Avet MXL MC Drag question

[alantani]

we're talking about a small flat file, a beer or two, and a few hours in the afternoon.  go slow.  figure it will have to come apart ahout a dozen times. 

[jaypeegee]

Hi

Sorry bout the novel.

Testing further...

I swapped the Cam from the LX to the MXL on the weekend.
I did this to see if the Cam was responsible (Measure twice cut once?) before inevitably breaking it bit by bit with a file.

The LX cam looks identical to the MXL cam and fits in the MXL .
In the LX I get a linear drag with the LX cam
In the MXL I still get the dramatic drag increase using either the MXL or LX cam.

That leads me to think that the cam is not responsible for the change in behavior anymore. Does this sound right?

I searched this site and the web and have also reached out to the Guy in NZ that is reselling these reels. (Very helpful and nice he is too)
It appears that the MX should behave the same as the LX drag wise.
Likely that was evident to others but I had not been confident of that fact yet.

If this is so, What is the chance that the bearing on the drag plate has gone south? - As that was the suspicion of the NZ dealer based on what I told him.
He has offered to sell me the replacement bearing set and I may go down that road however rather than buy the set of replacement bearings in the hope it is the One bearing that may be the culprit I want to know the following..

Is it possible without replacing the Right main side plate bearing to test if that bearing has suffered enough to be responsible for this issue? Pull it out and examine it?
I have looked at it and had a spin but to be honest I wouldn't be able to tell if anything aside from super obvious symptoms was wrong with it.
I guess from reading elsewhere that this is not so. but am asking again in case it is.

If impossible to visually check then:

Would I be better off replacing this bearing only with a higher quality bearing given the Avet supplied bearings are stated on this site as suspect / not the highest quality or do I have to think in terms of replacing the entire set at once?

The reel will Always be serviced and will operate well under max drag settings

Or is there another area aside from the RMSB that could be the culprit here preventing smooth drag?

Also - To confirm

Left spool - 0.1875 x 0.500 x 0.196 - sr3-zz #3 is this 7 - Spool Bearing MXL 5.8:1-007

Right spool - 0.1875 x 0.3125 x 0.125 - sr156-zz  Is this 14 - Spool Bearing MXL 5.8:1-014

Pressure plate - 0.1875 c 0.375 x 0.125 - sr166-zz #7 Is this - 17 - Brake Bearing MXL 5.8:1-017

Drive shaft (two bearings) - 8 x 16 x 5 smr688-zz #5 Is this - 29 - Drive Shaft Bearings (2 req.) MXL 5.8:1-029

Right main side plate - 0.250 x 0.625 x 0.196 sr4-zz #3 Is this - 23 - Pinion Bearing MXL 5.8:1-023

I got these specs from the Reel post here

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=3362.0

- These are Imperial specs and so I order the correct bearing (If that is the path to sorting the drag) I would also ensure that the bearing is ABEC 5 and is 440c SS quality?
I am struggling with equating the RMSP bearing to part # (Guessing it is the Pinion Bearing or is it the Brake bearing?)


Lastly, I want to say thank you to all that have taken time to help me.

I do not contribute as much as others here do as mostly I have only opinion and not experience to add.
But I read this site regularly and hold it in high value so thanks Alan for making the resource available and thanks to the people that have helped me and the many others that seek assistance.

*****EDIT*****

I pulled the reels apart last night to compare and noticed that the pinion bearing in the MXL sits very snug into the plate and the pinion sits even more snugly into the bearing versus the LX which has a snug fit for the bearing but a looser fit for the pinion . Which is normal and could this be where the drag curve differences lie?

[jaypeegee]

Update:

I realized that the pinion bearing in the LX is the same as the MXL
So I swapped them
The drag in the MXL is far better.
SO it IS the pinion bearing


I notice that the LX bearing has blue shields and the MXL black shields
I didn't take good notice of any branding and am away from the reels right now.

So I wonder now.

I can get replacement bearings in NZ for NZD18 dollars. Not sure of brand but are shielded, 440SS and ABEC 5
Or, I can get cheap ABEC 1 SS bearings, 10 for NZD10


How poor will the cheap bearings be in all probability?  Totally laughable and a $10 dollar folly?
Do I need shields on each side? Just One? At all?

The reel is going to be run below max drag always, Fished from shore and almost never on sand and will be extremely well looked after post fishing as well as being regularly serviced.

Can I skimp on the bearing and go for the bulk ABEC 1's or is it safer to spend a little more on a bearing that has a high chance of failure..