Penn Levelwind 210

[swill88]

Servicing my new to me 210. My first conventional levelwind service.

There is existing blue grease on the worm gears and worm. Keep it this way?

Grease the ball bearings?

Going to use it trolling for salmon out of the Golden Gate on an Abyss 806 with 30# J Braid and mono backing.

What a beautiful reel... pics later.

Thanks... Steve

[RowdyW]

I would grease everything for trolling. You only need oil in the bearings & sleeve for casting distance.       Rudy

[swill88]

I would grease everything for trolling. You only need oil in the bearings & sleeve for casting distance.       Rudy

Thanks Rudy... makes all the sense in the world.

[thorhammer]

Steve, I troll those every weekend for stripers as downrigger reels. For your application they should be perfect if it is like what we did on Argo or similar. Ball bearings, 4:1 gears vs slower 209, Jiggy main gear and drags....basically 99-width levelwind 505, lol.   

[Keta]

Oil the worm gear, grease tends to colect crud and will wear out the worm and pall.  Oil it often.

[RiverAngler]

Steve. If you need anything let me know. You're not that far from me. I
d be glad to help.

Ralph

[Bill B]

I agree with Lee, grease everything but the worm and pawl, oil those and often.....jmo    Bill

[RiverAngler]

I used to grease my worm and pawl, but quit doing it because it picked up EVERYTHING. Now I just use a drop of TSI321, and it works fine.

[mo65]

   Levelwind prowess is one of those "black hole" topics...even here in the land of shared knowledge. Most folks' answer to getting good performance from a levelwind is to remove it...hee hee! I started to answer this post yesterday but decided to let more experienced members cover it. Then I realized...I'm one of the few folks here who actually likes and uses levelwinds...so here's my take...based on breaking and researching many levelwinds.
   In a purely trolling situation, greasing the system will protect parts best. Like others said, grease all parts but the worm. Since it's open it will collect dirt and debris horribly if greased. Use a light oil...and also like others said...apply often. This will flush sand and dust out. Now we come to the fun part.
    Varying the viscosity of levelwind lube can adjust spool speed better than any magging mod. Heavy grease will really throw on the brakes, slowing the spool to a crawl. On the other side of the spectrum, completely cleaning the idler gear, levelwind drive gear, bearings and worm, then applying TSI 321 will make the whole assembly sing. Almost like it wasn't even there! I usually take a "middle of the road" approach and lightly grease the gear teeth while using a drop of light oil on gear posts and that worm. Then...I'll test cast the reel...and adjust my casting control by bearing lube viscosity. I'm talking both spool bearings and levelwind bearings.

[RiverAngler]

Eggsactly, Mo. On my 200/250 series round Shimano's I use oil only on the level wind, but a very light coat of grease on the idlers. On my 320GT2, I oil the worm, the pawl, and BOTH bushings on each side. Then the idlers get a lite coat of marine grease. YMMV, but this combo seems to work out the best for me. And yes, I do cast my 320GT2 with as much as 10 ozs when sturgeon fishing, and I want to make sure I get it out there.

Ralph

[oc1]

Playing with old knuckle buster baitcasting reels, I find that the levelwind requires about an extra quarter ounce.  If the levelwind is removed the reel will throw a half-ounce jig as far as it would throw a three-quarter ounce jig with the levelwind in place.

The levelwind worm is one of the first things to get wet.  When you mix water with oil or grease and whip it into an emulsion you get a mayonnaise-like stuff that slows the reel down more than oil or grease or water alone.  Not sure why that is.
-steve

[swill88]

So much great feedback!  I'm waiting on some parts from Scott's including smooth drag washers and I will get this ready for my upcoming salmon trip.

Thanks

Steve

[thorhammer]

Steve, suggest 24-66 handle or other upgrade to maximize potential. 

J

Do you still need heat shrink?