First teardown success

[OShaughnessy]

Komrades:

Happy to report that I just completed my first complete teardown and rebuild of a couple reels.  For some reason I decided to start with the spinners (Pflueger President/Shimano Symetre), and CRAP there are a ton of parts.

For the plastic components, I used a 3-part degreasing process that might have been overkill.  Spray-down w/ WD-40 followed by soak in straight Simple Green followed by soak in Dawn dish detergent, with toothbrush scrubbing at each step.  Time-consuming, but parts came out squeaky clean.

For the metal stuff, I picked up a few glass candle holders (tea lights) at Walmart and did a chlorinated Brakleen soak.  Using smooth-jawed needle-nose pliers for the outer races of the bearings and a dental pick for the inner races, I spun them in the Brakleen to dislodge the old grease.  I didn't want to blast them and deal with overspray, so this method seems to work well as a substitute.

All parts blown dry with compressed air.

I hit a snag when a tiny ARB clutch spring went flying across the room, which necessitated a parts order.  C'est la vie.

Yamaha marine grease (blue) and Reel-X on the reassembly, and both reels seem better and smoother than before, which of course is the objective.

I was very meticulous with this project, perhaps a little too much so.  The Shimano is probably 6 years old, the Pflueger 3, and both have been used in fresh and saltwater, but they were in remarkably good condition.  No corrosion to speak of, I just hose them down with fresh water after each use in the salt.  So a complete teardown really wasn't necessary.  I was mainly doing it to learn the process, and I'm glad I did, as I feel much more confident now moving onto the less-complicated conventionals.

Obviously a clean work area and reel schematics are essential, but laying out the parts in groups, taking detailed notes (including writing on the work surface next to the parts), and taking a zillion photos can certainly minimize your frustration.

Thanks to all you awesome folks on here who have been so generous with your time and your tips--  I would not have been inspired to tackle this stuff without your insights.

And now I retire to the powder room to get this grease off my nose.

Regards,

O'Shaugh














     

[DaBigOno]

Congratulations!!

Sometimes the hardest part is just overcoming the fear of not being able to put it back together.  Once you overcome it, it seems so much easier.

I like to take pictures of how it supposed to look, before disassembling.

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

I was mainly doing it to learn the process, and I'm glad I did, as I feel much more confident now moving onto the less-complicated conventionals.  

i know that feeling and welcome to the "CONFIDENT CLUB"...

[Dominick]

And now I retire to the powder room to get this grease off my nose.

Regards, O'Shaugh

O'Shaughnessy:  Reel men do not use a powder room.  We use the degreasing room.     Good job.  Some of us are as meticulous as you described.  Good luck on your next projects. Dominick

[Shark Hunter]

Good Job O'Shaugh! 
Next time we expect pictures.