Shimano Baitrunner 4500

[Bafa]

I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the bail to close on my Baitrunner.  I cleaned the reel, put in a new lever spring and cannot get it to close more than half way.   I can get it to close by manually pushing on the bail trip lever.   I reel is an early 90s model and it is not that it worth anything but the fact it was one of my first reels, more importantly I am beating my head against the wall to get it to work  The schematics I found are very blurry and not much detail on how to orient the bail parts.

Thanks

[philaroman]

your Bail Trip Lever may be upside-down -- see if you can flip it over...  on some older reels it fits either way, but only works one way

otherwise, what's the exact model?

BTW, a Baitrunner that works is probably worth more than $50, possibly MUCH more, regardless of age

[Bafa]

Philaroman thanks for the response.   I checked the bail lever and it is an L shaped lever and can only go in one way.   The lever trips on a hump built into the reel body.  Neither the lever or the hump appear worn, it seems that the lever is not being pushed far enough to move the bail far enough to load the bail spring that  trips it all the way.  I checked the entire reel for a specific model number and the only number is the 4500 as I mentioned in my opening thread this reel is probably an early 90s reel.  The schematic I have  indicates a 4500 [91]. 

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

[philaroman]

Sorry, I was thinking of the lifetime-bail design Shimano introduced in '91 (Stradic, Symetre, etc.), but your 4500 is old-school like my earlier 450.

Maybe your Lever Spring (part# 2993) is weak:
1) see if you can spread it out a bit;
2) IMPORTANT: when you work w/ the spring, loop a long bright thread through it, in case it goes flying (they like to do that & end up in most unlikely places);
3) make sure everything in that rotor "compartment" is well-lubed & nothing is scratched (doesn't catch on anything).

Good Luck

P.S.  make sure your rotor is seated correctly (bottom of rotor exactly even w/ top of frame)

[Texas Triton Shooter]

Make sure the bail it self isn't bent. I have found that even a slight bend will effect the bail from closing all the way. It may just need a tweak but don't put to much force, the wire bends easy.

[Hamachi]

On the opposite side from the line roller is the bail trip mechanism. You should be manually closing the bail by hand anyways. IMO. Spring or shaft broken on that side that trips the bail. Remove broken parts and close bail by hand from now on. Sounds like it may just be a binding, friction problem. If nothing is broken, check the alignment of the bail itself. With the screws undone, try to get everything to line up perfectly in a resting position. There's a certain amount of built in slop by design, so you'll have to tweak the bail wire to find a happy medium. Everything lined up now? Regrease everything and reassemble. It may take a few try's. also, make sure the pins are in the right positions/holes.