Abu 7000C Syncro from BigT!!!!!!!!!

[alantani]

tony, thanks a million!

A fishing buddy recently gave me a couple of reels he wanted serviced. One was an ABU 5600EXT that I had to bring back from the brink with some brute force to remove rusted-on bearings, a lot of cleaning and replacement parts. 

The other was this unusual and very likeable ABU 7000C Syncro. The Syncro has an unusual drag feature which means that by turning the handle backwards a quarter turn when the spool is under load (like when you're fighting a fish), the drag is reduced by up to 75%. Full drag can then be reengaged by turning the handle forward again. An interesting idea for a star drag, if an angry fish plays up near the boat or shore and you want to back off a bit all of a sudden.

This particular reel was in pretty good condition, despite almost no maintenance through its life... testament to how tough the Swedish made ABUs are. All it needed were a few bits and bobs and a bit of a clean up.


Here's the link to the schematics...

http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/displayimage.php?album=27&pos=602

and here's the reel



Back out the 3 right side plate assembly retaining screws (ref #5326) and remove the side plate assembly... put it aside for later





Be careful not to lose the brake blocks (ref #1881)... they're just loose on the brake block shafts and just fall off if you don't watch it.



This reel only had 2 of the 4 brake blocks. I'm guessing at some point the other 2 must have been removed to reduce the cast control and add distance to casts. Upon closer inspection, one of the brake blocks was badly damaged... I've never seen this before. No matter, we can fix that later.



Slip out the spool and you can see into the left side plate, which is where we want to go next.





Back out the left side plate screws (ref #199) and remove the left side plate assembly.





Servicing the level-wind starts with rotating out the retaining clip (ref #5178)



Unscrew and remove the pawl cover (ref #5177) and put aside the line guide pawl (ref #5176).





The worm shaft (ref #6912) will then slip straight out. The worm shaft cover and bushing (ref #2497) can also be slipped out of the frame and put aside for cleaning with the line guide (ref #6912)





They cleaned up nicely...



Remove the rod clamp and bolts (ref #975147) if it's fitted to your 7000 then give the reel's frame (ref #6900) a good clean up. A bit of grease under the rod clamp fittings before reassembly will help prevent corrosion.





It's worthwhile using a paintbrush or old toothbrush to apply a film of grease to the faces of the reel frame usually hidden inside the side plates. Another good corrosion preventer.



Now the level-wind can be reassembled, starting by giving all the parts a coat of oil (I always oil level-winds that move with the spool in freespool... grease will cut down casting distance). I used ReelX applied with oily fingers as well as oil soaked cotton buds and pipe cleaners. This thin coat is good for some protection as well as lubrication.







Reassemble the level-wind. A few drops of oil on the pawl before returning the cover... and a couple in the grooves of the worm shaft will keep things running smoothly. Give the gear a turn to make sure it all runs properly and to evenly distribute a fine coat of oil.





Lets move on to the left side plate...



Start by removing the idler gear (ref #19754). It attaches to the shaft via 2 clips molded as part of the gear... pull them back gently and the gear will slip off.



Pull the bearing by removing the cap and retaining spring. You can see the rust on this bearing... when I pulled the shields there was a little rust inside too so into the bin...







The bearings are 3x10x4mm. A new set of ABEC5 bearings from Smooth Drag should do nicely. I pulled the shields, cleaned them with carby cleaner and compressed air, then lubed them with ReelX before reinstalling the shields (this reel sees the beach or I would have left off the shields)... niiiiiiice.



The bearing recess and inside the cap (including the copper shims ref# 5115) were cleaned out and given a film of ReelX with a soaked cotton bud, before the new bearing was installed.



There was some visible corrosion and rust inside the left side plate. Preventing this is where a film of grease on hidden metal surfaces comes in handy.



A bead of grease can be applied (I used Lightning Lube - Reel Power) to the teeth of the idler gear (ref #19754) before reinstalling... you don't need heaps, just press it into the teeth and then the turning gears will evenly distribute it.



After a protective film of grease is painted on the inside of the side plate, the idler gear can be reinstalled and a drop of oil applied to the shaft.



Reinstall the left side plate on the reel frame.



And move on to the right side plate. This is where the 7000C Syncro starts to look a little different... the handle is inside the drag star. Begin by removing the handle nut cap (ref #19739)... it can be easily prized off with just your fingers



There's a brass screw (ref #19687) and its o-ring that must be removed, which acts as a shield for the Syncro drag system



followed by an e-clip (ref #4490) and washer (ref #19686)





The drag star (ref #20066) can now be removed.



Underneath the drag star are 3 belleville washers that can be removed.



Before removing the handle (ref #20061)



Back out the 2 screws (ref #246) securing the right side plate cover and lift it off revealing the base plate.





It all looks pretty good in here other than a bit of grunge and some minor rust on the top drag plate, which in this reel as part of the Syncro system, isn't stainless steel.



So lift off the main gear assembly being very careful with the anti-reverse dog (ref #13372). It should just lift off with the gear which is ok.



Remove the drag washers... they're carbon washers in this reel but you can see that some hard fishing had 'polished' them. A new set of Carbontex washers is needed.







Clean up the main drive gear (ref #6947), drive shaft (ref #20071) and metal drag washers.

Making sure not to forget the washer underneath the main drive gear, give the new Carbontex a coat of drag grease and reassemble the drag (any excess grease will squeeze out under pressure). Give that top drag plate a film of grease for protection too.





Something new I'm doing is polishing the inside of pinion gears, along with the corresponding spool shaft. With the tight tolerances it can increase freespool time and therefore casting distance.





Now here's something else that's unusual in this ABU. Notice the profile of the pinion gear (ref #6940) where it engages the spool. It's free to move in one direction still when engaged! If you wind this reel hard and suddenly stop winding, the spool will continue to spin for a few revolutions while making a clicking sound as the pinion moves up and down against the yoke spring (ref #9741).

It can't happen unless there's no pressure on the spool so I can only imagine its a feature designed to help you pick up a bit of extra slack line... if anyone knows, fill me in.



With the polished pinion gear cleaned and reinstalled, apply a film of grease to the underside of the gear on the drive shaft (ref #20071) and add some grease to the main gear before reinstalling.









Pull the bearing (3x10x4mm) from the right side plate cover and if it's damaged like this one, replace it.



A film of grease inside the side plate cover and it can go back on (there was a bit of rust on this side too... just goes to show why preventative maintenance is so important).





Grease on the handle, bellevilles, washers and screw as you reassemble will help protect all these parts too...











Now, remember that damaged brake block... one block by itself is useless (opposing pairs are needed to balance the spool). I didn't have any the same on hand so I replaced them with a set of 4 smaller spare blocks from another ABU. Being lighter, they don't offer as much cast control individually but the 4 smaller blocks should be about the same as the 2 larger blocks they replaced.



Reinstall the right side plate assembly...



And my buddy's reel spins like a dream...




A couple of final comments about this reel. I want one 
It's a unique design but more importantly after ages with little or no maintenance, a combination of good engineering, good materials, seals and toughness have allowed this reel to keep soldiering on.

An extra note... interestingly, my buddy's 5600 EXT with the stuffed bearings was made in Korea. Given that it's not an old reel, I'm reserving the right to be a bit suspect about the quality of bearings and components that go into the reels made outside Sweden... even if that's where they're designed 



Cheers, BigT

[Ken_D]

...oops.