LooksLikeSinbad Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 I have an abu Garcia 5601 that I used heavily this year. I am thinking about taking it apart for cleaning & lubrication but I have never opened up a reel before and honestly, don't know what I am doing. Is this something that any handy person can do, or am I going to have tiny reel shrapnel flying all over my workbench and end up sending a box full of parts to someone who knows what they are doing? Anyone have an online tutorial or instructions for this? Any tips, advice, etc. is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish devil Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 try this website for some how to's with pics. Its not hard. http://www.westernangler.com.au/forum/Tackle_Talk/forumid_8/tt.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwendt1978 Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 The Abu Garcia 5500's and 5601's are an incredibly simple design. Probably the reason they are so bulletproof. I rebuild mine every year along with my Uncle's (6 of them) my brothers (4) and friend (3). There will be a little C clip under the handle you'll need to remove and the star wheel will twist off. Take pics with a digital camera and you'll do fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 What I do when I take my reels apart is have an egg carton nearby, I have one that I think has shop rite brand eggs, it's plastic and once you unfold it, it has 24 cavities for the eggs, and one big one that is the lid. Put each part in a cavity, in the order they came off. That way, you work backwards when you're putting the reel back together and there's no chance of it being in the wrong order. But.......to answer your question, like was said, your reel is very simple, and it is a job that any handy person can do. Use a naptha based lighter fluid to soak bearings and a pencil inside them to spin them to loosen everything up. Remember, oil bearings, grease gears. Q-tips, paper towels, and toothpicks are useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooksLikeSinbad Posted November 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Great, thanks for the help. So, I'll need grease and lube, screwdrivers, pliers and tweezers, digital camera, Q-tips, paper towels, and toothpicks. Anything else? - Disassemble - Soak the bearings in lighter fluid (how long?) - Clean them with a pencil and paper towel - Oil the bearings - Grease the gears - Reassemble Am I missing anything? Should I consider upgrading the bearings or the drag? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwendt1978 Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Hope this helps some. This is a 5500 C3 upgraded to a C5. This is done by upgrading the level wind worm gear from bushings to bearings. Huge difference. I also upgraded the bearing from stock to Abec 7's available through Heartland Tackle. Greatest guy on the planet. Buying from him or not, he'll talk you through anything. I'd also recommend Yellow Rocket Fuel Oil also. I'm a die hard Curado fan and I'm quick to admit my Garcia 5500 will outcast any curado or chronarch hands down. I also know that someone on here might say something about the Abec 7's not being Abec 7's but they are a tremendous upgrade over stock. You won't be disapointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwendt1978 Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Also before I forget. The little drag washers, located under the star wheel, are cupped and MUST be installed facing AGAINEST one another. Otherwise your drag will not work properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooksLikeSinbad Posted December 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Thanks again for all the info. I am going to order some new bearings, smooth drag, oil and grease. Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clemmy Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Good luck! I've also heard that if you have a video camera, you can set it up to record what you are doing. That way if you get in a bind or with extra leftover parts you can rewind and see where you took it off from. Clemmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basssj Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 You might want to consider using 1 drop of yellow rocket fuel on each of your bearings after you soak them. This lube made a big difference in the casting distance on my calcuttas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish devil Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 I use rocket fuel lube also, all 4 of them. I used to be into the nitro rc hobby and every week I would clean a ton of bearings getting ready for racing on the weekend. I started using this tool and it makes cleaning bearings a snap. http://www.niffken.com/rcvids/bearingcleaner.wmv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooksLikeSinbad Posted December 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 - How long should I soak the bearings in the lighter fluid? - What should I use to clean the other internal parts? Thanks again for all the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 - How long should I soak the bearings in the lighter fluid?- What should I use to clean the other internal parts? Thanks again for all the help. I just put the bearings in the lighter fluid as I get them off and spin them once in a while as I tearing down and cleaning the rest of the reel. Make sure they're dry when I'm done with the rest of the reel and reassemble, lubing as I go. To clean the rest of the reel, I just use paper towels, qtips, and toothpicks. Nothing to dissolve the grease, just wipe out all you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basssj Posted December 7, 2007 Report Share Posted December 7, 2007 One thing to be aware of also. Be careful of what you put on your drag washers. I have a special greese for that. It looks kind of like pale blue crisco. I have read that regular greese will cause your drag to not function smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captsully18 Posted December 11, 2007 Report Share Posted December 11, 2007 Try this link. These folks are super. http://www.lakeforktacklerepair.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchman Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 Not much to add. It's easy really. And once you do that you know what each part do so later on when you buy a new reel you know what to look for. If it's the first time you're cleaning up your reel I'd say it can take a few hours to get it completly clean. On some bearings it's possible to remove the shields. Some have a little clip that hold it. Look with a magnifying glass if you can see it. You can remove it with a fine needle. It's easier to put it back on! That will save you a lot of time soaking and shaking. Make sure you wait enough for the bearings to dry. Not much point adding lubricant in a solvent stuffed bearing! I save time with one of those air-blower cans used for cleaning up keyboards. And it will double as key-board cleaner!! I would suggest you use an old kitchen towell to work on. That way parts won't roll their way to the floor. As I take parts away I lay them on the left corner of the towell on the order I remove them. That makes a little path I just follow in reverse when I re-assemble the reel. The most annoying thing is realizing you missed a part and have to take apart something you're just done reassembling! To spin the bearing clean I use one wood chopstick. Its cone shape guarantees that I'll always have to proper diameter. It's fairly soft wood so it doesn't damage the bearing! Except for bearings and small parts, I clean everything in warm water with dish-washing soap. I don't have a dishwasher so I just use the regular old fashion version. I heard simple green or something works fine!! A used toothbrush helps a lot too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted December 20, 2007 Report Share Posted December 20, 2007 This should be perfect for you>>>> http://heartlandtackleservice.com/articles.stm#abu Or you could try these......http://super-tuning.home.mindspring.com/index%20page.html http://www.ultimatebass.com/content/view/72/148/ There are six pages in the index to the right on the article that explains each part tuning in detail along with pictures. I have also written an article in the General section on this site about servicing reels. http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7335 Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conniek Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 I am not on here to advertise. I found this site from statcounter and it shows where visitors come from. I have a video that we produced for folksjust like you wanting to learn how to take ownershipof their own reels. It is a maintenance video. We have demystified the big mystery and made the process very simple. Good luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captsully18 Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 I am not on here to advertise. I found this site from statcounter and it shows where visitors come from. I have a video that we produced for folksjust like you wanting to learn how to take ownershipof their own reels. It is a maintenance video. We have demystified the big mystery and made the process very simple. Good luck to you. Connie, glad to see you on here. Posted a link to your place a few days back. Hope some of the guys read it and checked in with you. I have your video and tool kit, one of the best buys I have made. Good luck to you. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conniek Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Captsully, thanks so much for thekind words. We have helped lots and lots of folks. I wrote an article sometime ago titled"Conniek's Tips and Techniques". It is floating around on lots of the fishing sites. Your webmaster here is welcome to put it up here as well. Glad you like the video and kit.We have not had anyone disapointed yet. We used in the video the products we use in our shop everyday as well as assembled them for the kit. Anglers like to able to maintain their own reels and sure do like the money saved. (so they can buy more at the tackle shows coming up.LOL) thanks again. Anglers on here are pretty knowledgable and have confidence in what they use on reels and like anything else, confidence plays a huge role in our fishing as well as our equipment and choice of things also contribute such as line,hooks, baits, etc and what we believe makes our reel return the best performance possible. Nothing wrong with that for sure. We have done this for so many years that we just share what we know that has made us successful, I believe all products used on reels are probably good if the user knows how to use them properly. thanks again. conniek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
