Do not overlook "regular" maintenance. I couldn't believe it. Jigmaster rust.

[PacRat]

A lot of good advice here but I would like to embellish a little based on my personal experience (your mileage may vary).

Many decades ago my brother would 'take care' of the rods and reels while my dad and I cleaned the boat. He was removing all the reels and soaking them in a five gallon bucket of fresh water while he sprayed down the rods. We thought this good practice but when we did seasonal maintenance we were finding too much internal corrosion. We were running drags dry back in those days. If you choose to soak; be absolutely certain to crank down the drags good and tight. This will keep water out of the stack. Just be certain to loosen the drags before storage but not before the reels are completely dry inside. You can get away with soaking a stock jigmaster with bushing but if you're running oiled bearings I would not soak at all. A low-pressure rinse will suffice but don't skip you regular seasonal maintenance.

Fred is giving good advice with the WD-40. One of my Shimano manuals advises wiping down all exterior surfaces after a rinse and dry but before storing. WD-40 has always been controversial but as Fred stated is excellent when used as intended. WD-40 is also an excellent solvent for cleaning grease and gunk while doing your seasonal maintenance. WD-40 is believed to do no harm to mono line but I don't know how it would affect braid.

-Mike

[JoseCuervo]

Dom, thanks for the note on some tubes of grease. Go ahead and just hang on to them, Penn apparently has at least one pound in stock they are shipping to me, I received a tracking number. 

Rob

[Rancanfish]

All this discussion and all that really happened was some grease got funky, which is the reason we all use it.  No damage anywhere.

And that is definitely a 500 S bridge.  The only bridge with a captured dog.

I think if we keep up with even semi-regular maintenance per Doc Tani, we will be good.

[Dominick]

I along with several people on this site take our tackle into the shower after a fishing trip.  I give them a warm rinse and put them on the side to drain and dry.  I then give them a wipe with a reel-x soaked rag.  During break down servicing I have not come across the rubiginous mess that is shown in the photo.  Dominick

[thorhammer]

Aiala, what the hell did Dommie just say???

[JoseCuervo]

All this discussion and all that really happened was some grease got funky, which is the reason we all use it.  No damage anywhere.

And that is definitely a 500 S bridge.  The only bridge with a captured dog.

I think if we keep up with even semi-regular maintenance per Doc Tani, we will be good.

It is a discussion board for all of us to learn from. Thanks for the help with this being a unique bridge and dog assembly.

I learned a few things;

Alan was right, and has always been right. Use SOMETHING!, anything, versus nothing.

Steel gears need more maintenance than stainless or bronze.

Not all grease is the same, but most all of it saves your bacon just the same. Let the grease go bad instead of your parts.

A more regular reel service is not a bad thing.

This Jiggy has no part number for what seems to be a factory part, and is not on any schematic I have seen. Nor has Mystic.

And to wrap-up, I am still not sure if red Yamaha marine grease is just their regular grease mislabeled as marine, or if in fact the dye changed color. Don't ask me how I have any doubts or why I posted that..

Rob  

[Rancanfish]

No no, Rob.  I was making a statement of the obvious really.  But discussion makes this site rock and roll.  I just used words we can pronounce.   

Everything you add is a plus. 

[Brendan]

     Whatever happened nice recovery with the clean up.
Tight lines, Brendan.

[JoseCuervo]

Sweet. This is going back together sooner than I had thought. Kudos to Maureen at Mystic and Penn Fishing as well! The Penn box had an "expedite" sticker on it..   I ordered the grease Sunday night from Penn and the drag kit and reel cleaner from Mystic on Monday, like 5pm their time.

What really sucks is that I have another dozen+ reels to go through afterwards to get rid of that worthless grease I used in them.  

[RowdyW]

I see in the photo that you have a cupped washer to put on the top of the drag stack. Don't use that, instead use a smaller wavy washer in it's place. The cupped washer is to stiff & with Bryan's 5+1 drag stack it will ramp up to quick. Usually 1/2 turn from no drag to full drag. The smaller wavy washer will give a more gradual ramp up.         Rudy

[JoseCuervo]

Copy that Rudy, thanks. It comes with the kit so I had planned to use it. I will probably tinker with them both and see which I like the best since that makes sense.  

Edited to add, Rudy: I started with the small wavy one, and I think the kit must just ramp up fast anyway!

The fishing I like most with this reel is trolling for salmon. Sometimes it is with a downrigger, otherwise it's a sinker release. Dave has taught me a lot and on his boat the drag is basically set once reasonably to fairly tight, you don't want to mess with it later. I am not sure it will be a big thing one way or the other.

Rob

[jurelometer]

As humans. we tend to to overweight anecdotal evidence, and discount the science.  We do do this at our peril.  But we can't help it.  This is how we are wired

You can get away with soaking a stock jigmaster with bushing but if you're running oiled bearings I would not soak at all. A low-pressure rinse will suffice but don't skip you regular seasonal maintenance.

440c  stainless (what is used from stainless reel ball bearings) has similar corrosion resistance properties to 18/8 (AKA 304),  the same stuff that is used to make our stainless forks, knifes, spoons , pots and pans that we all toss into our dishwasher with impunity. 440c will not corrode much at all from freshwater exposure, but it is not that resistant to saltwater.

A quick dip in freshwater is usually not enough to allow the salinity levels to equalize.  You will need a nice half hour soak in warm water if the water is not moving much and/or some parts are in small pockets, and you need to evacuate the water from the soak as best as possible to remove the maximum amount of salt.

The amount of salt in contact with metals in the innards will be be the primary factor in how much corrosion occurs over time.  water will be the secondary factor.  Corrosion will work faster if everything is completely wet, but in most locales, there is plenty of moisture in the air to allow the innards to corrode if there are salt crystals present.

Whether you soak or do your best to keep the insides dry, a coating of grease is your best friend.  Salt touching metal is the primary enemy, not water.

-----------------------------------

One of my Shimano manuals advises wiping down all exterior surfaces after a rinse and dry but before storing. WD-40 has always been controversial but as Fred stated is excellent when used as intended. WD-40 is also an excellent solvent for cleaning grease and gunk while doing your seasonal maintenance. WD-40 is believed to do no harm to mono line but I don't know how it would affect braid.

WD-40 (and similar products) work by solvents  penetrating into the pores in the metal surface and leaving a a coating that fills the pores.  On the outer surfaces of the reel, the only downside is that it the protective coating will interfere with the aluminum forming oxides a on any scratches, but still possibly a net win.


If you do as Fred recommends and squirt WD-40 inside the reel as a stopgap, you might want to keep doing this regularly.  The solvents in these all-in-one products will dissolve the grease, potentially leaving parts exposed to salt once the (not very durable) protective coating wears off. Remember that the water "displacement" just means that the solvent elbowed  its way into direct contact with the metal.  the water (and salt) remain in the reel.

Using a waxy coating product like Boeshield before assembly sounds like a good idea, as long as you wait for the solvents to offgas before greasing.

Polyethylene  (spectra) braid is resistant to most solvents, more than nylon, but but both are pretty good.  The residue from the penetrant/sealant will make your knots more slippery.   BTW, one of the solvents that does effect polyethylene is found in some Sharpie markers.  At least some rock climbing guys recommend not to mark polyethylene rope, harnesses, etc.,  with a permanent marker pen.

----------------
Regarding the "wrong grease"

From a standards perspective, my understanding is that there is no such thing as marine grease.   "Marine" grease is a marketing term.    There are standardized ASTM tests  for salt  spray, but from what I have read, the standards are not specific enough to get a completely accurate comparison. And reel greases don't usually publish specs anyways.   If you use the wrong grease, it might oxidize to quickly, separate too soon, emulsify water more than it should, but if the part is coated with grease, it will still have pretty good corrosion protection. It just won't lubricate as well.  My guess is that not enough grease is the culprit more often than the wrong grease when it comes to saltwater corrosion.

YMMV,

-J

[JoseCuervo]

----------------
Regarding the "wrong grease"

From a standards perspective, my understanding is that there is no such thing as marine grease.   "Marine" grease is a marketing term.    There are standardized ASTM tests  for salt  spray, but from what I have read, the standards are not specific enough to get a completely accurate comparison. And reel greases don't usually publish specs anyways.   If you use the wrong grease, it might oxidize to quickly, separate too soon, emulsify water more than it should, but if the part is coated with grease, it will still have pretty good corrosion protection. It just won't lubricate as well.  My guess is that not enough grease is the culprit more often than the wrong grease when it comes to saltwater corrosion.

YMMV,

-J

Thanks Jurelometer. I can buy that. Steel rusts, clearly. I think the gears were lubed up about as much as one can though generally speaking. Most of it is going to squeeze out anyway. And, to your point, they were not damaged at all. I went with a light coat everywhere else per the doctors orders and there wasn't any other trouble. I'll take another look after a few more trips and see how the Penn grease is holding up in my case. I do like it more than that cheap stuff; The Penn blue is definitely tackier / thicker, not to mention it smells better and is prettier.

Rob

[RowdyW]

Rob, the 5 stack ramps up faster because of more drag area.

[thorhammer]

Nice reel, Rob!