3 x 10 x 4 bearings in old abus?

[T Rad]

The famous Dawn of SmoothDrag fame says she has washers for my old 5000D circa 74 05 00 according to the foot number but she is not sure about whether the 3 x 10 x 4 bearings are a replacement for the bushings in these old abus. Any help guys? Also, there is a flat, c shaped bearing retainer in these. Would you put the same one back in with a bearing or try to find one of the wire clip type? Thanks ahead of time. T Rad

[Ken_D]

The famous Dawn of SmoothDrag fame says she has washers for my old 5000D circa 74 05 00 according to the foot number but she is not sure about whether the 3 x 10 x 4 bearings are a replacement for the bushings in these old abus. Any help guys? Also, there is a flat, c shaped bearing retainer in these. Would you put the same one back in with a bearing or try to find one of the wire clip type? Thanks ahead of time. T Rad

Hi. Two sources of 3.1195 x 10 x 4 brgs are Rocket Fuel in the UK, and Boca Bearing in the states. The old bushings are not the same size as today's bearings. They were a little bigger. Regular 3 x 10 x 4's can be had for as low as 69 cents each, while the price of the oddballs is about 12.50-15.00 each. 25-30.00 a reel is spendier than having the axle shafts machined down to 3 mm.

If you have a drill and a file, and some time, you can do a diy for no money, just time. But if your time costs more than a shop, send it out.

Mike's reel charges 10.00 a spool to get the axle stubs down to 3 mm. So there's got to be someone where you live can do the same, if you do not want to do a diy.
Postage will kill non-Canadians.
On the clip: the little wire jobbie's a lot easier to get in and out, compared the earlier flar internal clip type.

[T Rad]

So, Ken, I take it that all of the older abus have that 3.1 shaft? No problem with time, I am retiring soon. I have a drill, Dremel, can get whatever file I need if I don't have it, etc. I've always been handy with tools and such. Just don't know what I am supposed to be doing if a remove and replace is not a worthwhile option. Obviously, polishing the mess out of bushings is simple enough and might be all that is really needed for one to fish with. I'm just trying to learn and get better at it because I don't just work on my own stuff but lots of other old reels for friends and others that can't afford new reels or want an older one to be better, mostly cleaning and polishing. I don't charge, happy to do it, like a kid with Lego blocks. Thanks!

[Pro Reel]

You can polish the heck out of those bushings and the shaft. If you do that, the reel will cast a lot better, but still not as good as if it had a good set of bearings. I have cut the shaft down to fit a 3x10x4 several times. It's a little work to do by hand but not to bad. I put the spool in a drill press and held a file against it while it was turning. Once the size was close, i switched to fine grits of sandpaper to smooth it up. You only need to do a large enough area for the bearing to slide on and have room for adjustment. i have also do the turning by using a dremmel with a flapper sander. It's a little more work that way but it can be done. be carefull and check the size often, the bearing needs to slide on easy without any slop. If you go to far, it will be ruined.

[T Rad]

Thanks a lot, guys! That tells me what to do and how! Even I can figure it out from there. 

[Ken_D]

When Abu introduced the 45/55/6500 C, is when the axle stubs went to 3 mm from the larger size. That was in the mid-late 60's if memory serves. Another option is to use a 1/8 x 3/8 inch bearing, by sleeving the boss with a 1/2" straw from a slurpee.

Cut it, slide it in, and push the bb into the boss. ~Very~ little metal to pull off the axles, and the 1/8 brgs are cheap The axle shafts are really close to 1/8"   3/8" = 9.532 or some such mm's.... to make it 10 for the boss, the slurpee straw is about right.   http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/R2ZZ

[T Rad]

Now that's my kind of fix! I have been known to put a very small piece of oiled rag or even a piece of ball point pen spring in pawl housings as a temporary fix! Thanks!

[Ken_D]

Hi..You still need to pull metal off the axle stubs, but not so much. I did mine manually, with a piece of emery cloth. I think it took about 10 minutes, maybe less. The slurpee straw in the boss made for a pretty tight brg fit, so if you need to flush them, they have to be pushed out from the back.

[T Rad]

Thanks, Ken. Yeah, I figured out that it wouldn't take much if I went to the 3/8. Every little trick helps. Retirement at Christmas, then it's honey-do's, fishing, church work, and working on reels, not necessarily in that order. Tom

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

I think you should honestley polish everything and condition the bushings, it will fly with the right weight

[T Rad]

Thanks Bunnlevel. It's apart right now as I polish things up. I am considering just what you say as it would cast a DD22 a measured 90 ft on a 7' M Ugly Stick even with my poor casting skills and only an initial cleaning. The low gear ratio is just right for those deep diving crank baits.