Good or Bad Bearing?

[bitedez]

Hi,

I decided to replace all the bearings on my MXJ and that seemed to solve the issue I had.  This was 6 bearings total.  I don't know which bearing went bad or is still good, so this is the approach I used.

How do I know if a bearing is still good or needs to be tossed out?  I would rather replace one or a few bearings instead of all of them if I run into this problem again in the future.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Keta]

On an Avet it's usually the pinion bearing.

Clean the bearings and dry them, then spin them and if they feel rough or "clunk" they are no good.  I like to use a pencil stuck into the inter race to spin the bearing with.

[bitedez]

Thanks Keta!

[DaBigOno]

What Keta said.  It's usually the pinion bearing.  If it feels rough or clunky, replace it.   I like to pinch the inner race of the bearing between my thumb and index finger on my left hand, then roll it across my index finger of my right hand.  

[alantani]

hold the ourside race of the bearing in your left handle.  use your pinky finger to push in on the inside race and twist.  if you feel any roughness at all, toss it. 

[Keta]

I can tell you guys don't have old smashed fingers.

[alantani]

that why i said "pinky."

[Keta]

I've smashed them too and almost had my right one ripped off.

[gdown]

I have a total of 4 Avet MXL's, I just changed out a bad pinion bearing on one of them with one from Dawn at Smooth Drags. I serviced all others and greased and lubed all other bearings. There is a noticeable difference between the one with the new bearing and the stock re-greased bearings. The reel with the new bearing feels smoother and quieter than the one's with the stock bearings. I'm thinking of changing out the remaining bearings with new bearings just for peace of mind. The one from Dawn was a Abec 5 shielded bearing that I used Alan's bearing packer on. I'm wondering what kind of bearings Avet are using in their reels?

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

cheap ones!   seriously tho why are the reel prices not that expensive? one reason the bearings are not of high quality. the spool bearings on my MXJ just lasted one season. and that's using just 6 lbs of drag at strike.