Penn 209 teardown and refresh, my first reel project!

[Lingwendil]

Settle in for a funny story as to how I ended up with three 209 reels, as this all got out of control pretty fast  

Recently I really started to think about trying out conventional reels, primarily to get a nice clicker and higher line capacity. I really like to work on older gear, and decided to look at older reels, and the Penn '09 series stood out to me. I asked around, posted a thread on the pierfishing California site, and started looking on eBay to see what sorts of models were affordable and common. I ended up deciding to go with a Penn 209 or 309 sounded like it would work for me, as the largest fish I tend to go for are striped bass and leopard shark, as well as bat rays. Rays pull lots of line, but the lower drag capability of the 209 isn't an issue so long as I play the fish. I remembered that I had a Penn Delmar 285 somewhere, but I really wanted a level wind due to joint pain in my hands.

So, I bid on some reels, made a few offers, and started reading up here after finding these forums. I asked my girlfriend to run by our storage unit while I was at work to try and dig out the Delmar, as well as some older poles and some other fishing gear. She calls me and says she found it, and a couple nicer poles, and was bringing it all home. "Perfect! Now I can get some casting practice in at least" I thought to myself.  

Meanwhile, I won an auction for a nice 209. Not five minutes later, I get a notification that a seller accepted my offer on another 209. Cool, I'll just refresh both of them.

I get home from work, and the poles are leaning in the corner of the kitchen. "Those are what you were looking for, right?" She says. I look them over, and other than an ugly stik GX2 6' medium casting, and a couple ultralight no-name poles, what do I see? A very nice burgundy Penn 209 on a Daiwa Sealine 7' medium action pole that I don't ever remember that we even had, or how we got "no, this isn't but it'll work" I tell her. I explain the differences between the Delmar and the 209, and how I already bought two more 209s that morning. She calls me crazy, and mentions that 31 year olds don't usually show signs of Alzheimer's disease so early.

So, now that I have one nice clean 209 ready to go, I spoiled it with 20# Berkley big game, and decided to get the hang of it. Meanwhile, the first of the two eBay 209s showed up, I paid $28.95 shipped and I'm very happy with it at that price, as it's in beautiful shape. It came spooled with wire line backed by heavy mono, which I pulled out.

First pics, as it came to me. I love the green handle and bright red sides 

[Lingwendil]

It all turned smooth, and the spool spun smooth but felt like it had been lubed with heavy oil or had old grease that had dried up partially. So, started teardown so I can begin cleaning it up. As expected, the grease inside was waxy and old, but there was enough oil everywhere that everything was in pretty good shape. I found leather drags, and a nice grey steel main gear. Also notable, was that every screw came out nice and easily, with the only trouble being a very tight bearing cap on the right hand side.

Funny enough, I've had this Penn wrench in my tackle box since high school, and this is the first time I've ever used it 

[Lingwendil]

The gear sleeve has what looks like light scoring, or maybe old pitting on it, but it isn't enough to catch on a fingernail. Should I replace it? Only other thing I was planning on changing is to modern drags, and I've got an aluminum spool on the way.

Otherwise, all the small parts are soaking in PB blaster to make cleanup of the old grease easier. I rebuild older cast-iron VW distributors occasionally and find this works very well, simply rubbing the parts clean with a cloth is usually enough. Anything too stubborn gets a scotchbrite. I already cleaned the handle, sideplates, stand, and side rings with soapy water and they look gorgeous. More pictures of those tonight.

[mo65]

The gear sleeve has what looks like light scoring, or maybe old pitting on it, but it isn't enough to catch on a fingernail. Should I replace it?

   That gear sleeve looks fine to me. Just add some new HT-100 drags and you'll be good to go.

[bluefish69]

Don't forget the under Gear Washer. You can get this at the same place as the Drag Washers.

Grease everything with Cal's Grease

Mike

[Lingwendil]

I've read a few places that some folks use an HT100 instead of the fiber washer, is that something I should be looking to do here? The cost is negligible.

I don't have any of Cal's grease, what do you guys think of using SuperLube? It's silicone and Teflon based, I've read of plenty of folks using it on drags. I can't justify the expense of buying a tub of cals right now.

[foakes]

There are a lot of experts and pros on this board, Ling —

They are a quiet majority.  Likely more than any other tackle repair and upgrade site in the world.

Mike is one of them.  They generally only say a few words — but when they do, the words are absolutely accurate, tried and tested for years on thousands of reels, and their advice just works every time.

Yes, other lubes may/will work OK — but Cal's is the best.

If you would like to try some — let me know, and I will send you enough for a few reels, N/C.

You are doing such a professional job on those 209's — why start experimenting? 

Good work on those reels!

Best,

Fred

[Lingwendil]

Pm sent

I'll use the good stuff. No sense cutting corners.

[foakes]

On the way, Anthony —

You should receive it Monday or Tuesday.

Best,

Fred

[oc1]

I've read a few places that some folks use an HT100 instead of the fiber washer, is that something I should be looking to do here?

That's your cue Sal.
-steve

[Lingwendil]

Looking at parts, and I think I know what I need. For drag washer sets I think HT100 is plenty, I'm not looking to hot-rod these too much. I'll probably wait to order parts until the second reel comes in, but I think this is what I need so far. Is there a compelling reason to go with carbontex on a reel that still has the original gears and frame? It seems the main advantage would be smoother drag and better longevity. I don't plan to fish this reel very hard/often so just want to do what makes sense. I'm assuming going for the HT100 kit that includes the steel washers is the best value? I don't see much talk of reusing the original brass washers here, as mine do look to be in pretty good shape.

Once I get the other reel opened up I'll add the stuff that one needs.

I want the clamp for sure on at least one of the reels, and all I currently have on hand is the studs for one of them.


Still curious about using HT100 instead of the fiber washer.

[xjchad]

Looking good!  Can't wait to see the finished product!

[George6308]

The clamp screws are standard 10-24 screws Lowes has then in Stainless steel including the wing nuts. If the head has to have the edge ground down use a Dremel.

[Lingwendil]

Heck, I may even have those somewhere, I didn't even think to look. Thanks 

[jurelometer]

Still curious about using HT100 instead of the fiber washer.

The point  of swapping  the undergear washer with a drag washer is to get another drag washer in the stack.  A drag washer makes a better drag washer than a thrust bearing (the stock undergear washer),  but a thrust bearing makes a better thrust bearing than a drag washer.   Funny how that works out   Since you are not pushing the drag,  I would definitely stick with the stock part, or if you want to get fancy, go to delrin.

Here is the summary,  but read the entire thread for more details:
https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=27295.msg313604#msg313604

Switching to properly lubed carbon fiber drag washers is the most important upgrade.  It doesn't matter if they are HT100 or Carbontex.  Getting the full set with steel washers is not a bad idea, if you are currently running brass.

-J