TUTORIAL: Penn 16VSX Maintenance

[AlohaDan]

I had read Alan's advice about being sure to grease any reel thats brand new to ensure proper operation and to avoid future problems. Due to one thing and the other I didn't get around to servicing my new 16 VSX until it had been in use for six months.  I was amazed waiting this short a time how many parts were on the verge of freezing up. Here's my effort to get the reel up to par.

Alan has already done the 50 VSX . I pegged off of him:

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=232.0

Here is the 16. Looks just like it's larger brother.



Be sure to down load the newer schematic from penn parts. The one furnished with the reel was out of date.

https://www.mysticparts.com/PennParts/International.aspx#InternationalVSX (Two different versions, make sure to identify your reel first! ~MizMo)

I followed the penn parts schematic along with Alan's 50 photos. so started with left side plate  assembly

However only three side plate screws versus 5 for the 50



Side plate removed, and spool assembly comes out.



The reel appears to be well greased. We will see otherwise.



Collecting the drag washers.There are also some almost invisible shims #8a  8a-3000 see later shots downstream.



Three right side plate screws removed and all four major components separated.



Holding the shift housing (key #110B) with the special wrench #168-30VS. Removing the shift button retaining ring was difficult. Salt? a concoction of salt away and fresh water rinse followed by wd40 helped. Was finally able to remove retaining ring and button. My hands aren't the strongest.



Found out after the fact. DO NOT try to turn the wrench. Use it to hold the shift housing  in place, then turn the shift button retaining ring counterclockwise. Turning the wrench versus the ring may damage #23-30VS Handle Screw which can effect shifting. See MysticParts :

https://scottsbt.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204433145-International-VS-or-GLD-Reel-Not-Shifting-

Anyway here's the shift button and the retaining ring both removed.



Removing the shifter retaining plate and shifter catch holder assembly in order is the same as the 50as is the retaining ring key # 195a, and shift housing base (key# 110B) Please excuse novice here missing some photos, and ring handle locking plate(#110A). More missed photos, but you can make them out in the sequence photo below where all handle parts lined up



But we better go back and show removal of handle screw key



The reason for being sure to show it, is the little plastic piece adhering (due to grease I think) to the bottom part of it. Appears to be some type of spacer which can easily be lost or overlooked. Did not show in schematic unless it is #172A end piece of gear assembly.. Looks like this:



Remove the handle (#24A) and shield (#50)

Then the retaining ring (#195):



And gear assembly pops out.



The right side plate bearing beckons



With these large bearings I can generally get the retaining ring and  bearing shield off. It was packed pretty good with grease, so I didn't have much to add.



I added some grease at a few bare spots, replaced retaining ring and shield, then re-installed bearing and inserted gear assembly.



Replaced retaining ring. In hindsight I think you can see room for the spacer #172 described previously.


 
Replaced handle shield (#50)



Then handle



Next handle screw(#23) and spacer. Note what appears to be some rings at top of photo. They are shims. More on these later.



Per Allan's instructions with the 50 get the handle screw lined up with the hole in the handle arm and the locking plate drops in. Note my luck. I did not damage the wings of the handle screw during it's removal despite not see pennreel.com's warning.



The shift housing key with some grease is next.



Small retaining ring (#195A) is next.



Then the catch assembly (#170)


 
The retaining plate is next ((#133)



The shift button (#172)



And the retaining ring where you can see I greased the threads so as not to have a future removal problem.



Onward to the frame. Allan in his description of the 50 advocates grease in the stand screw holes. DO IT! I had problems with them similar to the retaining ring. One was so corroded  I almost stripped the screw head slot. Some repeated Salt Away treatments with WD40, then finally a brake clean squirt followed by some Xtreme Reel+ appled concurrently with a back vibrator got it so I could get it out.

I fish both kayak and power boat so this portion of the reel is really exposed. Protect it. I did not show grease application to frame screw holes, but it was part of following Allan's 50. Anything with threads needs grease.




Next the spool assembly (#29L). It appears to be greased. Remove the screw (#67A) and washer (#67)



The bearing shaft drops out



Rotate the lock pin key  90 degrees.



I put the special wrench to the drag cover and couldn't get it to budge. Had to be salt in the screw threads? Got some leverage with a vice grip.



Finally got her off. Some grease evident, but more needed.



Note the metal drag washer which is easily removed. Unlike the 50 there are no anchoring screws to take out. Remove it and the the bearing spring (#41).






The inner drive plate(#117A) comes out easily as does the bearing (#20) and spool sleeve #13B





The two shims (#154A) that fit between the bearing (#20) and inner drive plate (#117A) on the original schematic are NOT on the revised edition. Nor did I find any there.The original also states "If required". How would you determine that   inlight of the revision omitting them?

I could not for this bearing find any retaining ring for the shield. So I assumed it was pressed in. Again some questions at the end for Alan if I removed the shield and used the bearing opened.

Next remove the four screws (#101) from the rachet plate (#81)





We had a difficult time removing the bearing (#20) so left it pending answers to the shield question.

The bearing from the left side plate assembly was then removed. As with the right bearing I was able to remove the retaining ring and shield. BUT look at the lack of grease in the bearing. A thread of grease- hardly a drop-- well....  after cleaning out what little remained, I packed it and closed up the shield.




Cal's grease went on the inner and outer drag plates



We wiped off the excess with a rag.

For some reason the camera battery gave out. so again I didn't get a sequence when buttoning up the spool assembly.




Picking up some leftovers. Remember the shims (#8A- revised schematic? They fit on the pinion gear shaft after the disk clutch springs (#18). Here is how I placed them before trying to thread the spool assembly back into the right side plate. They arn't centered yet so you can all three and "X"



If you look real close they fit inside another ring unidentified in the schematic. I didn't know what this X fitting was, but when playing around with it and the shims their fit seemed to be logical. If you look at the below very closely just above the spool sleeve you will see (kind of hard) the three shims and the ring X I fit them in.




I lined the clutch spring assembly for medium  (())

Getting the spool assembly into the right plate assembly was tricky, but not that hard. The hard part was --- so I quote Alan's great tip from the 50 in answer to a 30 question

"make sure that everything aligns properly, push the lever to the free position.  then turn the preset knob counterclockwise until it is backed off all the way.  at the the same time, you must put downward pressure on the right main side plate bearing.  as you turn the preset knob, you should feel the bearing sink down lower into the right main side plate.  if the bearing is seated properly, then the preset screw (key #143) is properly seated as well.  sometimes it is not.  if that is the case, continue to turn the preset knob (key #124) until the preset screw is proper seated into it. "

I got everything to work Ok. Was able to set strike drag (~17-18 lbs for 60# test) with a scale.

But the reel doesn't free spool that easily anymore. About 1-1.5 lbs of drag with lever in free position. That has it's advantages keeping those free spins from building up a small nest. OTOH unless the lure or bait is heavy I have to manually strip line to get it out. Is it because I set the clutch spring assembly to medium versus soft. Any suggestions?

Also Alan how is your "leave bearing shield off the spool bearings" working with XTreme? Torn between using that setup and buying one of your grease bearing packers which it looks like I would need for the side plate bearings anyway.:

I'll try to do a better job next time. Gotta figure a way to set up the camera so I have both hands free.

Aloha

Dan

"Edited as per Moderators to correct Scott's Bait & Tackle over to their new store name Mystic Reel Parts / www.mysticparts.com"

[Bryan Young]

Aloha Dan,

Mahalo for the write up and tips. 

I too am trying to figure out the camera while having 2 hands free as well.  My wife wants me to get her a new camera because hers smells of grease and corrosionX.  I just tell her that her camera is protected.  She didn't buy that excuse.

Bryan

[Irish Jigger]

Great tutorial Aloha Dan,thank's for sharing.

[alantani]

these rebuild posts are alot of work, aren't they!

[Bryan Young]

I would agree.  I seem to miss taking pics of somethiing or another and pics are blurry, and have to retake pics.  It's a learning process and a good one at that.

[Norcal Pescador]

these rebuild posts are alot of work, aren't they!

Are the Penn international reels in any given series (vsx/vsw, trq, gld, etc.) serviced the same way generally no matter what size they are? I'm looking at tutorials and wondered about a torque 100 compared to a torque 200 or 300, and a vsx 16 compared to a vsx 20 or 30; that sort of thing.

Thanks.
Rob 

[Bub B.]

I think most of the reels are pretty similar. And you should service them the same. 

[tuna loco]

Thanks for the 16 VSX tutorial Dan. I am really good at taking stuff apart...But not so good at getting them back together. That I why Alan is so valuable.

Harold

[kamuwela]

rob  the vs series are almost identical except for single drag on smaller reels and dual drags on the 80's and 130's. most parts dont interchange due to size differences but other then little things like that, they are all the same.
                                                                 aloha
                                                                  kamu

[sebekk]

thanks for good tutorial alohadan...
pretty good for my vsx reel servicing.
still try to increase my confidence to self sevicing...

[arima]

I like reel frame bars on top (a place to grip the reel) and wondered if a 16vs frames will fit on a 16 VSX ?

Thanks

[alantani]

i just check and the side plates are the same, so it should fit. 

[jonathan.han]

Just finished a nice stack of reels for Bayside Marine in Santa Cruz. I saved a 30VSX for last and found that the drag cover was stuck really bad. Now, I tried everything I could except for looking for a strap wrench to hold the spool because I didn't want to trash the new IGFA Momoi that was on it. F

Finally, I had to use vise-grips on the supplied Penn wrench/tool rotated 90 degrees from the picture supplied by alohadan locking/mating into the open end wrench side of the tool. The spool was wrapped in a shop rag with a few layers of cotton to grip the spool in Alan's bench vise. Had to soak the threads in a little TSI 301 beforehand. Some of these are on tight esp. if the lock pin is "He-Manned" a whole third of a turn to the next lock position. I've worked on more than a few dozen of these and never had to apply so much torque to unscrew the drag cover. Be careful in ensuring the vise has a solid grip of the spool before applying torque. it can slip out of the cotton if you don't secure it before trying to unscrew.

Clearly, I hated this reel today. Also, found one spool bearing locked up and the other intermittently rotating. Found a nice pile of salt crystal next to the lock pin as well. I was impressed by the amount of neglect this particular reel received. Hoping nobody runs into this situation, but these steps should make it a little easier if you should.

[fishhead69]

I have one of these reels I am working on and the spool does not turn when you put the reel in gear pushing the lever drag up from the free spool position. What is the problem? It worked before the customer had new Spectre put on it by somebody else. Did they damage the reel when they put the new Spectre on it?

[mizmo67]

Morning!

I have one of these reels I am working on and the spool does not turn when you put the reel in gear pushing the lever drag up from the free spool position. What is the problem? It worked before the customer had new Spectre put on it by somebody else. Did they damage the reel when they put the new Spectre on it?

Triplicate posting of question...see reply in other thread:
http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=15681.0