Reel Repair by Alan Tani

If you have this reel please share your experience with using it!

Just picked one of these up today and having some mixed feelings

Can't deny it is smooooth, super quiet, and free spools forever.

The clicker. You can visibly see the button shaking when line is coming off and the clicker is engaged. When i hold the button down obviously the shaking stops and the clicker is louder. They are using a similar housing system to avet and i'm assuming that's the culprit. I looked inside and removed some excess grease from the clicker assembly which helped a bit but it's still not quite holding fully in place. Ordered the part from shimano for 0.99 cents to see if it was just a dud housing

I noticed the drag wasn't quite backing off all the way with the star all the way back.. assumed the washers were over greased and they sure were (pic attached).

 I took off some of the excess and that seemed to help a bit, but there seems to be a slight lag in the release of pressure when you back off the star. It takes a couple of inches of line to come off for the drag to decrease to its set pressure.



Overall, it seems like a solid reel that will last a long time. Just a shame that a $500 reel has these problems from the factory.

in order to get to the spool bearings, the entire right side plate has to come apart, including the base plate.  it's like wearing overalls and you have to go to the bathroom.  not the easiest thing to do.   

It's a mass produced reel and the fact that it is expensive may not have any bearing on the quality.

That having been said, they are very popular here, I've not heard any negative comments, I have only once serviced one that was very neglected, corroded and had a broken handle.   The corrosion left the reel looking cosmetically sick but no serious effects.

These reels cast a mile in the right hands.

Quote from: alantani on December 27, 2022, 05:09:44 AMin order to get to the spool bearings, the entire right side plate has to come apart, including the base plate.  it's like wearing overalls and you have to go to the bathroom.  not the easiest thing to do.   

I noticed that! I took off the set plate to inspect the wonky clicker. I still find this reel easier to maneuver than the old trinidad's, though.

Do you think the clicker button shaking is caused by the housing?

Quote from: Cor on December 27, 2022, 05:14:01 AMIt's a mass produced reel and the fact that it is expensive may not have any bearing on the quality.

That having been said, they are very popular here, I've not heard any negative comments, I have only once serviced one that was very neglected, corroded and had a broken handle.   The corrosion left the reel looking cosmetically sick but no serious effects.

These reels cast a mile in the right hands.

Thanks for sharing!

I have a 20A and it's a really nice reel. I will share that on another forum, I have noticed that a lot of these reels 20a/30a come up for sale in just about in new condition which doesn't make too much sense.

Perhaps the drag washers are a bit bloated with grease or just so new that they haven't had a chance to compress a bit. After you leave the drag torqued for a whole day, a few times, the friction discs may compress a little.
I have yet to own a conventional with a "good"(JMO) quality clicker system. Rivets, springs that deform easily, weakly attached slide buttons, plastic parts, etc. Even most spinners don't seem put too much into the spool clickers.

Quote from: Gfish on December 28, 2022, 06:48:42 PMPerhaps the drag washers are a bit bloated with grease or just so new that they haven't had a chance to compress a bit. After you leave the drag torqued for a whole day, a few times, the friction discs may compress a little.
I have yet to own a conventional with a "good"(JMO) quality clicker system. Rivets, springs that deform easily, weakly attached slide buttons, plastic parts, etc. Even most spinners don't seem put too much into the spool clickers.

They just can't stick to what works. Clickers in old speedmasters, tld, and tld stars are bulletproof imo. Unless you're one that enjoys to keep the clicker on the whole trip.

Yeah, forgot about the TLD I have. Even the tough-old Penn conventional's; the wear factor on the pawl and those circular springs that deform.

Quote from: Gfish on December 28, 2022, 08:41:47 PMYeah, forgot about the TLD I have. Even the tough-old Penn conventional's; the wear factor on the pawl and those circular springs that deform.

I've never had any issues. But i bet you fish more than me. Thanks for your insight

Ok. I cleaned off all the washers from the stock shimano grease just using a paper towel then applied Cal's. The problem is still persisting. After further testing i realized the drag refuses to back off all the way unless i give the handle a couple of turns, It doesn't matter how much line is pulled off manually. Can anyone think of what could be causing this?

I know it's not the star, square plate or spring because even with these parts completely removed, the drag won't loosen up unless the drive shaft is given a few turns.

That is strange. I've been through plenty of them.

I wipe all the grease off of the Carbontex washer's just like a lever drag reel .

I wipe all of the grease off on a towel

I think i'm gonna try again but this time use a brush and some brake cleaner to get all of the grease completely out

I rub it all off like for a lever drag.

Noticed the eared metal drag washer on these, has the "ears" slightly bent and they'er supposed to bend towards the gear. If they were backward, that could be an issue, maybe?

I like the reel. Looks both refined and tough. A lot of bearings, though. Equals more detailed maintenance. Definitely don't need a bearing in the knob, bushings there are best for me.
What looked cool was the brake-plate shield. Do you know/think It would keep water from getting in through the spool and contaminating gears, drag parts, bearings, etc.?