used progear 541

maxpowers · August 28, 2013, 04:33:15 AM

Hi guys,

I just purchased a used 541 that looks great on the outside. I played with it a bit and everything seemed fine. Went home and put some lines on under 6+ pounds of drags (spooling from one reel to this one). Every so often the anti-reverse slip and the handle spin backward for a couple of revolutions. Is this something that I can serviced or is this reel a bad deal. i will have to open it up at some point to look at it but just wondering what if I should fix it or try to return to the seller. I think I got a fairly decent deal on the reel as compared to what is listed on ebay, etc..

Thanks

PS. If I wanted to upgrade this reel with SS gears, sleeve, and drags, can all that be purchased from Dawn?

SoCalAngler · August 28, 2013, 05:32:55 AM

Got to open it up and look inside before you know if it was a good deal or not. In some cases I'd say that the dog may have been installed upside down but on this reel I don't know how one could make the dog spring stay in place of the dog was installed wrong. Alan has a thread on that reel right above this thread.

Bryan Young · August 28, 2013, 05:39:15 AM

Reel uses a Penn 4/0 Dog and dog spring. It may be that the dog is gunked up or the spring is worn or clogged.

You can get the SS Gear, SS Yoke, Drags, and Dog from Dawn. SS gear sleeve can be baught from Alan or myself.

maxpowers · August 28, 2013, 05:55:24 AM

thanks everyone.

I will open it up tomorrow and see.

Bryan, I got your PM and will think about it for the 112h that i have. Also would your 5+1 drags work in the Newell 200,300,400 with the Newell 4-1 stainless gears?

Bryan Young · August 28, 2013, 05:59:42 AM

The drag kit will fit the Newell with the 4-stack, but the undergear washer will be undersized for the SS washer that sits below the gear. I'm thinking of producing a few kits for the 4 stack newells, but funds are really tight now.

maxpowers · August 29, 2013, 01:25:54 AM

I opened up the reel this evening and it looked like the dog and sleeve are worn down a bit but still fishable. I cleaned up the grease on the dog spring and it is now performing much better although there is still a bit of play in the handle. The gear seemed ok and the drags are the original stock thick drags and washers are heavy duty. There are 3 drags +1 as well as 3 washers and 1 bellevue. I cleaned everything up and when buttoned down I got a little over 12 lbs of drag but kinda jerky. At this point I am a bit torn. I could get the stock penn 4/0 kits or go all out and get the whole stainless gear set and drag upgrade from Dawn. I will also have to buy the sleeve so I might as well upgrade that to stainless too. The frame and spool is in great shape and there is no corrosion anywhere except for the handle which is an upgraded 4/0 handle. So if I decided to upgrade it look like it will be about $120 or so. Is that a correct assumption? If that is the case I would have almost $300 into this reel by the time I am done upgrading. Is it worth it in your opinion or should I resell this reel buy a new baja special?

SoCalAngler · August 29, 2013, 05:38:34 AM

Well if your looking at getting a Penn 113HN I have a Pro Gear YTS NIB never fished with a 5 drag stack for sale. I did a prefishing service to the reel just about a month ago, greased with Cal's and lubed spool bearings with TSI but cant bring myself to harm a pristine reel. I was going to use it for fishing 40 or 50lb test topshots but I already have several reels in that line class. Here are some pics if you want to take a look. http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=7512.0

Bryan Young · August 29, 2013, 11:36:37 PM

Quote from: maxpowers on August 29, 2013, 01:25:54 AM
I opened up the reel this evening and it looked like the dog and sleeve are worn down a bit but still fishable. I cleaned up the grease on the dog spring and it is now performing much better although there is still a bit of play in the handle. The gear seemed ok and the drags are the original stock thick drags and washers are heavy duty. There are 3 drags +1 as well as 3 washers and 1 bellevue. I cleaned everything up and when buttoned down I got a little over 12 lbs of drag but kinda jerky. At this point I am a bit torn. I could get the stock penn 4/0 kits or go all out and get the whole stainless gear set and drag upgrade from Dawn. I will also have to buy the sleeve so I might as well upgrade that to stainless too. The frame and spool is in great shape and there is no corrosion anywhere except for the handle which is an upgraded 4/0 handle. So if I decided to upgrade it look like it will be about $120 or so. Is that a correct assumption? If that is the case I would have almost $300 into this reel by the time I am done upgrading. Is it worth it in your opinion or should I resell this reel buy a new baja special?

I would say upgrade it gradually unless you have the funds.

Baja Bev · August 31, 2013, 03:37:36 AM

I like your style! I own both the Pro Gear 541 and the Penn Baja Special. Why choose?

doradoben · August 31, 2013, 09:36:58 AM

If cost is an issue, you might consider using a Penn 5 stack drag kit 6-113HSP, a new brass sleeve and a new Penn brass dog. Total cost will be about $25 and performance/ reliability will be very good. The reel would easily fish 40 lb. or even 50 lb. monofilament, although I personally don't prefer 50 lb. mono on a reel spool of this diameter. If the reel is mostly filled with spectra, then 50 lb. mono on top is probably o.k. Good luck with your project, which ever way you decide to go..

maxpowers · September 12, 2013, 08:50:24 PM

I upgraded the drags, ss sleeve, and ss gears in this reel. It is very smooth now. Incidentally, for the sleeve, I had to file down one side of the retaining pin per Bryant's instruction. I tried to upgrade the SS yoke that came with the gear kit from Dawn but the circular portion of the yoke is too high up compare to the OEM yoke so the pinion gear will not engage with the gear correctly. I still can't get the kinda of drags I was expecting but it could be that I am measuring it wrong. Strong reel though.

Bryan Young · February 20, 2014, 04:05:51 PM

What kind of drag number were you expecting? I'd say if you are using Penn 113HSP set, you should get around 20# of drag max. That is plenty for that reel. You may need to switch to a Penn 113H star because the aluminum stars are nice, but strip easily.

maxpowers · February 20, 2014, 05:59:52 PM

hi bryan

with your 7 stacks in there i am getting more than 30 lbs but only fish 20 lbs as it is more than plenty for what i need. originallyi could only get about 15 lbs tighted down. btw i recently got a new old stock 454 that i plan on leaving stock except for the drag upgrade. I did a 5 stack with some excess stuff i had lying around. $170 shipped so i was stoked.

alantani · February 20, 2014, 07:02:08 PM

one thing that you can do is to very carefully file flat the surfaces of the ratchet at the base of the gear sleeve and the face of the dog where is bangs up against the ratchet teeth. it depends on how much damage there is. usually replacing the dog is best. you might even be able to put a steeper angle on the teeth so that the dog "digs" in.

if you have damage to the ratchet teeth of the gear sleeve and to the dog, it is also very likely that you have damage to the top of the gear sleeve where the handle attaches. usually the top is rounded off and the handle is loose. if you have a flaring tool, you might be able to tighten up the surfaces. now, for the 4/0 senator and the 541 a stainless steel gear sleeve is $25 and dog is $3. i can send you an old brass gear sleeve and dog for less than half that, or you can try to fix the parts you have. i've worked on them before with limited success. keep us posted on your progress.

maxpowers · February 20, 2014, 07:19:19 PM

hi guys,

this reel has already been completely upgraded with SS gears, SS sleeve, SS yoke, SS double dogs, and Bryan's 7 stack drag kits. only thing missing is a SS arm and bigger handle. i have a penn 4/0 power handle on there currently. thanks everyone.