Penn Leveline 350M

Nemo · April 20, 2010, 02:01:59 PM

Penn Leveline 350M

Here is an old Penn 350 given to me about 15 years ago. It has been sitting unused for several years, so I thought I would try to go through it and get it in good shape again.

This isn't going to be a step by step, but rather a few pictures, comments, and questions. Here I have already torn down the left side, cleaned and greased it well, and reassembled. No bearings to worry about, so this went pretty quickly. The bridge has been removed and the drag stack disassembled to see what kind of shape it is in.

Here is a shot of the right sideplate. It is incredibly caked with old grease, oil, and dirt. I will have to tear it down to individual pieces to get this clean. I hope this is not as complicated as it looks!

Here are 2 shots of the drag stack exactly as they came out of the reel. See anything wrong?

It appears one of the metal washers and one of the fiber washers were switched at some point in the past. This will be corrected when the drag is rebuilt.

Next are a few shots of the main gear. This is only the third or fourth time I have torn down a saltwater conventional, so I am not sure if what I am looking at is normal or not. It appears that one of the slots for the eared washer has worn all the way through, while the other one looks normal. Surely this isn't how it is supposed to be? If not, how big of a concern is it?

I think I will just upgrade the drag for now, and see if the main gear holds up. This reel won't be used for any extreme fishing, but fished occasionally just for the heck of it. Is anyone aware of any trouble with the drag upgrade for this reel? The schematics show three of the 6-155 HT-100 washers and one of the 4-155 under the main gear. Thanks for any tips!

Irish Jigger · April 20, 2010, 03:19:06 PM

Spend $8 on a new main gear before the pinion becomes damaged and fish the reel with confidence.

Nemo · April 20, 2010, 03:45:58 PM

Quote from: Irish Jigger on April 20, 2010, 03:19:06 PM
Spend $8 on a new main gear before the pinion becomes damaged and fish the reel with confidence.

That was what I first thought, but it stinks to pay a minimum $8 shipping for an $8 gear and $3 worth of drag washers through Mysticparts. I understand their reasoning for the minimum, but it doesn't make it any better when you only need a few parts

. I may try to find other sources for the drag and gear.

"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

kamuwela · April 20, 2010, 03:55:41 PM

$8 consider yourself lucky your getting off cheap. lucky you dont need to ship to hawaii. penn parts are great they ship to hawaii via u.s.p.s. at a flat rate. i wont use any shop that ships ups, paid $40 to ship a $20 part never again. change both the main and pinion as a set.

Nemo · April 20, 2010, 04:16:59 PM

Quote from: kamuwela on April 20, 2010, 03:55:41 PM
change both the main and pinion as a set.

Thanks for the tip. I didn't see a gear labeled as the pinion in the schematic, could it also be called the cam gear in this case? And no, I don't envy the shipping charges you have to deal with. It must run pretty high on most things!

CarolinaCustomReels · April 20, 2010, 04:46:14 PM

The cam gear is part of the level line function. The pinion gear is mounted in the yoke in your third picture. The Penn part number is 13-200 and is key number 13 on the 350M schematic here: http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/albums/penn/Penn_350M.pdf

Mysticparts.com has the main and pinion gears for $17.80 total plus shipping. Three HT-100 washers are $2.10, bringing the total to $19.90. Make sure you inspect all the parts, and if you even have a feeling that they might need replacing, do it. Penn is back-ordered on parts used in this reel(like the 5-155 main gear), so picking up fresh replacements while you can get them might be a good idea.

Evan

"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

wish I was fishing · April 20, 2010, 04:55:05 PM

Have you still got the dog spring? Or did it spring free? Might need one of them too?

I bought some parts from Mysticparts a while back and as I live in the UK, they can't get to me because of the Volcano in Iceland
had closed UK airspace and no knowing when they will get to me, and I paid a lot of shipping too!

"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

Nemo · April 20, 2010, 05:57:21 PM

Quote from: CarolinaCustomReels on April 20, 2010, 04:46:14 PM
The cam gear is part of the level line function. The pinion gear is mounted in the yoke in your third picture. The Penn part number is 13-200 and is key number 13 on the 350M schematic here: http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/albums/penn/Penn_350M.pdf

Mysticparts.com has the main and pinion gears for $17.80 total plus shipping. Three HT-100 washers are $2.10, bringing the total to $19.90. Make sure you inspect all the parts, and if you even have a feeling that they might need replacing, do it. Penn is back-ordered on parts used in this reel(like the 5-155 main gear), so picking up fresh replacements while you can get them might be a good idea.

Evan

"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

Thanks Evan, I see it now. Would it be advisable to use another 6-155 HT-100 in place of the 4-155 spacer washer under the main gear? I thought I have seen that done in some of Alan's rebuilds, but will that mess with the stack height? wish I was fishing has got me looking for the dog spring (key 14). Is it missing in the photo, and if so how does it go back in? I have looked in the schematic, but don't see it anywhere. Nothing flew into space that I know of, but it may have gone missing. Also, I do not see the eccentric lever (key 21) in the schematic. Is it misprinted as another Key 22? Could I be overlooking these 2 keys, or are they not there? Thanks for all the help from everyone.

wish I was fishing · April 20, 2010, 06:36:03 PM

The Dog spring is easy to replace with Alan tutorials have a look at his Penn 113h rebuild it should give you an idea how to go about it.

surfcaster · April 20, 2010, 09:59:44 PM

I got a gear set collecting dust That you can have.155 main / 200 pinion [Pm] Penn parts is an Outstanding resource,Absolutley One of if not the the best.That is how I found this site. That being said, you pay them for that resource in shipping & markup on parts.I do use them quite often but,I wait until I have a Big order or need a part that is hard to find That only they have.Because of mark ups inflated shipping costs. If your order is .55 or 55.00 it is still 8-9 bucks to ship. Happy Fishing, Rich

borchcl · April 21, 2010, 12:42:56 AM

These are neet old reels, a friend of mine uses one for red snapper on the Gulf of Mexico. I have patched it up a couple times, including a s/s gear sleeve from Alan. I used one for Salmon on Lake Michigan last summer, and it was fun. The main problem I see is the spiral bar is often pitted so the line doesn't wine properly, and that part is N/A from MysticParts.Com. Enloy!
borchcl

"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

Nemo · April 21, 2010, 12:12:47 PM

Wish I was fishing was right about the dog spring. It was missing, and after a little looking, I found it on the floor. I spent a little more time on this reel last night, and am starting to get it now. I went ahead and finished taking it apart and cleaning it, and reassembled it until I can order new parts. All of the springs look a little rough, so those will be replaced along with the gears. Thanks to everyone for their help. Surfcaster, I'll send a PM about those gears.

Bryan Young · April 22, 2010, 10:52:02 PM

Wow, I haven't seen one of those reels, like forever. Always wondered about that spinning line laying thing and if it affected the line during high tension.

Thanks for sharing the write up.

alantani · April 23, 2010, 06:38:06 AM

brian, you've walked by one everytime you come over to hang out in the garage. i'll pull it out the next time you come over. btw, we're pouring lead this saturday. got time to swing by? the beer you brought over is still cold! alan

Bryan Young · April 23, 2010, 07:29:50 PM

Quote from: alantani on April 23, 2010, 06:38:06 AM
brian, you've walked by one everytime you come over to hang out in the garage. i'll pull it out the next time you come over.

Now I feel stupid...or at least blind. Every time I come by, I'm in awe with the amount of newly arrived boxes of reels needing maintenance or repair. AND, you always have all of those nice anodized reels (bling bling) that you are working. How could I see anything else?