Penn 525 Mag binding?

[Whit]

Friends:

I have an unusual problem. Recently I sidelined a Penn 525 Mag reel for routine servicing.  It had been used for surf fishing and did great, but every now and then I like to break down a reel and get it shipshape for the next tide.  Especially since I rinse off my reels every time I get done fishing on the beach.  On this one I noticed a little bearing noise so figured a dab or two of corrosionX would fix that.  When I went to reassemble it I get a binding in the mechanism: not steady (i.e. at all times) but with every rotation of the spool something is hanging up. Here's what I have done to troubleshoot:

1) The spool spins beautifully on the spool shaft.  Just holding the shaft aloft (i.e not in the reel) and spinning the spool on the shaft.
2) I have wiped the frame clean
3) The shaft SEEMS concentric - I rolled it on a marble (man made) sink top and no wiggle detected at either end.
4) The binding is less when I just put the left sideplate on without screwing it down., but becomes more pronounced whan I screw the sideplate tight
5) When I tighten down the left sideplate it starts to bind severely when I turn the handle.

Just checking visually, there seem to be no anomalies on the left sideplate.

Durndest thing.

Any thoughts appreciated! 

Warm regards,

Whit   

[jurelometer]

That graphite frame with the low crossbars is not going to provide a lot of rigidity, so tightening the sideplate screws might skew the alignment. And it could get skewed a bit from either or both sides, but you might not notice until you tighten the last sideplate.  Maybe try temporarily loosening the right sideplate and see what happens?

Check that both sideplates seat flat before any screws are tightened on either side.

Rolling the shaft on a flat surface ( like a sheet of glass) should verify that the shaft is true

Also check this thread:
https://alantani.com/index.php/topic,1272.msg4978.html#msg4978

-J

[ExcessiveAngler]

There are a few different versions of this reel, which type of 525 is it?
Or can you post a pic of it?

[alantani]

whit, i've seen this problem before.  try backing off the side plate screws, one at a time, about a quarter turn each.  somewhere in there is a screw that is too tight.  seen this before.  drove me nuts, too!!!!

[thorhammer]

Whit, where are you fishing? One of my favorite reels for OBX, was tops until I got a Fathom.

All good advice above from the experts; you might also back off the cast control knob on the head plate to see if thats creating some  tension out of true in concert with the plate screws. Also try tightening plate scrws as you would a tire- halfway down, then opposing screw, then full tighten all. I've seen this work on Penn's before.

John