113hn Baja Help

[joel8080]

I have 2 Baja reels for many years and I have had them apart 3/4 times and never had a problem, I took one of the reels apart and cleaned it up & lubed it and each time I put it together I would spin the handle and after the 3rd spin the dog springs would jump the dogs or the dogs would jump the springs and there was no anti reverse.
Is it possible the springs are shot or ?.

Any Ideas? as to what's wrong or what I am doing wrong?.

Joel8080

[Dominick]

I always thought that was the weak point of the Baja Special.  I haven't taken one apart in years.  One end of the spring goes in a hole and has a 90 degree angle on it, without pictures I would check the angle to make sure it will hold.  Dominick

[fsrmn]

 I had that happen to me.     The anti-reverse worked intermittently. I took it back apart and removed the grease from the dog and just gave it a drop of oil and that cured it.

[joel8080]

After playing with the reel for 2 days here's what I found, the problem is 2 fold the springs are the biggest problem the short tab that puts pressure on the dog only reaches from half way to a little better not all the way up to the top of the dog, also the dog is floating and it sits on top of the spring when it ( the dog) rises up the tab goes under the dog and you loose your reverse. I had 2 extra dogs in my spares one works ok the other is shorter and it will not hold pressure on the dog it slips under the dog.

Some one wrote in on Tani's original blog that they were going to put a washer on top of the Dogs so they could not float, if your out there how did you make out and how thick was the washer you used?.

Tight Lines

Joel8080

[handi2]

I have noticed the same on all of them I have serviced. They do "float" on the pin and the main gear is the only thing holding them in place. i think a better and stronger spring should be made to help cure this weak point. Even a spring that fit into a hole in the dogs would be nice.

At least I have never has one go backwards....Yet..!!

[joel8080]

How do you feel about a very thin washer holding the dogs down so they can not float as much?. also another thought is it posible over a period of time the springs get soft there really thin/skinny?.

Joel8080

[SoCalAngler]

Joel,

One thing I found when working on Penn star drags is once you have the dogs in place and have the main gear on with the drag washers installed and the spacing sleeve or in this case the handle side bearing on the shaft is I put on a small rubber band or O-ring to hold everything in place when I screw the bridge to the sideplate. I kept knocking off the dogs on my Baja during this process but when I put on the o-ring on to hold everything in place it was a piece of cake and once the bridge is screwed to the sideplate I remove the o-ring and continue puting everything back together.

[joel8080]

Thank you for the tip I will try it, but the problem I am having is when they (the dogs) stay in place after the reel is together after the 2nd or 3rd time I would try it the springs would release from the dogs and they would go under the dogs and the drag was gone.
Right now I have the reel together and only one of the dogs is working, when I take the stack out I can see in that the spring is released from under the dog.
I am thinking of stronger springs and longer on the dog side and or a washer on top.

Joel8080

[SoCalAngler]

Well the Baja's have been fished for what like 10-12 years now? I think if there was a problem with the dog springs we would of heard of it by now. Just make sure you have the dogs facing the correct way/opposite from one another. Here is a pic from Alan's tutorial on the Baja Special and in this pic you can see one dog in place with, for the lack of a better trem, the pointy end of the dog pointing down. The other dog that you can't see fully in the pic has the pointy end facing up. I'm sure you know this but I thought I would just point it out. Really there is no need for a washer under the gear to hold the dogs in place because the gear it's self does that.



I was having all sorts of problems getting the dogs to stay in place during reassembly until I used a o-ring to hold the everything together.  

[SoCalAngler]

Also in the pic one part of the spring, the longer part goes into a hole on the bridge plate, in this case the one on the right but the other long part of of the dog spring for the second dog rests on the outside of the bridge plate and does not go into a hole. Just make sure the springs are setup this way also.

[SoCalAngler]

Oh and one last thing when you do place one of the dog springs into the hole on the bridgeplate make sure it is not the hole where the bridge screw threads into. If you put the spring into that hole and install the bridge screw you will push the spring out of the hole. I have not opened up my Baja in a while but if I remember correctly the hole where you want to install the spring arm into is not threaded.

[joel8080]

I understand how the springs go, the thing I don't understand is why there is space between the gear and the dogs, the springs are so thin and I noticed when you pull the handle back the spring around the pin gets tight and lifts up and it gives more room for the small tab of the spring to go under the dog as at best the small tab only goes up half way on the dog, question I have used the reel a lot it,s in great shape is it possible the spring (tab) got soft and that's why it won't hold onto the gear.

Joel8080