Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Its like old classic cars some are money pits,but that's not why we do it.Most times you will never retrieve your expense,like most hobbies.The mods on my BlackMax 3 cost more than the reel did.It is the most fun to fish with though

I put some 15# braid on it last night. I intend to go lighter  (probably 8# is the plan) but that's what I had laying around. I did some more polishing and got the freespool up to a 10-12 seconds and I'm gonna call that good enough. It's mother's Day weekend so I may not get to try it for a few days.

Ok so without any brake blocks.... I can't cast this thing if you paid me. Lots of rat nests, this thing really gets away from me. Or so it feels. But I'm sure after I clear the learning curve I'll get the hang of this one. But with a single brake block in I was throwing a 1/8 oz mini bucktail about 20yds with remarkable ease. I'll play with some lighter stuff too. Also got a shake off the rust this hasn't been a good year for casting practice.

I got your message Jason.  Something I try to emphasize, the videos you see of 2500Cs spinning for a very long time are run dry.  I was reading a Japanese site, Club Casket IIRC, and they have a section about 2500C tuning.  One of the things they pointed out is that people online will run them dry to measure free spool.  I too get ~10 seconds with mine which is totally acceptable.  Remember, the new rotating assembly is very light and won't spin as long as a factory spool.  The weight difference between the two is something like 10g.  With a dry reel, I can get 20 seconds or more, and with no level wind it'll go twice as long.  If you want some good bearings, I'm sitting on a healthy stock of NMB DDL-1150Y04.  They come greased, so you'll need to pull the shields, deep clean, and put a little TSI on them.

Here is the site I was talking about.  Bookmark this link because it contains all of the 2500C info you could shake a fist at.  It's in Japanese, so if you are using Chrome it will auto translate.  https://news.club-casket.com/tag/2500c/

This picture is clearing up a lot. It sounds like I came in with unrealistic expectations. I just need to find time to actually fish the thing. Life is nuts lately. But with all the raw aluminum on this thing I'm thinking it's gonna be fresh water only.

I didn't do it for looks, but thing looks pretty dang pretty on the Fenwick.

ABU Ambadsedur reels do not play well in saltwater.

Quote from: Keta on May 12, 2025, 05:18:03 PMABU Ambadsedur reels do not play well in saltwater.

Yep, but a light coating of grease inside the side plates and where they mate to the frame can help out some.  Grease the screw threads too.  As long as the reel is serviced frequently, it should be ok.  I did a 4500C for a guy down in Texas that never had it serviced.  It wasn't as bad as I thought and actually came out pretty nice.  A bath in white vinegar removed all of the salt deposits, but unfortunately, there was pitting in the areas where the brake plate and head plate attached to the frame.  He's still fishing with it.  The brake plate is usually the first part to succumb to salt, specifically the area where the clutch button is located as it's most open to the elements.

Hi Jason, there not a very wide reel, so why do you need a line level, also mono will not dig in to the spool like braid does, if your going to lube the bearings, then a very small drip of TSI 304, would be enough, good luck cheers Don

Quote from: tincanary on May 12, 2025, 08:11:43 PMYep, but....

I fish mine in saltwater occasionally but always flush them at the end of the day and service them often when I do.

The clutch mechanism will stop working at the slightest sign of anything crusty.  That's like the ABU "service required" idiot light to prevent permanent damage.

Quote from: tincanary on May 12, 2025, 08:11:43 PM

Quote from: Keta on May 12, 2025, 05:18:03 PMABU Ambadsedur reels do not play well in saltwater.

Yep, but a light coating of grease inside the side plates and where they mate to the frame can help out some.  Grease the screw threads too.  As long as the reel is serviced frequently, it should be ok.  I did a 4500C for a guy down in Texas that never had it serviced.  It wasn't as bad as I thought and actually came out pretty nice.  A bath in white vinegar removed all of the salt deposits, but unfortunately, there was pitting in the areas where the brake plate and head plate attached to the frame.  He's still fishing with it.  The brake plate is usually the first part to succumb to salt, specifically the area where the clutch button is located as it's most open to the elements.

Bob, what do you think about the extra 3x10x4 in the tail plate under the spool cap? Are others doing that?

Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on May 14, 2025, 12:41:10 PM

Quote from: tincanary on May 12, 2025, 08:11:43 PM

Quote from: Keta on May 12, 2025, 05:18:03 PMABU Ambadsedur reels do not play well in saltwater.

Yep, but a light coating of grease inside the side plates and where they mate to the frame can help out some.  Grease the screw threads too.  As long as the reel is serviced frequently, it should be ok.  I did a 4500C for a guy down in Texas that never had it serviced.  It wasn't as bad as I thought and actually came out pretty nice.  A bath in white vinegar removed all of the salt deposits, but unfortunately, there was pitting in the areas where the brake plate and head plate attached to the frame.  He's still fishing with it.  The brake plate is usually the first part to succumb to salt, specifically the area where the clutch button is located as it's most open to the elements.

Bob, what do you think about the extra 3x10x4 in the tail plate under the spool cap? Are others doing that?

There is no need to place a bearing in that location.  The bearing plate provides the support you need.  What I do is use a 2mm ID x 1mm o-ring to attach the spool pinion to the spool shaft. The o-ring fits the groove in the Avail spool perfectly.  On factory spools, I stack 3 o-rings to keep any slippage at bay.  Some Japanese retailers will include a M2.4 E-clip to secure the pinion to the Avail spool, but I find it a little too fiddly.  O-rings are cheap and plentiful, and apparently M2.4 E-clips don't exist in this country as I've tried to find them on numerous occasions.  An M2.5 is just a bit too loose.

So are you omitting the retainer spring on the bearing in the tail plate? I guess if you're holding everything in place with the o ring it's unnecessary?

Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on May 14, 2025, 03:56:06 PMSo are you omitting the retainer spring on the bearing in the tail plate? I guess if you're holding everything in place with the o ring it's unnecessary?

The spring is located on the spool behind the bearing.  It serves the same purpose as the bearing shim on ultra cast models; to put pressure on the inner bearing race as spool tension is applied.  I removed the spool pinion housing so there's nothing under the tension cap except for the spool shaft.  You can also remove the retaining clip from the bearing plate.  This way, the spool, pinion, and bearing all slide out as one assembly. 

Here's a better shot of the head end of the spool for you.