Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Some folks ought never be left alone in a room with a nice reel and a screwdriver

I won't bore you with the reasons, but I agreed to try to fix a Tiagra 30WLRS belonging to someone I know even though it will be a year before I see them again. Well, they couldn't use the reel as it was and whoever had last been inside it had really messed up so they are no worse off for the time being without the reel.

Where to start...? The handle moved in and out - not a good sign - and only high gear operated, and then only when you tilt the reel just so. But it worked in both directions - not good. No gear change happening when the button is depressed, but tilt the reel the other way and all seized solid - handle won't go either way round. No clicker and no anti-reverse. Oh, and it was pretty filthy too.

OK, wipe it with some rag so I could begin. Take out the screws from the left sideplate. Why won't it come off? Take out the screws from the right sideplate, and out drops the clicker plate and its four greasy little screws. One problem solved; replace screws with some thread sealant later.

Finally manage to pull the thing apart to find the LH bearing stuck on the main shaft. It needs to be able to move back and forth or the drag will not operate. Drive the shaft out with due care and work on removing the burrs on the shaft with fine abrasive paper till the bearing slides back in place as it ought.

Now I find the anti-reverse ratchet was fitted the wrong way round - a hard mistake to make I would have thought - and the bearing spacer was installed the wrong side and the wrong way round. Really? At least putting that right was easy. We now have anti-reverse.

Remove the handle etc. and notice that the whole gear change mechanism is sloppy and loose. Well, it would be if part no. 212 is missing! Even then, the operation isn't right so dismantle the left hand thread retaining nut - the part Shimano says don't take apart! - and out comes the springs, the slotted tube and the odd-shaped drive thing. All were in the wrong order and here I have to say the Tiagra schematic could be more helpful in reassembling it, but by looking at my own 30WLRS it wasn't too difficult to put this one back together the right way round, eventually.

Part 212 is just a plastic washer with a posh name but not readily available here. However, a fibre washer and a stainless steel washer reamed out with a rat-tail file worked OK together to take up the space; and seems (for the moment at least) to have resolved that issue. We now have gear change that works.

Reassemble just to see what next. Hmmm, drag full on and can't turn the spool even with the pre-set backed off completely. Looks like a spacing issue. Take out two of the shims (which necessitated further work on the shaft - where did those dings come from?) and reassemble to find the spool spins but no drag. Now what?

Back off the pre-set and you have freespool regardless of the drag lever position; move the pre-set in a bit and then you get virtually full drag with again no change regardless of the lever position.

Yes, indeed, the clot had messed up the assembly of the cam and its partners so another teardown. At least this was easy to fix and once back in place we have an operating drag lever and pre-set. Look again at the Bellevilles and return them to the standard setting of (())(( and replace the two shims to avoid a new spacing issue. Oh, and if a nylon washer could be in the wrong place, it was.

Finally, with all reassembled with marine grease packing the bearings (in good condition I was relieved to find), covering internal surfaces and on screw threads, it works.

Smooth winding in high and low, smooth gear changing and fully functioning drag and pre-set. All for only 10 hours or more of puzzling, thinking and greasy working 

It isn't perfect because I would like the drag to kick in earlier and to be less steep in operation. I think I can do that by rearranging the Bellevilles, but that is for another day 

Maybe (())() ? and that would probably mean taking out one of the shims. For now, it can wait.










 

Possible proof that "haste makes waste" in a complicated reel. I wonder sometimes about how much shoddy work get's done in this world, just so people can hurry through a job making it easier on themselves, and still get paid. And what's the actual cost of this b.s.
Maybe the cam ramp could be smoothed out, but that wouldn't help the delay in the drag starting to engage.

Other than the shift mechanisms, I tend to find game reels easier to work on - everything tends to be big and fairly obvious where it lives! With that said, a combination of enthusiasm and just enough mechanical knowledge to be dangerous can quickly result in a reel where virtually everything that could be assembled wrong, is indeed wrong.

"Everything tends to be big and fairly obvious where it lives". Yes it does. But for me, I still make too many "godda disassemble it AGAIN" errors, probably based on my inability to concentrate on more than one part or system of parts, at a time. The lever-drag spool shafts always get me; Bellevilles, springs, ball bearings and various drag parts.