Outer frame of pinion bearing stuck in Avet LX 6/3 - what can I do? Please help.

[Jon_Kol]

Hello everyone!

First, let me start by saying thank you for the detailed info here regarding how-to and tutorials on the Avet reels. I see there are quite a few who have experienced various troubles with AVET bearings.

Yesterday, I encountered a problem that I never imagined would happen. I have quite a few buddies who use/have used AVET. Several of them have experienced that one or several bearings fail after some use. I have always looked after my Avets, used Cal's grease, done maintenance frequently (have not cleaned the bearings though) etc. Still one of the bearings failed on an expedition here in Norway about three weeks ago; the reel suddenly sounded like a coffee grinder when turning the handle - both in free spool and when engaged.

I therefore ordered new high quality bearings from Boca Bearings, after recieving excellent costumer service by the gentleman answering my e-mails with my many questions. The bearings arrived yesterday, and I was eager to swap the old ones for the new, better bearings.

All the bearings came out with no problem. Exept one. The pinion bearing was completely stuck. How ever hard I pulled/lifted/tried to find some leverage, it would not move. I couldn't understand it, the tutorials show that it's easy to flip out. In the end the only solution was to tear the bearing apart - top to bottom. I did so, knowing that I had a new bearing that was going to be there anyway.

I got the inner part out, the rubber that protects the bearing, all the bearings and the metal parts that keep the bearings in position.

Then I realised that the outer frame of the bearing was still stuck. It's still stuck, it looks jammed. I cannot get to it from any direction, and I have no leverage to use on it.

I'm really starting to get desperate! I love the LX 6/3 reel, and I'm worried that it now might be beyond saving. How can a bearing get so stuck?? I cannot see any rust etc in there, and as mentioned I have always looked after this reel. It's only four seasons old, all in all not used that much, never been dropped/placed in various temperatures/never used with a high drag setting/always been set at "Free" with the clicker on when not in use/always used freshwater after saltwater use (not showered it), Cal's grease has been used since I first maintained the reel etc.

I've  attached some images here. So far people have suggested heat and/or cold (torch and/or ice spray), to see if that can effect the outer frame of the bearing enough to remove it. I haven't gotten to to that yet, I wanted to ask you guys here to be double sure.





I can also mention that the reel seemed to fail when we were fishing at around 1610 ft of water for blue ling here in Norway, using a 32oz sinker and the surface current was around 2-2,5 knots. During this drift, I hooked and started reeling in a 12lbs blue ling, when the reel handle suddenly felt strange and everything but smooth. I got all of the line in, but after that the reel handle had that coffee grinder feel to it, and it did not sound right.

I was lifting-and-reeling-in the fish (I'm not sure what the english word for this is, we call it "pumping" in Norwegian) and the reel was set at high. Could it be that this strain was enough to damage the pinion bearing? It's seems strange, cos I thought these reels were made to handle much bigger fish and lot more strain on both the drag and the components of the reel?


Thanks for reading all of this, I really hope that someone can help me!

Regards,
Jon - Norway

[Keta]

It's called "pumping" here too, I prefer to put a 2 speed in low and just crank most of the time but it shouldn't damage the pinion.  Avet pinions break from over loading the preset, adjusting the preset when the drag lever is engaged and drooping the reel  when the bearing has a side load on it.
 I love my Avets but the pinion bearing is a week point that needs to be fixed.

Avet uses a deep grove bearing for the pinion bearing, I'm not sure if a standard bearing wil take the side load.

I've been able to get outer races out with a tool like this,

[Jon_Kol]

Avet uses a deep grove bearing for the pinion bearing, I'm not sure if a standard bearing wil take the side load.

I've been able to get outer races out with a tool like this,

Thanks for replying, I'm thankfull for every tip. As for the bearings, the gentleman at Boca seemed to be familiar with the bearings needed for Avet but I have not checked the specs of the bearing that is to be set where the pinion bearing was (IF I can get the remaining frame of it out).

Any thoughts on using heat/cold? What if I get some scratches in the hole where the bearing is to sit trying to wrestle the remaining frame out, will these have to be removed before installing the new bearing?

[Keta]

If Boca is familar with the bearing the one they sent is probably a deep grove bearing. 
Did you greased the boor befoer you instaled the broken bearing?  If so it should come out fairley easy if you can get a grip on the race.

Gently warming the side plate might help but you don't want to damage the anodizing.  If you have access to dry ice a small piece put on the race might shrink it enough to pry out, insulate the side plate so the dry ice does not touch it.

If you scratch the bearing fit clean it up but be careful and don't make it over size.

[Alto Mare]

Its ridiculous the way they get pressed in, I had the same issue on the JVariance plates, I now don't buy them anymore.
If they're so concearned about the bearing getting lose, why don't they make the outer race in hexagon or octagon shape, so they won't need to be crazy tight  .
Jon, I don't know much about that reel, but if nothing works and since you have enough room, you should be able to cut the race out from the inside by using a dremel. no need to get to the aluminum, just close to it and it should come out.
Good luck!

[Jon_Kol]

Did you greased the boor befoer you instaled the broken bearing?  If so it should come out fairley easy if you can get a grip on the race.

The thing is that the bearing, which now has parts stuck, is the original bearing. When I have done maintenance on this reel before I haven't felt the need to pull out every bearing to clean them etc, since the reel has only had sporadic use (I live about an hours drive from the nearest coast). And being that I have never seen any discoloring/damage to the bearings, I have left them alone.

As mentioned, all the other bearings came out with no worries. The pinion bearing on the other hand.. I have no idea if Avet puts grease into the frame where the original pinion bearing sits, to be honest. I guess there must be a reason for why it got so completely stuck, so maybe the lack of grease has something to do with that? I honestly don't know.

I really appreciate the replies so far, thank you all. A friend asked if it's worth a shot to put the entire frame in the freezer for a while, to se if the outer frame of the bearing might "shrink" a little due to the cold... any ideas if it's worth a shot? Thanks also for the tip on using a dremel, if it all comes down to that. Not sure where I can find a size suitable for this small area, but I'll keep that as an option if everything else fails.

[Bryan Young]

First, I would do as Lee had indicated. You would have to go around and pry in alternating opposite areas (like tightening wheel lugs on a car). If that doesn't budge the bearing, freezer for a few hours. When you take it out, please the sideplate in hot water but only up to the point where the bearing does not contact the water and spray oil at the bearing outer race. This thermal heat shock may break the seal that holds the bearing. And if that doesn't work, I do what Sal indicated, dremel the outer race of the bearing.

Good luck. Although I like Avet reels, this issue has always bothered me because the tolerance is so tight, it's hard getting the bearing back in as well, sometimes.

[alantani]

you may have to carefully drill a hole from the opposite side and then punch out the outer race. 

[AJ]

I have a Penn International that has always required the side plate to be heated so I can remove the bearing.  I use hot water as this limits the temp to 212 F (or 100 C) which will not hurt the side plate.  Put it in a pan of hot water for a minute and see what happens, aluminum expands much more than the stainless steel bearing.  Using a pan of hot water means the side plate gets heated evenly.  I keep saying next time I am going to enlarge the bearing bore just a little, maybe next year, maybe not. 

[Jon_Kol]

Hurray!!

Finally! The freezer for a couple of hours + then barely submerge the sideplate in hot water did the trick! Fantastic, now I'm really happy. I used hot tapwater and the head of a screw, as suggested, to get some leverage. After a few lifts and pulls, I thought I could see the opening beneath the bearing widening. Oh the joy when the entire piece popped out!

Thank you all for the replies and input, it was really helpful to get that much reponse in such short time.

The frame did get a few scratches, as the picture shows, I hope this does not effect the new bearing going in (which will be loaded with grease, by the way).

[Jon_Kol]

Oh no, it's just as hard getting the new bearing in! Haha I can't believe this.

EDIT: The bearing popped in ok after I took it back out and installed it with some pressure around the entire bearing.

[Keta]

You want a snug fit.

[Jon_Kol]

Hi everyone!

I've used my Avet LX 6/3 a couple of times since I last was here, and there's a question I have regarding the pinion bearing which caused me some headache when I was changing the bearings to Boca bearings.

Using the reel has been a real treat since changing the bearings, it has never run as smoothly as it does now.

However... Maybe it's just me being paranoid about the pinion bearing, but to my ears it feels like the sound of the reel has changed a bit now since using it a few times. With the reel in "Free" and turning the handle, there is more noise than when I had just installed the new bearings.

This therefore reminds me of my previous failed pinion bearing, and also the moment when I installed the new pinion and I had to really squeeeeeze it go get it into place.

So the question is: If the slot in the reel housing, where the pinion bearing sits, is (for some reason) a bit too tight - can this cause a bearing to fail way before it is suppose to fail/be worn out?

If so, what is the best way to make this slot a bit wider, if it's possible at all without damaging the slot? I've only used the reel three times since replacing the bearings, so I'm not at all surprised if it's just my ears being a bit paranoid about the whole traumatic event that took place the last time I had to deal with that bearing.

Hope to hear from you!

-Jon-

[DaBigOno]

Jon,

Like many said, those pinion bearings are the week spot on the Avet reels, and a pain to get out.   To be honest, it might be your paranoia about that bearing.   I would recommend you just fish that reel for now.   If it ends up being a bad bearing, or a bearing that may have been damaged due to improper installation (bearing being pressed in from the inner race instead of the outer race), atleast you know now about the cold/heat treatment to remove stuck bearings if necessary.   I own a few Avet reels, and like most of the people on this forum, service all my reels myself.   As you do your own servicing on your reels, you will start to acquire more and more techniques and custom home made tools to do those jobs.   That's why I join a site like this, these guys have a wealth of knowledge.

When I replace my pinion bearings in my Avets reels, i use a socket to press them in.   Its important to make sure to make contact on the outer race only. The inner race cannot support any load of being pressed in.  Before I press in the bearing, I like to clean out the area of the sideplate where the bearing sits with PB Blast and fine (1000 grit) sandpaper.  As Keta said, you want a "snug fit" so don't go too far trying to clean it out.  Please keep us updated on your findings.

[SoCalAngler]

It may be that the new Boca bearing was not packed with grease and that will make the reel a little more noisy (sound louder than the Avet bearing). Take the bearing out, remove sheild and pack bearing with grease and see if that quites down the bearing.