Surfmaster 250 spool rub

[Kalbi]

Aloha, I was gifted an old Surfmaster 250.  I cleaned the reel up, but can faintly hear the spool rubbing on something during free spool.  I first thought it was the bearings so I put on new left and right side bearings, but the issue still exists.  Then, I thought the frame might be out of square, so I changed the reel stand and the post.  Spool still rubbing on something.  I had an extra 501 Newell spool and an accurate 501 frame laying around.  So, I put the Surfmaster plates on the Accurate frame, but the Newell spool rubs on something too.  Any ideas what might be wrong?

[alantani]

pull the side plates and the spool and look at the bare frame to see if it is squared up. 

[Swami805]

Might be one of the inner rings is out of round a little.  Spin it slow and see if you can find the spot it rubs

[Kalbi]

Thanks for the suggestion.  I placed the Accurate frame on a flat surface.  No wobble on either side, so I think its square.  Same goes for the reel stand.  I put all four corners on a flat surface and there is no wobble. I did notice something though.  Whether using spacer bars or the accurate frame, I always have a hard time driving the screws in on the left side plate.  I took a look at the left side plate and saw that the holes for the metal ring don't line up with the holes in the bakelite.  It's a little off so when the screws are in the holes by themselves, the screws sit at an angle.  Do you think that's contributing to the problem? Is it safe to separate the metal ring and bakelite so I can realign them?

[alantani]

for spool rubs in these older reels, there are four common causes that i have found.  first, and almost always, is the bushing cups.  they are commonly worn and allow the spool to rub under pressure.  the second is a blown spool.  third is a torqued frame.  sometimes it's the result of too much drag because the drags are sticky, but the other thing that can torque a frame is when the clamp is over-tightened.  the clamp is really just to make sure you don't loose the reel if the reel seat fails, or if there is no reel seat on a deckhand-style rod.  and fourth is a spool shaft that is bent, which is pretty rare.  this most commonly happens when someone pulls the spool out and then drops it. 

did i miss anything?   

[Gfish]

Yeah, it's safe. If they're tight, prying(carefully!) witha razor knife can get 'em started. If it can't be done try sitckin 'em in the freezer for a bit.
Kinda sounds like it's godda be the bakelite plate and/or ring. The plates can swell and deform over time. Shouldn't be the spool, cause yer tryin 2 diffrent kinds. Now that I think of it, diffrent frames, too...
If it isn't onea the things already mentioned, you might godda shim the spool shaft on one side by droppin somethin in the bushing.

An over-tightened clamp. I've never heard about that before, Allen. Good to know cause it sounds like somethin I'd do...

[oc1]

I am using much lighter gear than you guys, but suspect a lot of torqued frames are the result of the rod and reel falling and landing on the handle or outer edge of the tail plate.  Hitting the reel at an oblique angle will do more damage than hitting it head-on.
-steve

[Kalbi]

Thanks for everyone's advice.  I figured out what was wrong.  The chrome pieces on my surfmaster were corroded, so the first thing I did was buff them with fine grit polishing sponges.  Then, I wiped the pieces down, greased/oiled the parts, and put the reel back together.  I guess I didn't wipe the parts well enough.  Grit from the buffing process got trapped in all kinds of places, including the bearings, and was creating the scratching noise that I thought was the spool rubbing the frame.  I broke the reel down again, threw the parts in my altrasonic cleaner, re-lubed, and put the reel back together again.  Free spool is awesome and quiet now. 

Thanks to everyone's helpful suggestions I'm getting better at troubleshooting these old Penns, but I still have a lot to learn and I still make rookie mistakes.

Happy new year!!!

[mo65]

 First, and almost always, is the bushing cups. 

   I'm with Alan on this one. Swapping out the bearings will almost always solve this. Sometimes, out of a whole handful of bearings, only one will fix the problem. Some will even make the problem worse. I've even had certain bearings move the rub to the opposite side! This is why every Penn nut needs a pile of bearings/bushing cups.

[sdlehr]

did i miss anything?   

Sometimes one of the lower bridge screws will rub on the spool flange. Grinding a few thou off the end usually fixes that.

[mizmo67]

for spool rubs in these older reels, there are four common causes that i have found.  first, and almost always, is the bushing cups.  they are commonly worn and allow the spool to rub under pressure.  the second is a blown spool.  third is a torqued frame.  sometimes it's the result of too much drag because the drags are sticky, but the other thing that can torque a frame is when the clamp is over-tightened.  the clamp is really just to make sure you don't loose the reel if the reel seat fails, or if there is no reel seat on a deckhand-style rod.  and fourth is a spool shaft that is bent, which is pretty rare.  this most commonly happens when someone pulls the spool out and then drops it. 

did i miss anything?   

Not that I can see...that's the things I would have said to look for.

[Alto Mare]

You might also want to try holding the reel sideways, with the handle facing up and spinning it in free spool? if the it stops rubbing you will need a spacer on the handle side bushing.
At times it doesn't matter that bushing is new.

Sal


Sorry Mo, I missed your postin. You've pretty much covered it already.
Maybe I missed it because it's in Red and not like everyone else🙂

Sal