Reel Repair by Alan Tani

General Maintenance Tips => General Questions and Trouble Shooting => Topic started by: wallacewt on December 09, 2012, 04:04:30 AM

Title: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: wallacewt on December 09, 2012, 04:04:30 AM
i,d  like to hear your thoughts on oil or grease for baitcasters.  except for the drag washers i was thinking of using tsi 301 on all parts,or corrosion x,inox etc;sand and grit easier to clean,wash it out,respray.i dont know about wear and tear.cheers
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: alantani on December 09, 2012, 07:15:03 AM
for a levelwind, super freespool is not possible, so the less expensive corrosion x should be fine. 
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: wallacewt on December 09, 2012, 09:54:09 AM
id like to rephrase the ?.   why is grease better on the gears than oil. a couple of revolutions of the gears and grease is  not on the teeth. tsi301 last a long time on bearings,would the same happen on gears.other moving parts.  sry about the confusion
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: alantani on December 09, 2012, 09:59:06 AM
i still just take an old toothbrush with some left over grease in it and just spread it around the inside of the reel, gears included.  nothing fancy here. 
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: GulfOfBothnia on December 09, 2012, 10:32:09 AM
Quote from: wallacewt on December 09, 2012, 09:54:09 AM
id like to rephrase the ?.   why is grease better on the gears than oil. a couple of revolutions of the gears and grease is  not on the teeth. tsi301 last a long time on bearings,would the same happen on gears.other moving parts.  sry about the confusion

I think it may look like "grease is not on the teeth" but it is. Just a very thin layer that is enough to give the lubrication needed.
That's also the reason not to overgrease since the actual amount needed to give lubrication is very tiny.

This is how I understand it.
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: wallacewt on December 09, 2012, 10:40:20 AM
is it the same ,better ,worse or it doesnt matter ??? which one you use. ???
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: GulfOfBothnia on December 09, 2012, 10:57:45 AM
To be honest I do not know...

The tradition at least is to use grease on gears and it works. I feel safe to stay on this.

What it comes to tsi301/321 ability fuse / assimilate into the surface where it has been applied to and how it compares to grease... I think your question is valid.

Maybe someone will answer this.
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: wallacewt on December 09, 2012, 12:49:37 PM
and what about if you oil a tiagra,instead of grease,on a marlin.
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: Nuvole on December 09, 2012, 02:32:46 PM
I'll grease all parts, except the main shaft and any bearing holding on to the main shaft which I'll use oil. 
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: Bryan Young on December 09, 2012, 04:00:30 PM
I do the same for all reels. Maybe it just a system so I don't have to remember too much.

Main and pinion gears - grease
AR bearings - TSI321/CorrosionX or blended TSI321 and CorrosionX
Spool Bearings - TSI301 except on trolling reels not intended for live baiting, they are packed with grease
Line Guide assembly - TSI 301 on metal parts and TSI 321 on plastic parts
Sideplates, frames, reel seats - grease from greasy toothbrush spread al around then wiped to leave a thin film
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: Keta on December 09, 2012, 04:44:02 PM
Gears should be greased, bearings can be oiled or greased depending on where the the bearing is and the reels main use.   For a casting reel oil the spool bearings, bottom fishing and trolling reels get grease, unless I'm fishing in below freezing weather (not a factor for you lucky people)then I use oil.  

GoB as it right, all it takes is a little grease on the gears to do the job but dry they begin to self distruct from wear, ungreased SS can gaul under pressure too.
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: wallacewt on December 09, 2012, 10:31:01 PM
i do the same as most of you guys. but 40 tears ago all i used was singer sewing machine oil.some of the reels are still as good as ever. no corrosion,no busted gears,same bearings.  all ive done is cleaned and changed the drag washers.(greased and oiled now) so just maybe,except for the drag washers all we need to do is oil them.if water gets in just clean and re-oil,no biggy. this came about when i was thinking about cars,sump.gears and so on.cheers

















Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B on December 10, 2012, 02:02:44 PM
for me it matters, grease lasts longer (oil dries faster) and handles heat better than oil. i guess that's the reason why automotive transmissions  and differentials use very high viscosity oils. min weight  80...i would use oil on gears but i would have to tear the reel down and give the gears a bath (soak) for at least 4 hrs every after a fishing trip. but that's just me... ;)
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: wallacewt on December 11, 2012, 12:45:39 AM
i have a fin-nor ma20,i think ill strip it down get rid of all grease(not drag) treat it with tsi301 and not touch it for 12 months unless it needs it .funny noises etc; then i will know.  in may i will be tangling with gt,s and a lot of other nasties ,should give me a good indication.  im betting nothing will go pear shape.cheers
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: Bunnlevel Sharker on December 12, 2012, 11:57:09 PM
Duels have a seled off oil filled gear box
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B on December 13, 2012, 11:18:00 AM
Quote from: wallacewt on December 11, 2012, 12:45:39 AM
i have a fin-nor ma20,i think ill strip it down get rid of all grease(not drag) treat it with tsi301 and not touch it for 12 months unless it needs it .funny noises etc; then i will know.  in may i will be tangling with gt,s and a lot of other nasties ,should give me a good indication.  im betting nothing will go pear shape.cheers

imo, you should use the reel because that would create load hence friction on the gears, main/pinion, then that will be a good indicator...;)
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: wallacewt on December 13, 2012, 12:13:29 PM
interesting point you make there sharker.
so the gears are always in oil, is that correct.

mel
im keen to give it a try,i dont think oil or grease are a problem with reels.(its the lack of)
its more corrosion, salt,sand,etc;
Title: Re: baitcasters/oil or grease?
Post by: Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B on December 14, 2012, 12:19:00 PM
i have been wanting to this for a while now, just use oil for the  main n pinion gear but procrastination has gotten worst since i moved way south of the border. anyways, this "experiment" i will be using synthetic Mobil1 with a 0- ??? viscosity and will be soaking the gears at least overnight. imo, it will work with preventive maintenance, just like anything that needs cleaning, lubing etc...almost forgot this only applies to LD reels as the gears don't have any contact with the drag washers...