thanks for the tips guys!

[alantani]

glad it worked!

[Sluggo]

Just did this on a G440F it had a 7 second spin time went through the recommendations above now I am getting about 45 seconds. Next week when the tsi and ss sleeve  arrives I'll clean the bearings again and see if I can improve that

[alantani]

i finally measured the inside diameter and ordered a fluted reamer for this application.  not sure why it took me so long to figure it out.   

[swill88]

i finally measured the inside diameter and ordered a fluted reamer for this application.  not sure why it took me so long to figure it out.   

Do you recall the specs of the fluted reamer you ordered?

[Newell Nut]

A rifle bore brush with some steel wool wrapped around it works great. No need for a reamer to clean a pinion.

[Reverendpdp]

Just did this on a G440F it had a 7 second spin time went through the recommendations above now I am getting about 45 seconds. Next week when the tsi and ss sleeve  arrives I'll clean the bearings again and see if I can improve that

45 seconds!?!?! Wow!  Mine is like 3 seconds.  I better do some of the things described to see if i can remedy this. 
BTW My 338 has a Tiburon frame and Bryan Young side plates.  This conversion should not affect the free spool right?

[Bryan Young]

Just did this on a G440F it had a 7 second spin time went through the recommendations above now I am getting about 45 seconds. Next week when the tsi and ss sleeve  arrives I'll clean the bearings again and see if I can improve that

45 seconds!?!?! Wow!  Mine is like 3 seconds.  I better do some of the things described to see if i can remedy this. 
BTW My 338 has a Tiburon frame and Bryan Young side plates.  This conversion should not affect the free spool right?

This conversion will affect your 3 seconds as the frame and side plate alignment will be square.  Cleaning the bearings out and lubing with TSI and polishing the spool shaft and pinion bearing will also affect the outcome...all of which will be better free spool or more complex back lashes (perspective  )