Abu 7000 C4 lever drag

Started by jeff smith, November 07, 2018, 05:47:31 PM

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jeff smith

Hi guys ,
Just wondering what you people on your side of the pond think of this reel. Here in the UK , it was never very popular and often slated for being unreliable and badly built although, nobody has ever been able to give me any sound reasoning as to why this is . I've recently acquired a pair of brand new examples which I've completely stripped and greased and intend to give a good trial . Any thoughts/ experiences?

alantani

if i recall correctly, the reel had cork drag washers.  they never stayed smooth. 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

jeff smith

I've had a peep inside and the drag washer looks like a composite material. It's definitely not a woven carbon. Mmmm, we'll see how they fish then maybe consider acarbontex replacement.

alantani

the problem will be milling down the drag pressure plate to an exact thickness.  when you glue on the carbon fiber, the thickness has to be the same.  that is the hard part. 
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Robert Janssen

I have done this. No problem at all. Didn't even give it a second thought. I just used a new drag material similar in thickness.

I don't know why these reels weren't much of a success. They are the same internally as any other pull drag TLD clone. Personally for me, i hated the plastic drag lever. It just cheapified the whole thing. Beyond that, i'm sure they are just fine.

You might like to make a freespool sleeve for it. In fact i encourage doing so.

.


drumbum

I have two of these reels.  Simple design in a castable leverdrag.

To tame mine, I lubed the 4 spool bearings with Rocket liquid grease and 4 medium(clean/dry) fiber blocks.

Loaded with 65# PP.

jeff smith

Quote from: alantani on November 07, 2018, 07:03:47 PM
the problem will be milling down the drag pressure plate to an exact thickness.  when you glue on the carbon fiber, the thickness has to be the same.  that is the hard part. 
If I can match the thickness of the original, can a carbon drag washer be a loose fit like the original?

jeff smith

#7
Quote from: Robert Janssen on November 07, 2018, 08:23:14 PM
I have done this. No problem at all. Didn't even give it a second thought. I just used a new drag material similar in thickness.

I don't know why these reels weren't much of a success. They are the same internally as any other pull drag TLD clone. Personally for me, i hated the plastic drag lever. It just cheapified the whole thing. Beyond that, i'm sure they are just fine.

You might like to make a freespool sleeve for it. In fact

.


Forgive my ignorance but,what is a freespool sleeve?

Robert Janssen

A freespool sleeve is a thin metal tube that fits rather precisely between the bearings in the spool, so as to allow a much improved ability of the spool to spin freely. However, having said that, it is perhaps no great interest of yours to have super-duper castability anyway.
In any case, you can find a great deal more info by doing a few searches here.

Regarding the drag washer, yes-- just replicate the existant drag washer as closely as possible and all will be well.

I thinn Alan is maybe thinking of Abu 6600LD, which was another animal entirely that did use glued cork drags.

.

Gfish

Jeff, the freespool sleeve worked well on the Shimano TLD's. Tilting the TLD to the right caused a free spool friction loss when casting, without it(stock). Getting the length right was the difficult part.
Can you post pictures of your reel, especially when it's opened up?
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

jeff smith

Quote from: Robert Janssen on November 07, 2018, 09:45:50 PM
A freespool sleeve is a thin metal tube that fits rather precisely between the bearings in the spool, so as to allow a much improved ability of the spool to spin freely. However, having said that, it is perhaps no great interest of yours to have super-duper castability anyway.
In any case, you can find a great deal more info by doing a few searches here.

Regarding the drag washer, yes-- just replicate the existant drag washer as closely as possible and all will be well.

I thinn Alan is maybe thinking of Abu 6600LD, which was another animal entirely that did use glued cork drags.

.
Many thanks for that explanation and yes, you're correct in thinking that I won't be using the reel as a casting device as such. It'll be used for bottom fishing with static baits from a boat and therefore usually just a gentle pitch to get the tackle away from the boat is all that is required.

jeff smith

Quote from: Gfish on November 07, 2018, 11:01:29 PM
Jeff, the freespool sleeve worked well on the Shimano TLD's. Tilting the TLD to the right caused a free spool friction loss when casting, without it(stock). Getting the length right was the difficult part.
Can you post pictures of your reel, especially when it's opened up?

hurt locker

I have 2 of the 7000c4ld's and 2 of the BG7000NLD's which are the same , just narrower and I used Penn HT-100 #6-5600 that i cut down to fit the Abu7000ld. I think that I read one of Alan's tutorials about using the 6-5600 on a Charter Special and decided to try it on the Abu. Drag is very, very smooth and free spool is great. We used them last November on the James River for Blue Cats and they handled several Blue Cats up to 50LBs just fine. Next year they are headed to the Tennessee River for Stripers and Flatheads. Great Reels, they go on all my Big Fish river trips.