So I got 2 Microlites done this weekend and one to go thanks to Fred who is pulling my butt out of the fire by sending me a roller. Of the two I just did I got one that is as smooth as butter and the other feels "Mitchell Like" to me...that is too say "geary" feeling. Not sure what the difference is there, I did them the same way, etc.
What you feel may be the bearing. Fred has had great luck cleaning these bearings on Quick reels. I may have ruined some quick bearings in my sonic cleaner. I think I have felt what your talking about & in my case it has been a bad bearing. Now Fred is the expert on these & I'm sure hell have more to say... Jeff
There are 4 or 5 possibilities regarding the roughness noise on these little Microlites.
Side main bearing oil-lite bushings worn out or not cleaned and burnished well enough on both the inner tube and the inside edge or rim.
Bad main bearing.
Gear teeth not meshing properly.
Clear spacers on either side of main gear need to be replaced with new, or removed -- whichever works best.
Gouged black crank spacer.
Best, Fred
Is it bad to put these bearings in an Ultra Sonic Cleaner?
Some of the newer ones no unless you leave them to long. However me personally I soak all bearings prior to going in the sonic bath & dont go more than a few minutes.
Now let me clarify by saying most of the thousands of parts I've ever placed in a sonic bath have been gun parts & very few caged style roller bearings. So it would be good to hear from Alan or Fred again on this... Jeff
I can definitely feel the gears through the handle. Feels like the gears are not meshing ideally. What would cause this? .. a shim needed maybe?
Is it missing the plastic spacers for the gears ?
If ya gotta magnifying glass, check the gear teeth. Best guess for me though, would be relative to what Jeff and Fred said: some worn(missing?) part causing misalignment of gears