Posted by Willy on December 31, 2000 at 23:10:27:
Hi!
I have a fishing reel. Whenever I wind it it feels as if the gears are grinding against one another, vibrating and all. I have cleaned and regreased and re-oiled the gears and bearings (which are, BTW, smooth and without problems) a number of times over the fishing reason but the same grinding feelings is there. I suspect it may be the gears being machined with burrs and eneven parts that may need running in.
The reel has both plastic and brass gears, plus a worm gear for the line levelwind. It is a pretty light fishing reel (an ABU Garcia UC4600C) which has so far managed to remain in working order (no seizing/no corrosion, just the grinding feeling I can feel thru the handles).
I'd like to ask the gear exerts out here, how may I 'run in' the reel such that it retrieves line smoothly? I've read somewhere that packing the gears with a 50/50 mix of toothpaste and grease, plus continuous winding for up to 20 hours, then cleaning off and regreasing as per normal, will result in a smooth retrieve. Is this procedure advisable? Are any other forms of abrasive compounds recommended for this job?
thanks for your kind attention,
Willy