Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Now, I know most of you are die-hard conventional reel users... but here's a spinner for something different. Posted with a certain amount of nervousness in the shadow of experts like Alan and I know a lot of members do this professionally.  Hope this is up to scratch....

Anyway, I've had this reel for a long time and while by today's standards it's 'old tech', Penn Spinfishers can take a lot of abuse without missing a beat. They're built simple and tough (although less tough now they get a clutch bearing instead of anti-reverse dogs). Lets open this one up

Here's a link to the schematics....

http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/displayimage.php?album=12&pos=158



First, unscrew the drag tensioning knob (key #52) and remove the spool





Lets look after the drag next... have a look at how tiny those drag washers are for a relatively big reel... smaller than on my Shimano Stradic 2500... but testament to carbon drags, still up to tackling with big fish smoothly.



Remove the retaining spring (key #51) carefully so it doesn't go flying...



and take out the drag washers...



Give the HT-100 washers (key #6)... there are 2 of them... a rub with a clean cloth to remove any accumulated crud and to drive any old grease into the washer and out of the way, before reapplying fresh drag grease.





Then reassemble the drag, making sure everything goes back in the same order.



While we've got the spool in hand, flip it over and apply a coat of grease to the clicker and spring.



Put the spool aside and remove the handle, handle collar (key #232N), felt seal washer (key #17N) and opposite side bearing cover (key #233).







Back out the 3 screws (key #46) so you can remove the left side plate (key #45N)





Remove the left side bearing (key #20A), open it up by removing the retaining clip from the shields using the 'Alan Tani' approved fish hook method







and give it a good clean to clear out all the old lube... I did this before converting to Alan's Carb Cleaner method, so used white spirit. Put the clean bearing to one side... we'll get back to that in a minute.



The main drive gear (key #8N) just lifts out.



There are 2 screws (key #44) holding the shaft retaining plate (key #43A) on the oscillating slider (key #43)... these come out so the plate can be removed.





Then, the main shaft (key #39) slides out.



Take out the oscillating slider and the oscillating gear (key #231) beneath





The right side bearing (key #20A) is now accessible and can be pushed out from behind. It too gets opened up and cleaned.



Next, remove the rotor nut (key #38) and washer (key #37) beneath





and lift off the rotor (key #27) itself...



To disassemble the next stage and get at the main bearing, first unscrew and remove the anti-reverse lever (key #6E) from the rear of the reel



then unscrew and remove the anti-reverse dog (key #4A) (this is how spin reels did it before clutch bearings... we now get infinite anti reverse but at a higher risk of the anti reverse failing under load.





followed by the anti-reverse trip cam (key #236)



The ratchet gear (key #10) just lifts out (make sure you remember which way the gears are facing!)



The long transfer lever (key #224) can be unscrewed and removed and now you'll be able to access the bearing retaining plate (key #21), which can be unscrewed and removed. (There's no need to remove the remaining ratchet dog (key #4) this time so lets leave those springs and things alone... no need to tempt fate)







With the retaining plate out of the way, the pinion gear (key #19N) and main shaft bearing (key #20) simply lift out.



Open up and clean out the bearing and then lets get to putting everything back together.



The cleaned bearings can all be packed with grease (Evinrude outboard grease in this case). To make sure there are no air pockets in the grease, pack one side first the replace the shield on that side. Pack the other side and press down on it hard with the heel of your palm. If grease squeezes evenly out through the opposite shielded side, it's good to go.





A bead of grease can be run around the main shaft bearing recess



before the bearing (key #20) and pinion gear (key #19N)(with a coat of grease) are reinstalled



Before replacing the bearing retaining plate (key #21), give it a thin coat of grease and lightly grease the screw holes





There was a little minor surface corrosion evident on the transfer lever (key #224) so let's give all of the individual parts in the sub rotor assembly a smear of grease using greasy fingers.





When reinstalling the anti-reverse trip cam (key #236), make sure the spring (key #6D) engages with its retaining mount.



And finally, a coat of grease on the mounting plate will help resist corrosion (this should probably have been done before reinstalling all those bits but go figure!)



Screw the anti-reverse lever (key #6E) back on and this bit's finished.



Reinstall the re-lubed right side bearing (key #20A)



Apply a thin coat of grease to the inside of the reel body (key #1N) cavity



before greasing and reinstalling the oscillator gear (key #231)





With the oscillating slider (key #43) reinstalled, add a drop of oil to the shaft recess in the slider and to the shaft (key #39) itself before slipping it back in.





Add a dob of grease to the screw holes in the slider and align the notch in the main shaft so the retaining plate (key #43A) can be returned.



The drive gear (key #8N) can now be greased and slipped back into position





And the left side bearing (key #20A), having been packed with grease, replaced.



Give the inside of the left side plate (key #45N) a coat of grease and add a dob of grease to the screw holes (I really have to get myself one of the modified mini grease guns Alan uses) before screwing the plate back on.







The screw thread and elbow of the handle (key #15) get a smear of grease





then the handle collar (key #232N) is replaced...



note that there's a felt washer (key #17N) that lives beneath the handle that serves as a rudimentary seal. If left dry, I can only imagine this would actually hold and retain water... not ideal! So it gets thoroughly soaked with Evinrude grease first (where I can I try to keep different types of lubricants from coming into direct contact, otherwise I would probably have used drag grease)





With that in place, the handle can go back on along with the opposite side bearing cap (key #233), after a light coat of grease inside.







and nearly finished... the spool goes back on.



A few final bits and pieces to attend to, starting with the line roller. Back the bail roller screw (key #36) out being careful not to lose the tiny spring washer (key #36A)





and the line roller assembly (key #'s 132, 35, 35A) can be removed.



There was some gunge between the roller (key #35) itself, the roller washer (key #132) and the spindle. Along with some minor corrosion beneath the line roller screw.





After cleaning, the screw recess gets a coating of grease while the parts of the roller assembly and spindle, get a drop of oil before reassembling.











Let's not forget the bail arm assembly. Begin by backing out the bail arm screw (key #31)



and undoing the screw-in mount (this is integrated with the bail wire key #24) on the opposite side... you'll need to start this off with a pair of vise grips or multigrips.





then the bail arm (key #34) and wire (key #24)can be removed... be careful to pull the bail arm assembly carefully off the bail arm spring (key #32) so as not to bend it. The spring is under a fair degree of tension.





Next back the screw (key #50) out to allow the removal of the bail spring cover (key #227).





You'll now be looking at the bail spring (key #32), which needs to be removed. It's under enough tension to really need a pair of needle nose pliers. And there's always the risk when dealing with loaded springs that they'll fly off into the nearest deep-pile carpet... so hang on.





Give the bail spring cavity and the spring itself a good clean before applying a coat of fresh grease to both.





and to the inside of the metal bail spring cover



Then replace the spring, making sure that the short mounting arm is properly seated in the mounting hole.



With your pliers or fingers, the spring can then be pushed firmly to seat it back in the bail spring cavity, before replacing the cover.





Now lets clean up the bail arm and mounts... remove the bushing (key #34A) from inside the bail arm, clean it, add a drop of oil and replace it.







Add a smear of grease to the threads of the bail arm screw and screw in mount... and a drop of oil to the spindle section of the bail arm screw.





To reattach the bail arm and wire, start with the screw-in mount...



then move on to the bail arm, carefully aligning the bail arm spring with the small mounting hole in the bail arm to ensure it's properly seated. Because the spring is under tension, the bail arm won't automatically align with the bail arm screw hole.





You'll need to carefully apply pressure while holding the assembly, to align the holes so that the bail arm screw can be replaced.



A drop of oil on the bail wire where it enters the screw-in mount.



And finally, give it a quick test to make sure it's working properly.



And to finally finish off... the anti-reverse lever and handle knob both get a drop of oil.





There you go... all finished and now this Penn is as smooth as butter and ready for battle.

A couple of quick notes. The only reason I use Evinrude rather than Yamaha grease is that my boat has an E-Tec so I've always got some lying around. Since I did this rebuild I've also managed to get my hands on some CorrosionX (not available easily in Australia) and I've started using it for all my 'oil' applications. I play with a lot of spinners... usually small ones... and the choice of lubrication is pretty important with the side plate and main bearings. Because this reel is used mostly for bottom fishing it gets heavy grease protection, with small spin reels used for luring I usually use CorrosionX for the bearings.

And just a final note of thanks to Alan and www.fishraider.com.au for allowing me to copy this across.


Cheers, BigT

Absolutely brilliant Tutorial BigT. I have the 650SS and 750SS Penns and this Tutorial will be a great help should I have to carry out a major service.

Thanks for the great tutorial BigT, it's good to see a spinner on here. I'll just mention one more time that when using a hook to remove bearing shield retainers it may be a good idea to take a pair of pliers and flatten the barb first. This makes "catch and release" much easter shoud that hook somehow find it's way into the end of your thumb. Use the pliers on the barb first and you won't need them later for potential emergency hook removal. Thanks again!

Thanks for the tut BigT.

By greasing the bearings, did you find that the reel was harder/slower in the retrieve due to the grease?

And, did you replace the teflon drag washers with HT-100s or continue to use the teflon?

I need to do a couple of spinners, and have been wondering...

Bearings - Grease or oil???

Drag Washers - Should I replace all my teflons with greased carbon drags?  I know what Alan would say about this on...of course I should change the teflons with carbon.  Just wondering, for spinners, would it make that much of a differences???  Maybe I just answered my question.

nice write up, thanks for posting. 

Quote from: BryanYoung on March 19, 2010, 03:24:14 PM
Thanks for the tut BigT.

By greasing the bearings, did you find that the reel was harder/slower in the retrieve due to the grease?

And, did you replace the teflon drag washers with HT-100s or continue to use the teflon?

I need to do a couple of spinners, and have been wondering...

Bearings - Grease or oil???

Drag Washers - Should I replace all my teflons with greased carbon drags?  I know what Alan would say about this on...of course I should change the teflons with carbon.  Just wondering, for spinners, would it make that much of a differences???  Maybe I just answered my question.

On the drags... yeah, replace them. I'll get around to it next time I put an order in from Dawn at Smooth Drag. As for the bearing questions... yes, heavy grease in the bearings does slow the reel down a lot. For this particular reel, the protection of the grease was my primary concern. For reels that I'm constantly casting with... ( I do a lot of saltwater lure fishing with soft baits) I use oil instead of grease. The reels are a lot sweeter to use but the bearings need constant care.

I make decisions on lubes on a reel by reel, bearing by bearing basis. It's a constant trade off between free running and maximum protection... whatever best suits in each case. If I were using this reel for beach or pier fishing I'd probably substitute light grease for the heavy grease.

Cheers, BigT
PS... I hope I'm getting the US terminology close to right... soft baits, piers, and spinners are all 'translated' from the Aussie terms for each 

Thanks for the great post. I have (2) 7500ss and (2) 9500ss that I have been holding out on sending them to the tackle shop. I think I will have a go at it myself now. One has an anti-reverse problem and I didn't realize they have dogs like conventionals. I guess I never paid attention to the schematics.
Thanks again

BigT, have any old baitrunners?  The old original ones with graphite spools?  I could use a tutorial on them.  Ditto on the new bradia's I picked up as the only schematic I have is in Japanese:)

Quote from: BigT on March 19, 2010, 04:10:31 PM
PS... I hope I'm getting the US terminology close to right... soft baits, piers, and spinners are all 'translated' from the Aussie terms for each 

BigT,

Don't worry.  I grew up in Hawaii.  Being in the US, we use totally different terminologies as well.  For example, surf fishing, we call shore casting.  Jigging (over reefs) we call whipping... it's all good.  It doesn't matter where you go, all fisherman have an understanding.

I've fished in Japan and Taiwan, and with guys from China not knowing any English, but we all understood each other.  Funny, it's just like kids playing together.

Quote from: Russ57 on March 19, 2010, 06:36:10 PM
BigT, have any old baitrunners?  The old original ones with graphite spools?  I could use a tutorial on them.  Ditto on the new bradia's I picked up as the only schematic I have is in Japanese:)

Sorry Ross,

I had a set (3500, 4500, 6500) but got rid of them a while back after I realized they'd been sitting unused in my tackle cupboard for years. I know why you're interested in a post... the baitrunner mechanism is a bit of a nightmare.

The only other one's I've done (apart from the ABU 10000 I posted too) as tute's have been little reels like Shimano Stradics and low profile baitcasters. Not reels of much interest on this forum I think.

Cheers, BigT

Wow Big T!!!

Excellent post!

Although I am a newell conventional enthusiast, I surely do have one of those spinners.  In fact, I got two 850SS and even the older "Z" series (704Z and 716Z) reels.  My goodness, what fisherman did not or does not have one of those penn reels.  They are truly diehard classics. 

Awesome tutorial.

Thank you Big T.

Awesome post.  Maybe Alan will put it in with his Penn posts.

Dylan

Very nice and great pic's. My son just bought a Spheros 18K and after looking at the schematics I'm a little leary about jumping into it. Again a great rebuild.

Yeah, I concur, although I don't fish many spinning reels I have recently bought a couple for guests fishing on my boat for tossing swimbaits to albacore tuna.  I live in the Pacific Northwest and there aren't very many educated thumbs in this part of the world.

If you ever get a chance, the Penn Slammer would be appreciated although this post will go a long ways.

It was really nice to see the bail details.

Thanks Again

Lady E

If I ever get my hands on a Slammer I'll try to do a rebuild tute.

Cheers, BigT