Hey all,
I know for sure I'll need to tear down my reel (Sedona 2500FD) but was wondering what you all would recommend as far as getting all traces or grains of sand removed. I've read 90% alcohol, kerosene, and WD40 among others. I have rubbing alcohol (not 90%) as well as Corrosion X, Penn Reel Cleaner Spray and several different types of degreasers: Greased Lightning, Tri-Flow, CRC, Liquid Wrench, Castrol SuperClean, and K&N Power Kleen... I'm guessing I probably shouldn't use any of these. I also don't want to 'waste' the Corrosion X if that's not the best thing to use. I don't have any aerosol WD40 on hand either and have heard that leaves a film that you'll want to wash off with soap & water.
Should I just tear everything down and soak in the alcohol that I have? Then follow up with a toothbrush and either the Penn Cleaner or Corrosion X? Would compressed air or some kind of pressurized/blown air help here too?
I am not an expert like others here but if sand is stuck in the grease, then I would strip it completely, use a commercial degreaser or other method to clean the parts and rebuild it applying new lubricant (oil or grease) to all of the parts.
I have had good results with cheap degreasers like formula 88.
Quote from: conchydong on July 07, 2018, 12:05:47 AM
I am not an expert like others here but if sand is stuck in the grease, then I would strip it completely, use a commercial degreaser or other method to clean the parts and rebuild it applying new lubricant (oil or grease) to all of the parts.
I have had good results with cheap degreasers like formula 88.
Thanks! Will the degreaser cause the sand to loosen up and fall to the bottom as well? I noticed the sand is tricky because it seems to 'adhere' to the reel parts regardless of whether there's grease or not. The other thing is that using a toothbrush, etc seems to 'spread' the sand grains around more than it does to remove them.
As Scott said above, if you've got sand in your grease the only solution is to completely disassemble everything, clean everything and then reassemble. The only way to do this properly and completely is to clean each piece individually prior to reassembly. You could try soaking in mineral spirits, but it'll be hard to impossible to get all the sand out without disassembling everything.
Pull everything down and spray large parts with a power nozzle on the end of your garden hose.
This should take care of 90% of the problem.
Cheap aerosol cans of degreaser and brake cleaner should remove the rest or you can scrub everything in the sink with Dawn dish-washing liquid.
If sand has got into the bearings you will need to remove at least one shield on each () one and use degreaser and brake cleaner to clean thoroughly.
Then relube the lot.
~
Hi Lee, you have some good advice there, but if your using any kind of pressure to clean parts, be careful that there is not any shims stuck to the parts, as they will fly for miles, take plenty of digital photos as you dismantle, then you can follow them when placing it together again, good luck sheers Don.
Because this is a plastic/resin/graphite — frame/side-plate/rotor reel with a fragile and finicky A/R bearing...plus other parts inside that are easily harmed by sand...
There are no silver bullets —
ANY grain of sand left will grind and not be acceptable — at least to me.
Full disassemble, pop the bearing shields off and toss them away.
Bearings and gears can be cleaned with a solvent such as mineral spirits, lighter fluid, etc. I use lacquer thinner. But that is not for everyone, and it requires care and tending while soaking. So I don't recommend it to anyone unless they are comfortable and experienced with its use and its cautions.
All plastic and alloy parts should be cleaned with an ultrasonic cleaner with Dawn dish soap and warm water — rinse and inspect.
Lube with a synthetic oil like CorrosionX, or TSI321 — reassemble, test function and feel under load.
Assuming not used in Salt water — this should do it. If no damage due to soft alloys or resins grinding and fighting each other — it should be fine.
If more damage than you discovered so far — then the ball bearing assemblies and the A/R may need replacement.
You may not have access to an US cleaner — but that would be the way to go.
They are about $100 new on ebay for a decent SS unit — or maybe a friend has one you could use. It is only a 10 minute job to get every nook and cranny clean with a Sonic Cleaner.
Be wary of any cleaners with a plastic reel — even Simple Green will discolor the reel parts. More powerful solvents will ruin most of the resin parts.
Let us know what you decide — and if we can help in any way further.
Just my opinions...
Best,
Fred
Thanks all! Tons of sound advice here. I first tore down a majority of the parts and soaked them in alcohol. Then moved them over to Penn Reel Cleaner/Degreaser. Then manually removed as much sand as I could on the most impacted areas I could spot. Then I dumped those same parts into a tub of soapy water (dishsoap) and let them soak. Just rinsed off in the sink with the sprayer (may not have been the greatest idea considering some pieces had loose parts lol). Anyway, it seems like *most* of the sand is out but I still need to do another once-over. On top of that, I'm out of grease - I ordered a big 14oz grease gun tube of Yamalube so I'll probably just take my time re-inspecting all the parts as I wait for it, as well as studying the schematic.
Quick question regarding the bearings: I've never removed the shield before and it seems a bit daunting. If there's sand in the bearing will it be obvious? Like if I turn the bearing should I expect to hear the sand or will the bearing not rotate smoothly? So far upon inspecting all the bearings they seem to be rotating smoothly but I have no clue with what to expect if sand is in them...
Feels the same as if you got sand in your pants :)
There will be a lot of grinding and things will feel a bit rough.
~
Put the bearing on the end of a pencil or other mandrel and spin it. If there is any sand in there you will know it immediately. Without an ultrasonic cleaner you can put a bearing in a capped jar with a solvent like kerosene, naphtha or mineral spirits. Gasoline will work too if you're careful. Just swirl and shake the jar for a while. Isopropyl will not dissolve the grease and let the debris fall out as quickly as a petroleum solvent. When the bearing spins freely and you cannot feel any rough spots you're done. You risk ruining the bearing while removing the shield but some types of shields are much easier than others. I remove the shield as last resort when there is nothing more to loose.
-steve
I use the fish hook method to remove the shield. I leave one side off that faces the inside.
I service my reels regularly and this is just a personal preference.
I'm working on a Newell R 533 that was retrieved from 300' of water in Venice Fl. It had Sponges growing on it. I soaked in Vinegar 24 Hrs. brushed the heck out of it. Washed in soapy water 24 Hrs. Then 24 Hrs. in WD 40 Soak. 24 Hrs. in soapy water. Tried the screws Oh My they turned & removed all of them. Removed the line [saving it for my friend - LOL] Tossed the Bearings - they fell apart in my hand. The Star was rotted away & so was the handle. Either had the parts or ordered New from our Ohana here.
It will be together this week & going back to Fla. in short time.
Mike
Thanks everyone! I think I got a majority if not all the sand out of the parts at this point. Soaking in soapy water and rinsing with the sprayer seemed to help with most of the process after using the reel cleaner. The bearings seem fine - I was rotating them and spinning them around and I don't hear anything nor are any of them seizing up or "crunching." I have some Corrosion-X which I'll probably use to lubricate all the non-grease parts - should I use that on the bearings as well? I have Penn Synthetic Reel Oil as well if that's better for the bearings.
I forget too, what parts do I generally want to heavily grease versus lightly grease and the same for oil/lubricant? I thought the pinions/worm gears/gears generally like to see a lighter coat of grease as do the drag washers. Is there any place I should really be 'packing' grease in?