Reel Repair by Alan Tani

the shimano tld 15's were the first lever drag reels that i started working on.  it seems like ages ago, but it was really just a few short years.  in that time, i've learned a tremendous amount about lever drag reels.  what were going to do is put in heavier belleville pressure washers to increase the drag range, clean out the bearings to increase freespool time and decrease the risk of corrosion, and install a greased carbon fiber drag washer.  here's the schematic....

http://fish.shimano.com/media/fishing/SAC/techdocs/en/Conventional/TLD_15_ARB_v1_m56577569830570243.pdf

here's a brand new tld 15 spooled up with 65 pound braid.



remove the preprogram dial (key #9), the lever shaft body (key #11) and "O" ring (key #10), and drag control lever (key #12).  Note that there is no spring.



remove the lever quadrant (key #191) and screws (key #19, 20 and 21).



there are 5 side plate bolts (key #24) to remove.



separate out the frame, spool and side plate.



add a little grease to the click pawl (key # 231) and click spring (key #57)>



install the rod clamp.  grease the bolts first.



remove the cooling shield (key #186), drag plate assembly and drag washer (key #68).



remove the click gear (key #48), screws (key #49) and cross pin B (key # 50).



here's the main shaft (key #200) with all washers, springs and bearings in place.



and here it is disassembled.



i've cleaned out and relubed the bearings (key #42 and 170) with corrosion x.  if you have an older reel with shielded bearings, take the time now to pry out the shields and throw them away. 



i've reassembled the left side of the main shaft using the heavier pre-load springs (belleville's) from the shimano tld 20/30 two speed, part #TT-0040A.  to accomodate the extra width of the new belleville washers, i've removed one of the thrust washers on the end, spacer A (key #47). 



install the click gear (key #48) and screws (key #49).



grease the inside of the spool and new carbon fiber drag washer.  you have your choice of either the penn #6-25 or the avet jx drag washer. 



and remove all the excess grease.



install the bearings (key #170) and pressure release spring (key #202), the drag plate assembly and cooling shield (key #186).




install cross pin B (key #50).



slide the spool assembly back into the frame.  now, this is important.  if the spool does not slide back and forth easily inside the frame, pull the spool out again and rotate the main shaft (key #100) 180 degrees and slide it back in.  this works!



install the pinion gear (key #198) and set the spool and frame assembly aside.



here's a shot of the right main side plate bearing.  we need to pull this out and pack it with heavy grease. 



remove the handle lock (key #2) and screw (key #1).



remove the handle nut (key #3) and handle (key #206).



remove the gear shaft shield (key #5) and thrust washer (key #6), and line everything up.



let the main gear (key #197) drop straight out.



pull the right main side plate bearing (key #28) and pack it with grease.





install the bearing, lube and install the main gear.



push the dog (key #26) back until the main gear drops into position.



install the gear shaft thrust washer (key #6) and gear shaft shield (key #5).



install the handle (key #206) and handle nut (key #3).



install the handle lock (key #2) and screw (key #1).



install the right side plate assembly and screws (key #24).



install the lever quadrant (key #191) and screws (key #19, 20, and 21).



install the drag control lever (key #12) in the free position.



install the lever shaft body (key #11) and add a little grease.



install the pre-program dial (key #9) and you're done! 



these modifications accomplish several things.  first, it eliminates the risk of drag failure from the canvas drag that comes stock in this reel and all the other single speed shimano lever drag reels.  a sticky drag washer is the leading cause of structural damage to any reel.  second, cleaning out the bearings will improve freespool and the castability of this reel, as well as decrease the risk of corrosion if the bearings have shields.  open bearings are now found in all shimano reels for a good reason.  and lastly, the increased drag range means that this reels can be loaded with 65 pound spectra and topshots of 30, 40 or 50# mono.  all this in a 3/0 sized package!  this reel benched out a 15 pounds of drag at strike before loss of free spool, and had a freespool time of 35 seconds at that 15 pound strike setting.

QuoteThe question I have is on my TLD 15. Decided to leave the bellevilles/spacers alone for now (glad I did-fewer variables to troubleshoot my problem). Degreased and oiled the 2 spool and 1 drag plate bearings (they were open).  Changed the drag washer to greased Carbontex. The only other thing I did was some 1200 grit polishing on the inside of the pinion gear and the spool shaft where the pinion rides - saw that on a thread on Bloody Decks you were part of. The drag feels great and the freespool is up to 35-40 seconds with 10# strike setting. The issue is I noticed when checking freespool that tilting the reel 45* to the right (like a right-handed caster would) causes the spool to stop in seconds (even when it's hauling #### at the start).  Tilting to the left does nothing (might even help a little).  I've got a TLD 20 single-speed that's never been apart, and tilting it left or right during freespool has no effect on it. I've used your site and the drawing to check my reassembly 3 times. Have you ever heard of this?  Any suggestions? Should I be concerned?

yeah, this "tilting to the right and stopping" business is found in any reel with a bearing sleeve that is cut too long.  the "c-clip" on the spool shaft that sits next to the right spool bearing functions as a bearing sleeve and it is "too long."  to fix it, you either need to shim the bearing cup or remove the c-clip and cut a bearing sleeve to fit.  as for the pinion gear, don't bother polishing it.  it actually does not affect freespool.  alan

Hello, I bought some preloaded springs (TT-0040A) from Mike's Reel Repair and the inside diameter of the preloaded springs is much larger than the stock preloaded springs.  There is a lot of space between the preloaded springs and the spool shaft and I'm not getting great results.   Is it possible that they sent me the wrong springs or have I done something else wrong?

Thanks,
Eric

the inside and outside diameters should be the same.  the tt 40a's should be thicker and that is the only difference.  you may have the wrong ones.  they are in short supply right now.  i am having an order of 300 made up but it will be another month. 

Quote from: alantani on February 24, 2009, 04:09:51 PM

QuoteThe question I have is on my TLD 15. Decided to leave the bellevilles/spacers alone for now (glad I did-fewer variables to troubleshoot my problem). Degreased and oiled the 2 spool and 1 drag plate bearings (they were open).  Changed the drag washer to greased Carbontex. The only other thing I did was some 1200 grit polishing on the inside of the pinion gear and the spool shaft where the pinion rides - saw that on a thread on Bloody Decks you were part of. The drag feels great and the freespool is up to 35-40 seconds with 10# strike setting. The issue is I noticed when checking freespool that tilting the reel 45* to the right (like a right-handed caster would) causes the spool to stop in seconds (even when it's hauling #### at the start).  Tilting to the left does nothing (might even help a little).  I've got a TLD 20 single-speed that's never been apart, and tilting it left or right during freespool has no effect on it. I've used your site and the drawing to check my reassembly 3 times. Have you ever heard of this?  Any suggestions? Should I be concerned?

yeah, this "tilting to the right and stopping" business is found in any reel with a bearing sleeve that is cut too long.  the "c-clip" on the spool shaft that sits next to the right spool bearing functions as a bearing sleeve and it is "too long."  to fix it, you either need to shim the bearing cup or remove the c-clip and cut a bearing sleeve to fit.  as for the pinion gear, don't bother polishing it.  it actually does not affect freespool.  alan

I have a TLD 15 Triton that has never been taken apart that has the "tilting to the right and stopping" problem.  It worked fine for about 1 1/2 to 2 years, and now it has this issue.  Any idea what I should do to fix it?

The guy that got the preload springs that had too big a hole in them isn't the only one that has had that happen too. I ordered in Dallas and got the bigger ones. Ordered again and got the correct ones. I say "ordered" but actually went to the Shimano distributor here and picked them up.

I noticed that the spool has a little bit of left and right play when inserting it into the frame.  I think if I push it all the way one direction then it doesn't spin as long when tilted to that direction.  I couldn't seem to find a good middle ground, and it seemed that it would be easy for it to get adjusted either direction by accident.  Also, when I tilt it to the right and it's in free spool, and I turn the crank, it's grabbing the spool just enough to turn the spool.  Maybe there needs to be an extra washer in there?  Upon breaking the reel down I noticed that I was missing #36 "Bearing Thrust Washer".  Is this something I can get from a hardware store, or do I have to go to a service center?

Thanks for your time
JG

no, it needs a bearing sleeve.  http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=138.0

Quote from: alantani on April 17, 2011, 11:53:13 PM
no, it needs a bearing sleeve.  http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=138.0

Ok, thanks for the info, is there a reason why it would work fine for a year or so and then now needs a bearing sleeve?  Just corrosion of parts?

Alright, just tested my newer TLD 15, I guess it's 8-10 months old.  It's not been serviced but it too has a slower free spool when tilted to the right, reeling while in free spool when tilted to the right also turns the spool very slightly.  I guess this is just a known thing with TLDs.

Also, is the tilting to the right problem just an aesthetics thing or does it really hinder the reel in a fish battle?  Thanks for the help, last question 

the "tilting" issue was there from the beginning. when you're on a fish, it will not be a problem. 

I was looking at the website for shimano, under TLD 15 the drag they have listed is " titanium fiber washer", is this the same "felt" washer everyone speaks of replacing with the carbonmatrix drags? THanks.

yes, the felt washer that you describe is actually canvas.  shimano calls it titanium and i do not know why. 

Hello Alan,

Have you received the shipment of correct TT40A's? I just received a shipment from back east, and they are the wrong ones. I rather just order from you then deal with shipping them back and waiting another 2 weeks.

got 'em!  and they're only 25 cents each.  i just dropped 6 in the mail to you.  alan

gday. i rebuilt my tld15 a year ago with your excellent tutorial and it worked well for a bit but eventually i lost freespool again.
i have found if i pull the drag lever into the freespool position and give the handle a number of winds though the freespool improves? any idea why that could be?