# Trashed reels, a project



## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Hello,


I lurked for several months before joining 2Cool this fall. I got into buying old reels on ebay and cleaning them up for fishing. Actually, I've gone a bit crazy with it. 2Cool came up over and over again in the google searches that I did on individual reels. You guys are fantastic about posting great info. 



This thread will document my attempt to do an amateur rescue of a couple of ebay reels that were given up for dead. I'm sending my good stuff to Dipsay. These are a couple of beaters that I want to tinker with. I think that it would be really cool if they eventually get back on the water and help capture a fish.


Everything that I have worked with over the last few months has been pretty simple. I've changed a levelwind pawl and a couple of handles on Ambassadeurs and Millionaires. I swapped out the drag washers on a Penn Surfmaster. I replaced the levelwind assembly on a Penn 9. Oh, and I cleaned about 1/2 pound of sand out of a Quantum Blue Runner spin reel. I had shelved an Ambassadeur 5500C, thinking that I might send it in for repair. Then, this week, I found a Penn levelwind reel that was so ugly that they couldn't even find the model number on it. I bid and got it for a song and decided, why not?


Tonight, phase one: diagnosis. I disassembled both reels until I found the problems.


Penn
The reel is a 320 Gti. The out of the box inspection revealed that the reel did not want to turn, apparently because of a jam in the levelwind. The pawl cover was loose so I pulled the pawl and the reel turned. The drag was totally trashed. Just cranking against thumb pressure revealed a nasty herky jerky. My plan, based on reading Alan Tani's blogs, is to upgrade to carbon washers, so the drag was coming apart anyway. I didn't mess with it tonight because I am going to do a complete new drag. All of the visible screws, the handle and the posts on the reel foot showed green corrosion. I was able to remove the screws and open the reel, but I was unable to remove the handle nut, which was frozen in place. Inside, it was beginning to get green, but nothing that would not clean off with a little patience. The gears, bridge and other elements in the right side are all fully functional with a little cleaning. On the left side, the main issue is that the idler gear is stripped. The level wind worm gear and the inside of the line guide were so sticky with filth that the levelwind was nearly impossible to move. The bearings were smooth and corrosion free on both sides. Both spun freely. That's good news. The reel is filled with braid that appears to have been used very little or not at all. I can still feel the coating on the line and it is bright and supple. I have no idea what test it is, but it is fairly thin, so I am guessing it is 30, plus or minus. I got a Daiwa Sealine 27 the other day that needs line, so I'll use the mystery line as a donor.


All in all, I have more reel here than the $10 I bid for it. For a full restore, I need a new idler gear, pawl, frame screws, handle nut, handle, the handle nut locking screw and the drag kit. I want to sleep on it before I order the parts. That plastic idler gear is another breakdown waiting to happen. I have trashed two on my old 209. I am thinking seriously about removing the line guide and idler gear and abandoning the levelwind feature. I did this with the 209 and have not missed it in the least. I have other reels that can fulfill the levelwind niche, if I ever need it. Not replacing the levelwind would pay a big hunk of the cost of filling the reel with braid.


Ambassadeur 5500C
This reel came as part of a two reel set sold as 'for parts only' that cost me $12. The other reel was a Penn 9 that was so pristine that I don't think it ever saw water. The levelwind jammed on freespool. I think that the reel may have been defective and that the original owner did not pursue exchange or warranty for some reason. I didn't bother to diagnose it, I just ordered a complete replacement assembly and swapped it out. $7 and it is catching fish. The Abu was something else. It was cosmetically pretty good. The issue was that the drag did not want to tighten. When I spun the star wheel far enough to take the reel out of free spool, it was down so far that it caught on the spool tension cap.


I found the foot code and located the schematic. It is a 1984 variant of the 5500C. My suspicion from external inspection was that it is a failed repair. The cover over the handle nut is missing as is the spacer between the handle and the star. Opening it up, the answer was so obvious that it made me laugh. 5 of the 7 drag washers are missing. The remaining washers (felt?) on either side of the main gear were so compressed and gooey that I had to scrape them free of the gear with a blade.


So, the diagnosis on this one is simple. A drag kit plus a cleaning and it is back in business. I think I will splurge and treat it to a new handle.


I will update this with info on the rebuilds in a week or so.


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## Dipsay (Apr 28, 2006)

*GET IT BROTHA MAN! GET IT! Just take your time with it and it will be all good. If ya get stuck feel free to gimme a shout..Dip*


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## BustinTops (Aug 31, 2010)

Yea man, NICE POST!.....Once you get the bug you'll never stop. One tip for those old reels that your not sure what might be wrong is to take the spool out and maybe take the handle off and soak the whole reel in marvel mystery oil "or something equal" over night. It makes disassembly 100% easier. You'll have to wash the parts after with soap and warm water, but it beats taking apart a dry crusty reel. Keep the posts comin.


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## Pete A. (Dec 10, 2010)

Fun Fun. Between me & my 2 teenage sons we have; 20+ levelwinds in current uses (curados (3 generations), citicas, Abu, Calcuttas, Daiwa) inshore stuff). Plus another 10+/- I have that are too old /out dated to fish with but too valuable to throw away (5000's & 6000's, still have my first *red* reel I bought from Oshmans in '71).

Most are darn similar in operation overall and within a single manufacturer almost the same (curados/citica/chronarch). Lots of screws/bearing are interchangable withinin one brand.

During football on Sunday afternoons is my favorite time to work on these and find it relaxing. Slowly each of the currently used reels gets bearing and drag upgrades. Download all the parts diagrams you can. Shimano has great stuff to download that applies to all reels. I keep all replaced OEM parts tagged & bagged for spares. Must have 20+ BNT0194 (spool bearings from Citica & Curados) that were replaced with Boca's

IMHO the single best/cheapest upgrade is Carbontex drag washers. These are always smooth starting which is must with braided. Go to Smoothdrag.com in addition they have some nice lubes/oils. Real helpful on questions about correct drag washers.

Southwestern Parts has schematics you can order parts from directly. Nothing but great service from them. Buy extra screws, washers, springs when you need them so you'll have spares for your next reel or your buddies reel.

Keep all you old tee shirts for the best rags and good luck.

Pete A.


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## BustinTops (Aug 31, 2010)

Pete A. said:


> Keep all you old tee shirts for the best rags and good luck.
> 
> Pete A.


 Exactly where my rags come from....:texasflag


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

The bug bit me early. I started pulling reels apart as a kid. Back then, I only fished spinners, so it was pretty simple to pull a sideplate and clean the insides. I moved to baitcast after college and always opened and cleaned them, but without dislodging the items in the right side. Now, I am moving into full teardowns. About (over) 20 years ago (****, I can't believe... where did all this grey hair come from?!) I worked a couple of summers selling fishing tackle at Oshman's. Back then, we sold Abu 5500 C's on All Star PRM's to anyone who wanted to fish saltwater. Looking on ebay is like looking in back in time into the display cases from the store, except that everything is pennies on the dollar.

I ordered the parts for the Penn this morning. I decided not to re-install the levelwind. As for the Abu, I need to get on the phone with SW or SmoothDrag or Mikes and I have not been able to be near the phone today.

Thanks for the warm reception to the post and for the advice.


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Update: Parts have been ordered for both reels. The Penn set me back $35. Almost half of that was for the new handle. The full set of washers for the Ambassadeur was only $9. I should have them back in service soon.


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

any of those old reels that have faulty level winds, replace* both* the worm and the pawl and keep it clean and oiled.

penns all need the new ht-100 drag upgrades , if they don't have em

read the old posts about what to oil and grease and what to use on ea.

if the green crud bothers you , try a dip in toilet bowl cleaner for a few mins, then a strong fresh water scrub, but it will come back if not kept well lubed.

best of luck


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

C-O, thanks for the support. 

I got the HT-100, including the washer below the gear. I decided to leave the level wind off the Penn, because I may use it for surfcasting. I stripped two of those plastic idler gears on my 209. The first one was casting on the surf rod. The other was on the initial run of a 4 foot shark. I also ordered a full set of replacement screws, figuring that the corrosion would do its worst on the little parts. I'll remember the potty bowl cleaner trick.


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

*Update: Penn 320*

The Penn 320 made it back to life today. The cleanup went pretty easy thanks to CoastalOutfitters potty bowl cleaner suggestion. All the internals brightened up easily. There was a ton of crud on the gear and sleeve that needed some TLC to clean. The fun part with these reels is keeping everything together as you get that last part (anti reverse dog and spring) in place. The folks who built these things must have had awesome dexterity. I bet they are still winning bar bets (stack the cue ball on the peanut shell on the end of a pencil....)

Anyway, here's a few pics of the finished product. My 3 year old (not much) helper approves.


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Still battling the ambassadeur. Went to put it back together tonight and discovered that I did not inspect the underside of the drag plate. It is totally delaminating and is garbage. I'm ordering the new bail parts for my old spinner, so I have thrown a new drag plate in the cart. Everything else cleaned up beautifully. I plan to teach my 9 year old to throw baitcast in time for the trout to return to the surf this spring.


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## BustinTops (Aug 31, 2010)

Teach em young and they'll fish for the rest of there lives. I remember my dad teaching me on a reel he bought me.....a cheaper quantum baitcaster..."those square lookin ones". I went through probably 1000 yrds of 12lb mono before I got the hang of it. My pops never got mad though, We would be drifting and casting and then he would hear the ratnest......All he would ask me is...."Get the knife?"....and hand me his pocket knife. Then I would respool and continue fishin. I'm very glad I learned how to use baitcasters early. Only reels I will use. "no offense to spinning tackle though".


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