Any love for the other small Ambassadeurs?

[tincanary]

So just got a 1600, will upgrade the bearings to ceramic and maybe drag, look forward to trying it out.
I've been using an old Lews for light baitcasting and it's been great, but have a fondness for Abu..

The factory bearings will be plenty good, just give them a good cleaning.  Another good upgrade would be to swap the brake blocks for lighter ones.  The 1600s come with either the heavy white, or medium weight black blocks installed from the factory.  The lightweight blue brake blocks will really wake them up, additionally, you may opt to swap out the clutch washer and brake blocks for the clutch washer and Bakelite blocks found on the Pro Rocket reels.  I noticed the person in the post you linked swapped out the worm bushings for bearings.  While it will make the reel feel marginally smoother, it's an unnecessary upgrade since this reel uses a disengaging levelwind that stays put when casting.  Additionally, there's a bronze bushing pressed into the palm side of the frame, polish the surface where it makes contact with the spool bearing retainer and give a coating of light oil.  That will free it up good.  You may also wish to polish the brake drum to clean it up and smooth out the surface so braking is more consistent.  Have fun with it, it's a wonderful little reel and can be tweaked good with a little elbow grease.

[steelhead_killer]

Ok I will jump in with a couple of questions for the group.  In Idaho many use the 4600 for trolling for Kokanee in the lakes.  I serviced a handful of 4600 Kokanee Specials for a gentlemen a couple of month back.  They had clickers in a 4600 size.  Could not find any good info on the model.  But many folks would love to add a clicker to the standard 4600. 

Secondly, 4601's on Ebay.  Why do they fetch such a price?  Is the supply and demand at work or am I missing something else?

Andy

[Rancanfish]

I saw one for sale in our FOR SALE section, page 2.

[MarkT]

Works like a champ for stream trout spooled with 6lb cxx

This is what i've been trying to do with my 4600!!

What rod do you use?  What is "cxx" ?

CXX is P-Line

[tincanary]

Ok I will jump in with a couple of questions for the group.  In Idaho many use the 4600 for trolling for Kokanee in the lakes.  I serviced a handful of 4600 Kokanee Specials for a gentlemen a couple of month back.  They had clickers in a 4600 size.  Could not find any good info on the model.  But many folks would love to add a clicker to the standard 4600. 

Secondly, 4601's on Ebay.  Why do they fetch such a price?  Is the supply and demand at work or am I missing something else?

Andy

There are two ways to add a clicker to a 4600.  The cheapest way and most involving is to cut the side plate to accommodate the clicker and install the parts.  The easy and more expensive way is to swap the 4600 side plate for a 6500/6600 side plate and associated clicker hardware.  Aside from a clicker, the only differences between a 4000, 5000, and 6000 size reel are the frame, spool, and axle.  Everything else is interchangeable.

[steelhead_killer]

Ok I will jump in with a couple of questions for the group.  In Idaho many use the 4600 for trolling for Kokanee in the lakes.  I serviced a handful of 4600 Kokanee Specials for a gentlemen a couple of month back.  They had clickers in a 4600 size.  Could not find any good info on the model.  But many folks would love to add a clicker to the standard 4600. 

Secondly, 4601's on Ebay.  Why do they fetch such a price?  Is the supply and demand at work or am I missing something else?

Andy

There are two ways to add a clicker to a 4600.  The cheapest way and most involving is to cut the side plate to accommodate the clicker and install the parts.  The easy and more expensive way is to swap the 4600 side plate for a 6500/6600 side plate and associated clicker hardware.  Aside from a clicker, the only differences between a 4000, 5000, and 6000 size reel are the frame, spool, and axle.  Everything else is interchangeable.

Did not even think about the interchangeability of them. Thanks!

[DougK]

Additionally, there's a bronze bushing pressed into the palm side of the frame, polish the surface where it makes contact with the spool bearing retainer and give a coating of light oil.  That will free it up good.  You may also wish to polish the brake drum to clean it up and smooth out the surface so braking is more consistent.  

thanks, I have the blue brakes on order, and already figured with a disengaging level wind those bearings/bushings don't count for anything on casting.. but had not occurred me to polish that bushing and the brake drum. Good idea..

Reel arrived today, it's been neglected but not abused it seems. Just the way I like them, can fix neglect easily enough..

[tincanary]

Additionally, there's a bronze bushing pressed into the palm side of the frame, polish the surface where it makes contact with the spool bearing retainer and give a coating of light oil.  That will free it up good.  You may also wish to polish the brake drum to clean it up and smooth out the surface so braking is more consistent.  

thanks, I have the blue brakes on order, and already figured with a disengaging level wind those bearings/bushings don't count for anything on casting.. but had not occurred me to polish that bushing and the brake drum. Good idea..

Reel arrived today, it's been neglected but not abused it seems. Just the way I like them, can fix neglect easily enough..

When you polish the parts, use a non abrasive metal polish and go at the lowest speed possible.  You don't want to remove any material.