Penn 113HLW to Yellowtail special conversion

[lightear]

Went through various places(ebay,craigslist,forum,bookoo) to get the right parts for a Penn 113HLW conversion that I wanted to do. A seller had blue sideplates that I wanted but was only willing to sell the whole reel with an Accurate frame as well for only $120. I had to snatch it up. In the end I had enough parts to make 2 yellowtail specials. I did encounter a few problems:

1) With the 4:1 gear upgrades, I can hear/feel some slight grinding. I'm reading up other threads and noticed that this is normal if the material was also changed to stainless steal.  So does this mean that a smooth crank is not achievable on an upgrade like this?

2) I purchased a 4:1 gear on ebay (bugsconnection) and noticed that Bryan Young's (7+1 drag system) eared washer did not fit in to the gear. Did I buy a low quality 4:1. Stock eared washers fit perfectly fine. The ears extend the washer's diameter ever so slightly to the point it won't lie flat inside the washer. So I placed the stock washers back in for now. Should I just shave the edges of the ears a bit to get it to fit in to the new gear?

I was thinking of selling one of these guys (mainly the gold one) but after putting both of them together and feeling the smoothness of the stock drag gear, i'm tempted to keep both with one at 3.25:1 and the other at 4:1. Sigh. Turning in to a reel-whore. =P

Thanks for reading!

[Keta]

Should I just shave the edges of the ears a bit to get it to fit in to the new gear?

Yes.

[Mandelstam]

Beautiful reels!

[Tightlines667]

Nice reels!
I think you should be able shave the ears on the eared washers slightly to fit, as Brian has directed on a few other occasions. 

It is my understanding the smoothness or roughness of the gears (if properly aligned & lubed) is a direct function of the quality of production tollerances.  There are differences between the various aftermarket sets.  You need them 'in hand' to know for sure, but Alan Chui's sets come highly recommended for strength and overall smoothness. 

I've got a set of those gold accuplates too, and was going to marry them to a black topless tiburon frame, I'm jealous of the gold Accuframe..wanna trade?  I just can't seem to find the time to get back to my 4 and 6/0 upgrade projects lately since everyone here is ramping up for the Ahi run..been too busy servicing 80s and 130s.

[lightear]

You need them 'in hand' to know for sure, but Alan Chui's sets come highly recommended for strength and overall smoothness.

That will have to be my next upgrade. I still haven't decided if I'm going to sell the gold reel as I originally intended so will be keeping it for now. Sorry, tightlines666!!!

Should I just shave the edges of the ears a bit to get it to fit in to the new gear?

Yes.

Thank you!

Beautiful reels!

Thank you!