Hey guys,
I have a Squall 50 Level Wind in the shop with a bad pinion gear and maybe spool. Even at low drag I can pull line from the reel and the pinion gear/spool jump out of gear.
I bent the yoke just a hair and stretched the springs a little. No good.
Do you think a new pinion gear only will solve the problem?
The reel looks very nice and not too old. Maybe Penn will warranty the reel.
Keith
This sounds very much like a problem I often see with Penn 340s and 345s that have been used with 80# braid for halibut. The frame isn't stiff enough to keep the pinion nested correctly to the spool so that, over time, the shoulders of the spool spindle wear down just enough to allow the pinion to skip when under drag. The only solution I found was to replace the spool as well as the pinion -- and when I replaced the pinion I always needed to replace the main gear as well. If you have two Squall 50s, look very closely at the spool spindles. My guess is that the spool from the bad reel is worn down just enough to cause your problem. Finally, there is a message here: Graphite (read: plastic) reels should not be fished with heavy line and heavy drag.
I did order a new spool and pinion gear for the customer. He was happy with the price. That's all that counts and the reel will be back on action.
The line is mono and looks to be 80lb test.
I told him not to flip the reel into gear while it's heading down with the heavy weight we often use here in the gulf.
I feel the same about these graphite reels. The 50 might be rated for 80#...but I think it causes too much damage in the long run and the lighter lines are better suited for it.
The graphite TLD 50II were prone to having the frame break when fished with heavy drag. While I love my old Penn 525 Mag and still have my GS 545, I'm not fond of the larger graphite reels. Both my TLD 20II and TLD 30II have one piece aluminum topless frames.