Brand new Okuma Makaira reel seet screws corroded?

[Keta]

So just a little drop on the screw base will do it? wick effect will cause the oil to though the threads?

Grease works better, take out and grease one screw out at a time.

[alantani]

even if you can't field strip a big lever drag, you can work a screwdriver.  there is still something that you should do.  i can't think of a single reel where the removal of one screw disables the reel.  i'd recommend removing every visible screw, one at a time.  back out the screw, grease it, put it back, tighten it down a little, and then move on the to next.  you should never have more than one screw out at a time.  if you can't remove it by hand because it's too corroded, then add a little corrosion x around the top of the head if the screw and consider sending it in at some point. 

you should be able to do this, one screw at a time, for any reel.  the one exception is the screws that hold on the reel seats (bases) for the small okuma reels.  they use small fine thread metric machine screws held in with loctite.  it's really easy to snap these off.  for the small okuma reels, just add corrosion x or grease around the head of the screw and call it done. 

for the rest of the reel, manually add corrosion x with a dropper bottle to the corners and creases where corrosion happens, then wipe it down.  alternatively, tape the line and spray the outside of the reel with aerosol corrosion and then wipe it down to remove the excess. 

you have plenty of time, but spring will be here before you know it.  ping me if there are any questions!  alan

[Rivverrat]

I've had this issue  with one of my own Andros reels & four others I worked on. On some, based on what I was seeing it caused me to question  whether or not the lock tite was causing an issue with corrosion. My procedure until Okuma finds a fix is installing helicoils & greasing the screws. TS1 is as Brian stated a very good corrosion inhibitor... Jeff

[steelfish]

...............then replace them just slightly marine greased to prevent corrosion -- and more importantly, to be able to remove them for restoration and service down the road.
Fred

hmm per Alantani post on another thread saying the makaira model SEa didnt needed pre-service, I never did one to my mk-15Sea, but now that you found that on yours, I better take the reel seat screws out and grease them with yamaha grease just to be sure they can be removed down the road.

well I was working on another reel and before going to bed I remembered this pending on my check list (with my personal reels) so, I took my mak15 to check for the reel seat screws.
good thing I was able to take all of them with some effort, as you can see there was a bit of grease on the screw threads the end of the screw was dry and with some whity dust, I dont know if this is somekind of glue or galvanic corrosion (alum and steel), I greased them one by one with plenty of Yamaha grease and crossed that line item from my check list.

[Rivverrat]

Alex, you've spooled that Mak up with some rope  

[Rivverrat]

And another one. Not my reel but I know it's never seen saltwater

[Rivverrat]

Sure looks like corrosion. But I'm not so sure. Looks just the same as the others this happened with.  
To be honest I've not been comfortable never checking these screws to see if this issue is present & if so  taking care of it... Jeff

[Rivverrat]

Thought I would add there was no pitting of the aluminum. It was just a white powder substance... Jeff

[Rivverrat]

If your confident & will be keeping the reel for long. I believe it's worth the effort. A long day or two soak in penetrating oil. Freeze then heat, repeatedly if needed. Doing this prior to any attempt to loosen the screws is most times of benefit... Jeff

[jurelometer]

In order for galvanic corrosion to occur, there has to be a cathode (stainless steel in this case), anode (aluminum in the case),  and an electrolyte solution.   The electrolyte  we are familiar with  is saltwater,  but in addition to various salt solutions,  acids and alkalines in solution will work as well.   Acids are used in the anodizing process and to passivate stainless steel parts.  Cleaners and degreasers can contain acids or alkalines.   We are all familiar with acid and alkaline batteries.    Same chemical process.   

These chemicals are probably used on the factory floor with some intentionally applied to (and hopefully removed from) reel parts.   If these chemicals  get into the places where the dissimilar metals contact,  I would think that the galvanic process could  start before the reel ever saw saltwater.   

I slept through chemistry, so I am having trouble figuring out the quantity and concentration of the the various electrolytes needed to cause visible corrosion.    Even though seawater can do this,  I suspect that the concentration of salt in solution gets pretty high due  to evaporation.

Depending on the quantities required to cause significant galvanic reaction,  it  might make sense to pay attention to cleaners used during maintenance to avoid accidentally introducing an electrolyte.   Any real chemists out there that care to comment?

[Rivverrat]

jurelometer,  As usual a good post. Please keep in mind that I'm not saying for sure this is corrosion.....I'm just not sure. It very well could be the thread lock Lock Tite doing it's job. Also I've yet to see any physical pitting or erosion in the aluminum in cases I've had with my Okuma reels & those of others... Jeff

[SoCalAngler]

The worst thing a reel manufacturer could do is to try pinching pennies on quality of screws. Anyway, i am gonna oil all my screws once a month. Do you think that is enough considering i fish saltwater 1-2 times a week? Or should i oil them after every session?

So just a little drop on the screw base will do it? wick effect will cause the oil to though the threads?

I have used 3 different methods for my reel bases and reel clamp screws, TSI321 like Bryan, CorrosionX and grease on different reels. All seem to work about the same. But, there were applied after the screws were removed

Now breaking a screw when taking it out of a new reel out is something the manufacture needs to address.

The only head of a screw I have ever buggered up was due to locktight.

[theswimmer]

This also could be anti gall solution used by the factory during the assembly process.
Not an electrolyte as far as I know but has that white powdery look after it dries.

Best
JT

[steelfish]

This also could be anti gall solution used by the factory during the assembly process.
Not an electrolyte as far as I know but has that white powdery look after it dries.

Best
JT

if you see my pics (4 posts above) that looks exactly like you described, my thoughs were it was a kind of glue.
now its all greased.

[theswimmer]

This also could be anti gall solution used by the factory during the assembly process.
Not an electrolyte as far as I know but has that white powdery look after it dries.

Best
JT

if you see my pics (4 posts above) that looks exactly like you described, my thoughs were it was a kind of glue.
now its all greased.









This kind of stuff is very hard to track down.
We had all types of dissimilar metal to metal contact on the race boats.
Boats range from 1/4 mile drag boats to big offshore boats with multiple engines.
The gall solution was used to stop assembly problems because we were always using high speed air tools to put things together.
Most galvanic or corrosion problems were noted after a significant passage of time.

Best
JT