Diawa Millionaire 3RM teardown

[Brewcrafter]

Was a little bored for projects so dug through my stack of old family reels and found this one that belonged to my Father in Law.  It looks like it probably has some stories to tell.  It seemed pretty solid and like it might make a nice little light duty inshore/kelp reel.  I wasn't able to find a lot of information on it, but knowing it's history I am guessing it was from sometime around the 80's?  Anyone that is more versed in Diawa please do not hesitate to contribute your knowledge!  Anyhow, let the fun begin!

Here is the starting point:

The reel features three simple takedown knobs or screws, I am guessing this was probably originally designed to be a reel that could have spools swapped easily for different applications.

Loosening the 3 thumbscrews allows the reel to quickly be taken down into 3 basic subassemblies; the tail plate/frame, the spool, and the head plate/drive assembly.

Tearing into the tail plate/frame assembly, by removing 3 screws we find a pretty basic levelwind drive.  Yes, the gears are plastic, and they are thin.  Elsewhere in the forum wiser minds have explained the reasoning behind the whole "plastic levelwind gears" thing.  This could be torn down further (this reel uses a lot of c-type spring clips) but really no need.  A good cleanup, and a light greasing of the gears and good to go.

This reel has a fairly common form of casting brake to help reduce the chance of backlashes.  There are 2 pins radiating outward from the spool, on which slide two small red plastic sleeves that under high rpms (such as casting) will slide outward and make light contact with the frame, helping to slow the spool.  In theory, the faster the spool speed the greater the drag or friction.  Experienced casters or those needing maximum distance will remove these to eliminate any excess drag on the spool.  Since neither of those conditions apply to me (rat nesting is a far more likely occurrence  ) I stand to benefit from having them installed.  One of them had been removed previously, but thanks to the Ohana, somewhere on this Forum someone far wiser than I came up with the brilliant fix of trimming a short section off of a typical aerosol lubrication straw (WD-40, CorrosionX, Canned Air, etc) and it works quite well (and you can also see the slight difference between "factory" and "custom" in the photo.)

Okay, time to tear into the guts of the reel, the head plate and drive assembly.  Start by removing the handle, here is everything in the appropriate order.  Note the small "C" clip, can be very easy to overlook if there is grease on the sleeve and the handle will not come off unless it is removed (ask me how I know).  And just like any other small tiny spring or clip, careful removal/containment is necessary if you ever want to see it again to get the reel back together!

Once the handle assembly is removed, by removing the two bridge plate screws the actual guts of the reel can be separated from the sideplate.

Here is a good close look at the bridgeplate, with drag stack and spacers still is place.  There will be more details in the reassembly photos, but overall it is a robust assembly, primarily aluminum, and many of the components are actually rivetted to the plate.  There is a lot of room to tear this thing way down (spring removal, etc,) but again since this reel did not see heavy service or abuse, I'm not going that far as it is really not necessary (and I don't feel like crawling around looking for springs and clips that "launch")

I used the standard tools of the trade throughout on this project as dictated and where necessary: Dawn dish soap, Isopropyl alcohol, and white vinegar.  A few minutes in my "poor man's ultrasonic" (again, not my invention, I learned that from wiser folks on this Forum!) and everything cleaned up, ready for inspection, lube, and reassembly!

I want to devote a little bit of time to the drag stack.  It is a fairly conventional design that just about anyone that has torn into a reel has seen, but it does have a couple of little quirks that need to be noted.  Here is the overview:

I have no idea what the original drag materials were in these reels (and I am positive that anything in here is probably factory knowing the history of the reel).  They were greased, and almost seemed like a graphite impregnated thin paper or cloth.  The reason (and I am guessing) was that there were drag particles throughout the assembly (think "brake dust" if you ever have worked on automotive drum brakes), one of the washers as seen here was clearly failed, and they were very thin, flexible, and easily torn with little effort.  Still, for the time it was probably pretty advanced I am guessing (coming from my previous experiences with old Penn's that use asbestos poker chips for drag materials).

The washers themselves are 4A size, but no need to worry because Dawn at Smoothdrag has a kit with fresh drag washers and undergear washer as well!

Before reassembly (with Cal's, of course!) there are a couple of quirks to note that can cross you up if not careful.  Firstly, the "eared" washer is a stamped design, and the ears are not flat in the same plane as the washer, but actually are rolled over.  Take extra time on reassembly to make sure that the ears are in the proper orientation (point "in" to the gear) and that they do not bottom out in the grooves or catch on the keyed washers.

Also the top washer in the stack is heavier and has a unique bevel on it, having this washer either out of sequence or reversed (the bevel needs to be on the outside) can cause poor drag performance and uneven pressure.

A quick check of the old drag stack thickness vs. new thickness shows .11" vs. .12", or an increase of thickness of .01" - not enough to worry about adjusting spacers or bellevilles, the drag star still has plenty of range.

Since I was having a hard time finding specs, I took the opportunity to do a quick count of the pinion and main gear teeth.  I came up with 13 pinion and 49 main, for a retrieve ratio of about 3.77:1

And here is an overview of the entire head plate/drive assembly:

Here is where you get the time honored "Assemble in Reverse Order" clause, no need to show putting it back together.  Anything needing grease was greased, anything needing oil was oiled, and anything needing neither was given a light coating of CorrosionX since I will be using this in salt water.  After reassembly and break in, and loaded with 30# Powerpro, I was able to consistently hit about 12# max drag with it; while I don't know what factory specs were I am sure this is probably pushing the structural limits of the reel (especially the levelwind!) but more than adequate for having fun with calico bass.  After giving it a trail run I will probably "surprise" my Brother in Law with one of his Dad's old reels and hopefully he can give it a workout around the reefs on the Big Island (although it may not by up to those bruisers; I don't know enough about the fishery)

Final Thoughts:
Pros - This actually looks like a pretty sound design from "back in the day".  I have been through enough Sealines to know that Diawa were famous for being "inspired" by existing designs and improving or simplifying them as they could for efficient Japanese manufacturing practices, so I am guessing there are other reels from that time period (Abu?) that may be very similar.  All of the bearings in the reel are of a solid/bushing type design, so nothing to really fail from that standpoint.  I don't know what the used market is like on these things but at this point the line I have on the reel far outweighs any other expense; I'm in it for basically beer money if that.
Cons - It's old.  The levelwind is DEFINITELY the weak link on this reel, and in the event of a catastrophic failure it probably wouldn't be worth repairing and that is IF replacement parts could ever be sourced (it could always be removed and used as a straight non-levelwind if it ever were to come to that - cross that bridge if we ever get to that river).  It's not very well sealed, and while it uses a lot of aluminum it will still be susceptible to salt water intrusion and potential issues WITHOUT DILLIGENT SERVICE (like that applies to anyone on this site  ).  I hope that this walkthough is helpful to anyone that might find themselves with one of these Millionaire variants from that time period and a rainy day on their hands.  Thanks to the Ohana for help and tips; please do not hesitate to add comments, suggestions, or any questions that I may be able to answer. - John

[foakes]

Nice work, John!

Best,

Fred

[Alto Mare]

Nice clean work John!...thanks for posting.

Sal

[xjchad]

Thanks for the detailed walk through John!
Looks like a great reel!

[festus]

Great work, John!  Thanks for the look inside.

That reel is very similar to my Millionaire 5H.  Three differences that stand out are the yoke, yoke springs, and drag stack.

[handi2]

Thanks for posting. Those were a great Reel in their day. They still preform well today.

Keith

[Sharkb8]

Nice work John this is from a 1986 catalogue.

Kim

[alantani]

very nice!!!!!

[Brewcrafter]

Kim - Thank you for the information!!!!  So cool to have original info! - John

[Breadfan]

I love the Japanese Millionaires. They are as easy to work on as the Abu's and they can be had cheaper when you find them. I have a 5RM and two 6H's. One of the 6h's is a Ted Williams model from sears. I found it on ebay and it is beautiful. Both of the 6H's are in my main Pompano set up of four rods, and I've caught everything from 4ft sharks to 40lb stingrays, they handle flawlessly. I've removed the levelwinds and replaced the drag washers with the Penn Ht-100's. The pompano are are running in the surf on the east coast in Florida right now and I have been very successful with this setup. I don't know what I love more, the Abu's or the Millionaires. Great reels and great post!

[Breadfan]

Here is the Ted Williams 560 (Diawa 6H) and me with a tasty pompano.

[Brewcrafter]

That is so cool!!!!  I know out here on the "Left Coast" we have something caught from the surf called a "Pacific Pompano" but that it is more closely related to butterfish, and may not be a true Pompano.  In all my years I do not recall ever seeing or catching one.  But the fact you have some tasty dinner AND these old reels perform well for you in the harsh surf environment encourages me - I am hoping I can get out soon and turn this thing loose on some Calico's...thanks for the post; how are you going to cook up and enjoy your catch? - john

[Breadfan]

I have fished these reels plus Ambassadeur 6000's and 7000's for about 7 years now. Thanks to this sight and all the good people writing tutorials, I've learned to break them down after every season and completely clean, re-grease, re-oil and keep them singing for more. The only corrosion has been on one of the handle lock plates, it ate through where it was thin but no big deal. The go to baitcasters here in Florida are the Abu 6500 C3's, many of them tricked out to the max. The rods we use are 10-13 ft medium action spiral wound fiberglass rods like Lamiglas or Gators or any good E-glass rod that will toss 2-5 oz spider weights (we call them sputniks). At least that is what we use rod wise, some prefer the lighter carbon rods and I built one, it cast well, and catches fish. But we like the more parabolic, slow action of fiberglass. Casting 50-125 yards is the norm so a well thought out set up is a must. Most of us fish at least 3-4 poles at once. Our rigs are 2 double rigged dropper loop rigs with 1/0 to 3/0 circle hooks with the spider weight at the end to dig in and keep the bait above the ocean floor.The Pompano are one of the best tasting fish I've ever had and if I had my choice for one fish, it would win. In the early spring when the water gets above 62-64 they start to move north from below Florida, up the coast into the Carolinas and and I've heard farther than that, but we get them good here in Jacksonville and we will go south to "intercept" them early as they are coming up. If you're a hardcore you can catch your limit (6) every day you go. In the fall they come back down and we do it all over again, doubling the fun. The good thing about Pomps as we like to call them is, one fish will feed one person, even at the minimum of 11 inches, they are full of meat. They can be filleted but I like to spit them down the middle, butterfly them out on buttered foil, skin down, buttered on all over with just celery salt or Old Bay and grill or broil them. Heaven. My wife and I go as much as possible and try to stock pile them to get from season to season without running out, sometimes we succeed. Pompano fishing can be very addictive as these fish can fight very hard for there size, and our reels need really smooth drags set loose to let them run a little. They run pretty hard when hooked and then they go nuts as soon as they see the shore and they'll zip sideways pulling out line. Some keep their drags locked down and they loose a few that way but I just let them take line, it's all part of the fun and I rarely lose a fish once he's hooked good. Live sand fleas (mole crabs) are the bait of choice and we catch those at night by the thousands on an incoming tide, adding to the fun of it all. We really enjoy chasing these things up and down the coast. It's pretty much the best surf fish in Florida to catch. They only get 1-4 pounds on average, going bigger on occasion.

[Donnyboat]

Nice work John, and thanks for the details Kim, stay safe, keep well cheers Don.