Hello,
I'm servicing the above reel for a friend. I've done probably 20 shimano spinners before, but all were front drag models. I'm just wondering if there are any difficulties I should be made aware of on tearing down and clean/relube a rear drag Shimano spinner. I noticed there is a pin on the main shaft upon which the spool rests. Is this left as is during break down, or is it removable? I will be studying the schematic before I begin this reel, but as always, any advice is appreciated.
Thanks, and happy St. Patrick's day!!
You can just leave the pin in as you clean the spool shaft -- no reason to remove.
Shimano schematics are good -- so pay attention as you are already obviously doing...
Remember that many of these parts can be harmed by certain cleaning agents -- so be careful.
The first few of these I did, I would disassemble the reel -- then lay out each part as close to the schematic rendition as possible on a 12" X 18" piece of clean paper -- making notes as needed.
Then I would take a few pics -- then clean all of the parts.
Like any spinner (no matter how many parts they have) reassembly can be broken down pretty simply into a few completed components that will be put together towards the end -- complete the rotor and bail assembly, complete the Rear Drag assembly, complete the gear assembly, complete the A/R assembly, complete the crank lastly.
Put all of this together -- tune, adjust, test all functions -- bail flip, drag, A/R, smoothness of gears and bearings, rotation of head, spool alignment, etc.
Good to go.
After you do a few of these, the process will be simpler and quicker because of the knowledge and skills you have learned.
I service these because folks expect me to, but I charge $28 instead of the typical $18 or $20. These take much more time because quite frankly, there are 40% to 50% more parts than are necessary, IMO, for a device to retrieve fishing line. Parts are not beefy, and in many cases, parts are not available after a few short years. So you end up trying to send off for aluminum, plastic, or pot metal pieces -- and if not available, you just wasted all of you diagnosis time because I would not charge a client for something that I could not repair properly.
So be careful if you are going to do these on a regular basis -- it can eat up all of your time -- and the client just wants it fixed -- they do not understand the complexities.
Many times, if they are not full of sand and grease -- and seem to function fairly well -- I just do a partial disassembly, replace the drag stack, lube everything up, remove and service the bail assembly, check all functions twice -- then just charge the client $15 or $18.
But if you have to go into it all of the way -- even $28 is not enough -- I just figure that the bitter averages out with the sweet -- and move forward -- and I suck it up. Knowing that many of these I will just refuse if too bad appearing in the future, many will be unrepairable, and I will not encourage this business.
These are just my opinions -- and others may have much more experience on these then I do -- so do not be discouraged by my opinions -- just cautious.
So in general, Rear drag spinners are a labor of love -- and a challenge -- not a lucrative endeavor. If there were only rear drag Asian Spinners in the world -- like these Shimanos -- I would either become very good at working on them -- or not work on reels ever again.
Best,
Fred
Thank you for the advice Fred, it is much appreciated. I think I'll stick with a partial teardown. The reel functions very well, it's just a little dirty. Freshwater only and there isn't any corrosion on the exterior of the reel. Plus I haven't been able to find the schematic on line. I'm glad I know about these rear drag spinners for the future.