Vintage Mitchell 300 Grease

[basszilla]

I had a 300 in my early teens, and I remember how easily it turned and how precise and even it felt when retrieving. The new-to-me 300 (circa 1971) that I just picked up on eBay wasn't like that. Not terrible, but it felt a little gummy and the sound of the gears seemed not quite right. This turned into my first-ever Mitchell clean and lube last night, but it seems I've made it worse. I used Penn blue grease, and now the reel feels like it's been packed with axle grease. Very stiff to turn, and even the AR clicker is muted. This reel obviously wants a different lube, but what to use? Is there anything that won't require a mail order, something like a light lithium-based white grease than might be available locally? I'm also wondering if there might be a shortcut at this point - maybe clean out the cover plate and gears, but instead of completely disassembling the body again, just add a couple drops of oil to the slide. Any advice welcome!

[foakes]

Quick Shortcut:

Remove the 4 gears, oscillation slide, slide track, A/R assembly, spool shaft --

Drop the parts into a small jar of lacquer thinner, or lighter fluid -- let set for maybe 15 minutes --

Shake carefully so as to not break the jar -- rinse off the cleaner -- should have clean, shiny parts now --

Use the cleaner on the inside of the casing to remove every bit of grease -- also inside the spool shaft barrel and groove --

Make up a mix of about 2 parts synthetic oil to 1 part Penn grease -- use this sparingly on the moving gear and slider parts -- no grease on the A/R, gear pivots, or spool shaft -- just a few drops of oil well spread --

Assemble, test for function.

These reels require very thin brass shimming washers to adjust the gears, rotor which is connected to the pinion, baffle plate, and a couple of other spots.  Attention must be paid to where these shims were before you disassembled the reel -- or just experiment with a few combinations to get it right for proper smooth gear meshing.

A really good oil for this reel, and any other reel is TSI321.  It can be used by itself with no grease.  You must send off for it.  Like many things on our site -- you will not find it locally, I do not believe.

Do not use Lithium -- and if shims are needed, just let me know.

Best,

Fred

[handi2]

Did you remove the rotor? It needs oil there. Also oil the spool shaft.

That's all we had growing up. I went thru them by the hundreds. I used them up until 1980 in saltwater only. Hundreds of Spanish Makeral were caught with my 300's.

[basszilla]

Did you remove the rotor? It needs oil there.

I used the blue Penn grease on the rotor. Is it possible that's the problem - did I use grease in places I should have used oil instead? Based on the Mitchell museum video, it looks like practically everything gets grease.

[basszilla]

Make up a mix of about 2 parts synthetic oil to 1 part Penn grease -- use this sparingly on the moving gear and slider parts -- no grease on the A/R, gear pivots, or spool shaft -- just a few drops of oil well spread --

Thanks Fred, that took care of it. It's exactly how I remember it now. This reel looks and feels so nice, I almost hate to go fishing with it. 

[mo65]

   Basszilla...you'll be amazed at the difference in feel you can get in a reel just by adjusting lube viscosity. Congrats on your first tune up! 

[foakes]

Glad it worked out for you, BZ --

Plus you gained a little experience by doing it a couple of times until you got it right and were satisfied.

Good reels...

Best,

Fred

[basszilla]

Here's another 300 that I bought, arrived today. Just want to ask a quick question.

The first photo below shows the two reels next to each other. The reel that just arrived has the cover plate removed. Is it normal for the earlier models to have a different shape to the bail like this? The first reel is circa '71; the open one is early '60s I think.

Also, when I opened the new reel for inspection, the first thing I saw was the head shim hanging out. The last three photos show this. I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's the wrong size shim. Either that, or the side I can't see is broken apart. I don't feel anything wrong with the motion of the head, this was just another case of sluggish action and gummy grease. I guess I have to expect wrong/missing parts from time to time when buying these old Mitchells. The seller had multiple reels for sale, so he might have parts. I'll contact him and see. It's all good.   

[foakes]

There are variations in bails, over the years, BZ --

The shim is distorted -- another is needed.

You should pop off the rotor to check if it is veoken or bent, and why?

But either way -- replacement is in order.

If the seller does not have any -- just let me know, and I will send you an assortment at no charge.

Best,

Fred

[bluefish69]

I mix Penn Oil & Penn Grease to thin the Grease.

Mike

[handi2]

The shim also looks too big. It may have been hitting the main gear. Ive done the same and it didn't work.

You may find 1 to 3 shims under the rotor. If you get a reel that hasn't been messed with. You will tell if you do by the blobs of peanut butter looking grease.

[basszilla]

There are variations in bails, over the years, BZ --

The shim is distorted -- another is needed.

You should pop off the rotor to check if it is veoken or bent, and why?

But either way -- replacement is in order.

If the seller does not have any -- just let me know, and I will send you an assortment at no charge.

Thanks Fred, very nice of you to offer. After looking at the seller's items again, I think it's probably a pawn shop. Not likely he will have parts. I'll try to get to this tonight, need to take the rotor off and clean all the parts so I can see what's going on. If I need the shim, I'll insist on at least reimbursing your costs. Thanks again!

 

[foakes]

Not necessary, or needed --

Only cost would be an envelope and a stamp -- just glad to help.

And someday soon, you will be in a position of opportunity and knowledge to help someone else on our site.

Best,

Fred

[basszilla]

I mix Penn Oil & Penn Grease to thin the Grease.

That's exactly what I did on the first reel, Mike. I also used a pen oiler with Teflon oil in a couple spots. Works great now, can't wait to get it on the water!

[basszilla]

OK, I got into the second reel this evening. It was a lot more work than the first. When I first opened it for inspection yesterday, I noticed the grease had a strong smell. It was odd, kind of like putty. Tonight I discovered that's the way grease smells when it's been mixed with a little water and allowed to sit in an aluminum case for months or years. In addition to dried remnants of the factory grease that had never been removed, there was a tough greenish-gray scale on some of the parts that was really difficult to scrape off. All in all, I probably spent 4-5 hours getting it cleaned and lubed.

About the distorted shim, it turned out to be the right size, and there isn't any damage to the surrounding parts. Someone must have gone in and simply bent the unsupported portion of the shim forward for some reason. It can't turn 360° like this, but I reused it so everything could be reassembled for now. I'd like to replace it eventually.

There's another issue that needs to be resolved. This reel is very noisy when cranking. In fact, the gears make so much noise, it's hard to tell whether the AR clicker is engaged. It's not a noise like metal on metal, more like when the rear differential wears out on the family Chevy. I'm 95% sure it's the pinion gears doing this, so maybe they're not meshing correctly. There are two shims under the pinion in the cover and one under the rotor. This is all the same as the first reel I bought. The gears themselves look good to my untrained eye. Any ideas?