# Cleaning a Shimano Reel



## Mike in Friendswood (May 21, 2004)

*Tips and tricks by Mike in Friendswood*

​1. Remove spool and set aside. Remove handle, star drag, and spring.

2. Remove drag nut and drag washers.

3. Wipe clean all of the above parts and set aside.

4. Remove side plate and set aside screws. 

5. Remove roller clutch inner tube, wipe clean and set aside.

6. Remove drive stack, all the way down to (and including) the anti-reverse ratchet.

7. Wipe all of these parts clean, and set aside. Make sure you remove as much of the old drag grease as possible.

8. Remove pinion gear and yoke. Clean (run a small piece of paper towel through the inside of the gear to remove any excess lube or foreign matter) and apply a light coat of Green Corrosion X (GCX) to the teeth of the gear. 

9. Wipe off excess old lube from all parts remaining in the right had side of the reel, but do not remove any additional parts unless it is obvious that there is salt, sand etc.. under these parts. If needed, remove the clutch cam retainer, clutch cam, and all other parts and springs. Wipe clean as necessary. At this point examine the hole in the clutch pawl that the spring goes into. If this whole gets bored out even a little bit the reel may not re-engage or may intermittently not re-engage. If so, this part will need to be replaced. 

10. If taken apart, re-assemble clutch cam and remaining parts. Apply a light coat of GCX to all parts.

11. Install yoke and pinion gear.

12. Install anti-reverse ratchet (making sure to install the rounded edge down). Apply a light coat of drag grease.

13. Install drag wash A and apply a light coat of drag grease.

14. Install drive gear and apply a light coat of drag grease.

15. Install drag washer B and apply a light coat of drag grease.

16. Install key washer and roller clutch inner tube.

17. Replace yoke springs.

18. Run a wad of paper towel (really cram it in there) into the roller clutch bearing and turn it clockwise. Repeat until the paper towel comes out clean.

19. Remove bearing from side plate and spin on spool shaft. If it makes any grinding sound replace it. It it sounds good, clean any excess grease and oil off the outside and re-lube with 3-4 drops of Yellow Rocket fuel. At this point I used to put all bearings through a sonicator to remove any old oil or grease and start from scratch. If a bearings is totally full of old grease or oil I still do this but if the bearing turns fairly freely I just re-lube it. I found that by sonicating every bearing, this removed to much lube and lead to an early failure (due to corrosion) of the bearing if it was not adequately maintained.

20. Replace bearing and spring and flip over the copper shim in the cast control cap. Apply Red Corrosion X (RCX) to the threads and replace the cast control knob.

21. Hold your finger over the inside of the roller clutch bearing and fill it halfway with GCX. Allow it to firm up just a bit (10-15 seconds) and then in one quick motion slide off your finger and quickly re-install the right side plate. 

22. Install the four screws, be sure to install the longer screw in the bottom spot under the handle. Put two drops of RCX in each hole before you put the screw in.

23. Place the pair of drag spring washers on the drive shaft. Make sure they look like this () or this )(, and not like this ((, or this)).

24. Install the star drag spacer with the felt side facing the spring washers. If the felt faces the star drag nut, the sharp edges will qickly rub off all the felt.

25. Install the star drag nut and apply a coat of GCX. 

26. Install the star drag spring, star drag handle and nut. Apply a generous amount of GCX to the nut before you install the cap.

27. Put a drop of RCX in the screw hole, and install screw cap.

28. With the spool and left side plate removed, wipe down the inside of the reel, around the rims and especially remove any old lube and dirt from the grooves that the spool runs in. 

29. Apply 5-6 drops of RCX to the bottom of the drive shaft (where the right side of the spool runs towards the front of the reel) and spin the handle 8-10 times to get the lube worked into the drive shaft bearing. Wipe off any excess lube, as this can adhere to the spool rim and really slow things down.

30. While spinning the handle wipe off the worm gear and make sure it is functioning properly. Remove the pawl cap and pawl. Clean and replace pawl if worn. Apply 2 drops of RCX and replace.

31. Apply 5-6 drops of RCX to worm gear and spin handle to thoroughly coat the gear. (Prior to re-assembly of the right side plate I visually inspect the worm gear. If it is really dirty and cruddy I will remove the worm gear and clean it "off the reel". In 75% of reels this is not necessary).

32. Apply a few drops of GCX to the left end of the worm gear (inside the left end plate. (this seals the left end from water intrusion)

33. Remove the left spool bearing. Clean, inspect, and lube in the same manner as the right one.

34. Inspect the brake drum. If it shows any sign of wear or corrosion polish with a q-tip and brass polish. This may take a few minutes to bring back the original shine, but it can make a noisy reel into one that sounds like new.

35. Apply a very thin coat of RCX to the inside of the brake drum. to prevent new corrosion.

36. Apply a thin coat of RCX to the threads on the brake case.

37. Inspect the bearing on the spool. If turning freely apply a couple drops of Yellow Rocket Fuel and spin. Repeat. Move bearing out just slightly and wedge a piece of paper towel under the bearing to soak up any oil that may have gone through the bearing. This needs to be done properly. If this bearing is over lubed, and the oil is not cleaned off, the reel performance will greatly suffer. If the bearing is not turning freely or appears to be corroded it must be replaced. Replace and oil as above.

38. Install spool and left end plate. Spin handle to ensure smooth operation. If the reel appears sluggish now or any time soon, it may be over lubed. If so, remove spool and wipe spool rims, inside poll where the rims ride, and under the bearing on the spool.

39. Apply several drops of RCX to the handles.



This is written specially for cleaning a Curado. However, these same steps will apply to most any shimano with a couple additions or slight changes. When doing this have a copy of the reel schematic handy. You can print a copy of most any reel at: www.fishingreelrepair.com



Feel free to contact me directly with any specific questions regarding your reel. Having the confidence to clean your own reels just adds to the overall experience in my opinion


----------



## rjohnson107 (May 21, 2004)

Excellent info, thanks Mike.


----------



## waterspout (May 21, 2004)

Thanks Mike,, but I needd to bring mine to you one day. I won't have any parts left if I do it, or should I say all the parts will be outside when I finish.LOL


----------



## bslittle79 (May 24, 2004)

*Thanks for the info.*

Question Mike,

I wade fish once or twice a week. Can't help but dunk my Chronarch it seems. Should that be an every week cleaning. Or rinse after every trip and clean when I can tell it needs it. Or should I clean before I can tell. I know I should but it seems like I really don't notice until it's too late and on the water. My biggest problem is drag. The drag will get sticky, and jerk. I took it down after the last trip and cleaned and re-greased. It was smooth and didn't jerk this morning. But just curious how often you take them down and grease them or just rinse and reel??


----------



## boat_money (May 21, 2004)

how much would it cost to have someone else do these 39 steps to my reel?


----------



## sandman (May 21, 2004)

Great post Mike.


----------



## Stay Bent (May 22, 2004)

Well Mike, I told you I had done mine several times before you. But after you did it, I'll invest in you from now on. (I don't recall it being that smooth when I bought it)
I looked at that old gold Penn too. (I passed) But thanks and good looking out. Bernard


----------



## Mike in Friendswood (May 21, 2004)

Anytime a reel gets dunked, the bearings and levelwind need to be re-lubed, at the very least. The longer it has been since the last total re-lube would dictate how far the reel should be broken down and re-lubed.

Boat money, I think the going rate for reel cleaning runs from $17.50 (at Cut Rate), up to almost $30 at Gander Mountain (that is what someone told me). I think Academy is somewhere in between. I do not know exactly what they do, but I would assume that they do at least what I have outlined.

The 39 steps that I outlined do not really take that much time, and with practice can be accomplished in under an hour. The more often a reel gets a good cleaning the faster the next cleaning is, and the better the reel works on a long term basis. One reason I started doing my own is the turn around time can be way to long, and I always had the car mechanic feeling of "was it really that bad".

Anyway, I just posted this to give those that might want to clean their own reels a jump start and something to fall back on in case of extra parts!

Mike


----------



## sea ray (Mar 15, 2006)

thanks for this info. I have a reel that needs it bad and this will really help. I gave you green for it


----------



## rainbowrunner (Dec 31, 2005)

Great post. They're not as easy as cleaning the old Abu 5000 anymore.
Helps to have a well laid-out area to work in as well.
Fo some good visual aid this guy has a good website.

http://alantani.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=35spo11h1bqo63mudlkfa4mik0&board=9.0


----------

