Reel question
 

Does anyone do their own maintenance/tune ups on their reels themselves?
Ive taken mine to get done in the past but wouldnt mind trying it myself if its not extremely difficult.
Any tips would really be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

Visit Alantani.com for tutorials. I do all my own as well as for others and always check his site to see if I missed anything.

I do mine and do some others too. Its pretty easy after youve done your first one. My first took about 4 hours now i do it in 30 mins. Alantani.com is a great place to start.

Just make sure you got the reel schmatics in case you get lost

X2 Best advice.
I'll take brand new out of the box reels and go through them. Not difficult at all.

where is a good place to buy the grease for the reels??? What other lubricants do you use ???

I get my Yamaha marine grease from here http://www.boats.net/index.php?p=pro...=881614&parent

Then I hit up the local tackle shops for Cal's grease and reel oils. I'm not too picky on oil brands since I add a drop in the bearings after almost every outing.

Thanks I'm going to open a reel or two and clean them up.

Take picture as you go. Layout screws in relation to how you removed them, if they are different lengths.

X2

Thanks guys for your advice. I think ill give it a try. Just another way to spend more time on fishing things... My girlfriend will be sooo happy. lol

Thanks again,
Mike

X2 on the Alan Tani suggestion! There are also some links there to Youtube videos of breakdown , re-assembly and general maintenance for quite a few models there as well. Skrilla is absolutely right about the Yamaha marine grease as well, it's been a life saver for mine especially as mine have taken more than their fair share of dunks in the salt thanks to my less than stellar landings in the surf! :rolleyes:

I use one of those pill boxes that are laid out for a week to help me keep track of the screws and their order.

Just my .02 cents

The things that usually gets me is the washers, when you take them out put them back in the correct order. Line them up so you remember. And on most reels the screws are different sizes and threads so keep note on that too.

What do you use to clean the reels.. Would simple green be good for it..
I used to own an auto shop for a long time so I'm used to have lots of bolts and screws lol.. One thing we did often when we took a dashboard apart on a car was to use ice cube trays to keep all the bolts. If we had to wait for parts we used tape, To cover the top so nothing would fall off or get lost. Sometimes we had to use 3-4 trays to keep tab on all the little parts. You can also paint the inside of each ice cube hole( for lack of better word) and work a system as to what bolt of washer goes into each color. After a while you would know what bolt goes into which color like outside cover bolts are red and so on..

Don't know about others but this is the cleaner and parts washer that I use:
http://www.basspro.com/Ardent-Reel-K...duct/10204520/

Excellent for small parts and soaking the bearings, speaking of which this is what I use for the freespool bearings:
http://www.anglerschoicetackle.com/i...ufacturer_id=8

I use the Yamaha Marine grease for the other bearings

Some rubbing alchohol on a napkin and for levelwinds i use a toothbrush and whichever soap my mom has up there by the sink.

Simple green works well or even a little Dawn and warm water,

I got one reel that is not working as it should. I better get on it before some nice weather kicks in.