I'm working on an old 706z. When I opened the case it was full of old grease and a powdery dust. I'm not sure where the powder came from. Are there types of grease that dry up into powder?
706z.jpg
That all cleaned up fine. However, I wanted to disassemble the line roller to clean and lubricate its parts, but after taking off the lock nut the rest of the assembly wouldn't come out of the rotor arm.
line_roller_1.jpg
line_roller_2.jpg
Does anyone have any tricks for getting the line roller assembly off the rotor arm without damaging anything?
Thanks,
Mark
ok, first of all, yuck!!!! any chance that this reel is actually filled with fine powdery sand? next, getting the screw out. ok, this is likely not going to work, but here goes anyway. install the nut back on the threads. leave a gap between the nut and the painted surface. now, heat the nut with the low flame of a propane torch. don't let the flame hit the painted surface of the rotor because it will burn the paint. heat will travel from the nut to the threads of the screw.
get the nut as hot as possible without burning the paint. yeah, good luck with this one. don't burn the paint!!!!
now, with the screw threads as hot as possible, add some oil. i would use corrosion x or CRC freeze off. now it's gonna smoke. then it's gonna cool. and with any luck, as the threads cool, some of the oil will get sucked down into the threads. and now, maybe, just maybe, the threads will loosen and start to budge. or maybe not. the main point. don't burn the paint.
if it doesn't work the first time, maybe try again. or maybe not...... :-\
:) I am going out on a limb here , but that sure looks likes some ones surf reel ..
Dried saltwater salt powder and a bailes kit added . I would keep hitting it with penetrant oil and a little heat .
After you do what Alan and Joe suggested support the arm well, including around the guide, put the nut on enough to protect the end & first couple of threads and lightly tap the nut. That might break the corrosion between the guide and arm loose.
Quote from: Midway Tommy on January 25, 2026, 06:45:42 AMAfter you do what Alan and Joe suggested support the arm well, including around the guide, put the nut on enough to protect the end & first couple of threads and lightly tap the nut. That might break the corrosion between the guide and arm loose.
and that!!!!!!
Dumb question,is a PUM supposed to roll?
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
I will get some penetrating oil and try the combination of heat and penetrating oil, and if that isn't enough, I will try putting the nut partially on and tapping it.
The powder that was in the reel was the same consistency as wheat flour, so I don't think it was sand.
jgp12000, I'm not sure about other reels, but the line roller on a 706z is supposed to roll. This one rolls, I just want to remove it to take it apart, brush and lubricate to see if I can get it to roll more smoothly. If I can't get the roller off the rotor I will just leave it as is. I've heard that the rollers on the 706z are not very smooth and quiet, even if in good shape.
Mark
It's metal on metal. There's no bearing.
Previous owner probably used loctite.
Manufacturers call metal bushings bearings.
And they typically work better than a ball bearing in rough surf conditions, over time.
The situation here is a combination of dried salt, fine sand, and really poor maintenance (none).
This will cause the PUM screw to fuse to the aluminum rotor PUM mount.
The remedy is to (as previously stated by others) get the PUM assembly off without ruining the rotor head.
Then clean up the 4 or 5 components of the PUM assembly to slick, smooth, and as new. Then a drop or two of synthetic oil initially and after every fishing trip.
Of course, the reel needs the same treatment inside and out.
This reel will turn out excellent when done properly. They are both tough and forgiving.
I have new components, if needed. But it should work out as is.
There are also about 11 small components that wear over time in surf conditions —- that would benefit from replacement.
Best, Fred
actually, if the roller turns, it might be best to leave it be. :-\
Quote from: foakes on January 25, 2026, 05:58:33 PMManufacturers call metal bushings bearings.
Best, Fred
In industry they are called plain bearings. Same thing though.
Quote from: Keta on January 25, 2026, 06:42:28 PMQuote from: foakes on January 25, 2026, 05:58:33 PMManufacturers call metal bushings bearings.
Best, Fred
In industry they are called plain bearings. Same thing though.
I have also been favoring the term "plain bearing" over "bushing", but realized that I wasn't exactly sure what the difference was. I just looked up the actual definition. Plain bearings are bearings in the form of a single piece of solid material. So far so good. But it turns out that a bushing is a type of plain bearing in the shape of a sleeve and used to protect and decrease the friction of a rotating shaft. IOW, all bushings are plain bearings, but not all plain bearings are bushings.
Agree with Fred. Plain bearings get a bad rap. They are can be preferable to ball bearings in many situations. For example, where you don't need to worry about a large amount of axial load, but do need to worry about exposure to corrosion, like on a line roller on a spinning reel bail.
-J
Turn the nut upside down on the stud, sticking flat side up. Now you have something to tap on without ruining the threads. Only leave one thread showing under the nut. That's more than movement to loosen it. Just be careful not to tap it off center or the stud will break. Ask me how I know.
Quote from: GHETTOWRAPPED on January 26, 2026, 10:05:54 PMTurn the nut upside down on the stud, sticking flat side up. Now you have something to tap on without ruining the threads. Only leave one thread showing under the nut. That's more than movement to loosen it. Just be careful not to tap it off center or the stud will break. Ask me how I know.
Another great suggestion. I will try this, along with the heat and penetrating oil, and if it doesn't work with fairly gentle taps... I will take Alan's advice:
Quote from: alantani on January 25, 2026, 06:01:16 PMactually, if the roller turns, it might be best to leave it be.
Probably won't have time to work on this reel again until later in the week.
In the meantime, in my original post the images showed up twice, inline with the text and then again under the post. Is there a trick to showing just the inline images?
I wanna see a picture if you "burn the paint"!
You have the roller free , flush the roller with penetrating oil than oil it with a light oil . I would now risk breaking the rotor at this point .
https://alantani.com/index.php/topic,36939.0.html
For the double pictures
Success! I put a lot of oil on the roller when I last worked on it a few days ago. I think it worked itself in and loosened things up. When I turned the nut backwards and lightly tapped with a hammer it came right out. Then I used Midway Tommy's suggestion from another thread to get the spindle and bearing out of the roller: I put it on a socket and lightly tapped. The roller has a lot of parts to it, and even has a ball bearing. I oiled the bearing and lightly greased everything else before reassembly.
The case looks a bit better after cleanup.
I had fun working on this reel, but I'm not sure I will keep it and fish with it. It feels unbalanced when reeling.
Thanks for all the help!
Mark
It will seem unbalanced until it is spooled with line and mounted on a rod.
That is the nature of a large PUM reel.
These are good surf reels.
Best, Fred
well done!!!!
Good for you, Mark! Well done! 8)
I only have one PUM reel it was Keith's Mitchell 402.I do not surf/pier fish often,but I have to say the PUM is a nice feature.I will never get rid of this reel.Try fishing with the 706z at least once you might change your mind.I think they are one of the more valuable Penn spinners :fish
Quote from: foakes on January 28, 2026, 09:13:10 PMIt will seem unbalanced until it is spooled with line and mounted on a rod.
That is the nature of a large PUM reel.
These are good surf reels.
Quote from: jgp12000 on January 29, 2026, 11:59:05 AMTry fishing with the 706z at least once you might change your mind.I think they are one of the more valuable Penn spinners
OK. I'll give it a try. My original thought was that it would be nice to have a very robust reel that is easy to service for surf fishing. This reel definitely seems to fit the bill.
Mark
Not much can go wrong with a PUM reel unless you drop it or let salt water get to it
Yeah, put some old line on it and try it. Now that you've loosened all those line roller parts, they should be easy to clean on a regular basis(probably needed for Surf fishing).
On the M.G. 302/402, they have ridiculously flimsy full bail wires. I got 2 PUM's from jgp1200(James) and don't worry about tweaking mine anymore. Now, if I could figure out how to put a bigger ball bearing on the pinion, then they would be almost ideal old-school saltwater reels. The one they build it with is too small for that big heavy rotor.
I won't get a chance to surf fish until the Summer, but my son and I are taking a fishing trip to South Carolina for catfish and carp in early April. I hope to try the 706z then, along with the Surfmaster 150 I'll be working on soon.
Quote from: Gfish on February 08, 2026, 07:49:27 PMYeah, put some old line on it and try it. Now that you've loosened all those line roller parts, they should be easy to clean on a regular basis(probably needed for Surf fishing).
On the M.G. 302/402, they have ridiculously flimsy full bail wires. I got 2 PUM's from jgp1200(James) and don't worry about tweaking mine anymore. Now, if I could figure out how to put a bigger ball bearing on the pinion, then they would be almost ideal old-school saltwater reels. The one they build it with is too small for that big heavy rotor.
What bearing do you have in it ? There is a 9x17x4 and a 9x17x5
I think I may replace the line roller bearing and some of the other parts in the line roller. When I received the reel the line roller turned, but not real easily. After taking it apart, cleaning it, and lubricating it with ReelX oil it turns nicely now... or so I thought. I just got another 706z, you know, for backup ;), and when I spun the line roller I was shocked. It spins for almost 30 seconds before stopping. The one I serviced can't even reach a second of free spin. Might not really matter, since it does spin, and it will have some tension on it when reeling the line in, but that 30 second spin is really nice!