Reel Repair by Alan Tani

I am working on some super rusty and crusty Calcutta 400s reels all the stock metal caged bearings are rusted up looking at rubber seal bearings over the stock metal any thoughts on this switch?

That was discussed ad nauseam here.  But, I don't know how to find the info again.  I would vote neither rubber seals nor metallic shields.  Leave them open so they are easy to clean.

Thanks for the reply I am not going with the open bearings they were all rusted and one bearing blew up I have never seen this in a reel. These Calcutta 400's and Tranx 400 are a mess I couldn't get the pinion out of the bearing and clutch cam retainer everything welded together from salt they have been soaking in PB Blaster for 14hrs!

It probably sounds like Steve is talking crazy talk. "But they're called sealed bearings, so it must be sealed."

Those seals are more of a figure of speech than an actual seal. It's really hard to seal water out. It's easy to trap water in. What you describe can absolutely also happen to sealed bearings just as quickly.