I have a problem with lubing my spool bearings. It's an ongoing problem which is why I am posting it here.
Many times after I service a spool bearing and reassemble in reel I get good free spool but a rough sounding bearing. I happens with bearings with removable shields and with shields that need to be pried out.
After I get bearings out I soak in alcohol; put the bearing on my hemostat and spin by hand lightly, then blow out with light air. After that I give it a good spray with CRC carb cleaner and let dry for a couple of minutes or so. Next I soak bearing in TSI 321 for approximately 30 minutes; spinning once or twice during that period. Then I blow out bearing again with light air and put two drops of TSI 321 in bearing and spin.
I have in the past been guilty of over lubing bearings and ending up with oil in the drag washers.
I read a post Alan wrote somewhere that said he tested bearing by cleaning and oiling up to three times and then if bearing is still rough, order new bearings. I did that on a set of bearings in my Newell 229 and it did improve them which leads me to think I have a problem with my cleaning/oiling procedure.
Do you think I'm not getting the bearing clean enough initially or am not putting enough oil in?
Thanks for any advice,
Bill Benrath
Quote from: Bill Benrath on December 18, 2018, 03:13:21 PM
Many times after I service a spool bearing and reassemble in reel I get good free spool but a rough sounding bearing.
I'd say since the free spool is good, but it
sounds rough, it's just that the heavier lube you removed softened the noise level more than TSI 321 does. I've had this happen too. 8)
if the bearing has loose tolerances, then removing grease and putting in oil will expose that, take a magnifying glass and inspect the bearing, any dirt, sand?
Quote from: mo65 on December 18, 2018, 03:25:32 PM
Quote from: Bill Benrath on December 18, 2018, 03:13:21 PM
Many times after I service a spool bearing and reassemble in reel I get good free spool but a rough sounding bearing.
I'd say since the free spool is good, but it sounds rough, it's just that the heavier lube you removed softened the noise level more than TSI 321 does. I've had this happen too. 8)
X2
lighter oil = better distance, more noise, faster wear
plus, it needs to be "topped off" more often
just a tiny drop... several (many?) times between full service
TSI321 will stay in place (on a spool bearing) longer than most other oils I've tried, it is my go to oil.. If you want good free spool (who doesn't) and quiet bearings try a tighter tolerance bearing like an ABEC7 or 9. If your bearings are really noisy I'd replace then anyway.
bill, i yank out a bearing, then push and twist. if there is any roughness, i toss it. :-\
TSI321 will be noisy on anything but an absolutely pristine bearing, especially when spun by hand. It is such a thin and smooth lubricant that it does not conceal any inaccuracy or damage in the bearings.
I gave a bottle of it to my local fishing shop and after using it for a month or so they remarked that they are changing more bearings out because the oil does not mask a damaged or dirty bearing at all, unlike the oil they were using. They do not see this as a negative though; a dodgy bearing that is concealed by lubrication will soon go back to feeling poor, better for them to find and address it first time around.
All of this said, I have had bearings that seemed noisy/rattly after cleaning and lubing with TSI321, however after reassembling the reel they operated very nicely and have continued to do so for some time now.
Once a bearing gets noisy, I am **rarely** able to clean and lube it enough to quiet it down. Bearings aren't too expensive, and when I calculate the time it takes to bring one back to life, it almost always makes more sense to drop in a new bearing. I go through lots of bearings in the shop.
Kinda sounds B.B., like there's some wear on those bearings that's being exposed when you so thourghly clean em. More oil? Mabey, or either higher viscocity lube, or replace. If they cast good and it was me, I'd use diffrent(thicker) oil. If that size bearing can be used ina diffrent reel/functional area of the reel, I'd replace em with new ones and see.
What kinda reel is it?
Thanks for all the replies. I got back from an 8 day LR trip on the Excel in September and would have normally gone through the reels sooner but we are/were in the middle of a major remodel that I am doing a lot of the work myself plus having rotator cuff surgery 3 weeks ago. I knew I was going to laid up and figured I'd be able to service my reels while I was recovering.
The last reel was an almost new Shimano Trinidad TN30A. Before that was a brand new Shimano 30HGA Torium and before that was a Newell S229-5 which is obviously older but not seen much use. I had the same problem with all the reels which makes me think it's the process I'm using.
This morning after I posted this message, I took the Trinidad apart for the umpteenth time and reoiled the spool bearings with Corrision X. I put quite a bit more oil, like 7-8 drops out of this oiler. Hopefully the picture attached itself here somewhere in this post. If it didn't it's one of those plastic bottles with a needle point that the oil comes out of about 1 oz in size. Anyway the problem got way better; it still has some signs of roughness but I think I need to get a little more oil in the bearing.
The reels are so new that I don't think it's the bearings unless I damaged the cage when I had to remove a metal shield permanently and that was only on the Trinidad, the Torium and the Newell both have the removable shields.
What procedure do you guys use when you oil your spool bearings? Maybe I should soak in oil of choice and let drain for an hour or so, and then install the bearing.
These reels are used for throwing wahoo bombs and don't really need that much freespool. I think next time I will oil with Corrision X which has a little more viscosity.
As always thanks for your help.
On all casting reels I clean and oil the bearings just like AT does. Quick and easy. If the bearings are noisy they are no good. I use 321 and 301 spray. I dont see how oil could get into the drag system from the bearings. Its only a couple of drops and with TSI and the oil evaporates.
The only time I've had bearing oil contaminate a drags friction washer is when using oil for the bearing in the pressure plate on lever drags. I've since just greased this bearing... Jeff