Reel Repair by Alan Tani

restored this midnight blue 408 with new bail arm, line guide and spool. All those were scavenged from a 308 I had laying around.

The original bail arm had worn on the round part just prior to the stop, so that bail arm latch was far enough in to click on every spool rotation. I've never seen wear like that before..

It runs great on the bench and light loads, under load or retrieving fast it is bumpy.. there are several annoying light bumps to each turn on the handle. This makes me suspect the rotor rather than gears, either the ballbearings in the rotor, or something worn in the rotor mounting. It's fishable but the bumping is annoying.
The bearings seemed fine when I cleaned and oiled them. I looked for the replacement part 81323, mikesreelrepair has the right-hand version for 409 but not for 408.
There is a little play in the rotor once it is mounted but not any more than in my 308 which runs fine.
Any/all ideas welcomed..

Incidentally, found a new place with a good history of the 408s..
https://kawakami176.wixsite.com/408legacy/time-laps

Be happy to fix it for you, if you get stuck, Doug —-

Best, Fred

Quote from: DougK on October 18, 2026, 08:06:49 PMIt runs great on the bench and light loads, under load or retrieving fast it is bumpy.

I had a similar 408 that felt like this and upon closer inspection the main gear that engages with the pinion had some damage. I didn't think it was problematic, but then one day I hooked up with a carp and the load stripped the gear. 

Take a closer look at the main gear looking for any damage or low spots and if there's and doubt about what you're seeing post a few pictures here. 

Quote from: jtwill98 on October 19, 2026, 03:12:47 PMupon closer inspection the main gear that engages with the pinion had some damage.

thanks - that was my first thought, as some of the teeth on the main gear look a bit mangled. But the bump happens more than once per handle turn.. maybe there's some more damage I haven't spotted.

Think I might give up on this one. The amount of wear on the original bail arm and line guide suggests a long hard life, it's probably just worn out.

Quote from: DougK on October 20, 2026, 12:57:07 AM

Quote from: jtwill98 on October 19, 2026, 03:12:47 PMupon closer inspection the main gear that engages with the pinion had some damage.

thanks - that was my first thought, as some of the teeth on the main gear look a bit mangled. But the bump happens more than once per handle turn.. maybe there's some more damage I haven't spotted.

Think I might give up on this one. The amount of wear on the original bail arm and line guide suggests a long hard life, it's probably just worn out.

They're never completely worn out, they're almost always repairable one way or another. It just takes some patience to figure out exactly what part needs replacing. The only way a reel is unrepairable is if a worn out or broken part is unobtainable.   

Quote from: Midway Tommy on October 20, 2026, 06:25:50 AMIt just takes some patience to figure out exactly what part needs replacing.

problem here is, I suspect I'll end up replacing everything as it will all be worn.. and Mitchell parts are hard to find, Fred's about the only reliable source ;-)
in a previous thread the price for a new gear set is $50. At that price might as well shop for another 408..

https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=26509.0

Sure you can replace main gear and pinion and you still have to shim to get it work right . I don't work on Mitchell reel for long time but I remember have to shim it or replace with thinner one when gear worn out ,shim is punch out from brass sheet ( .005" and .010" )