dfwatson Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 I have about 10 of the old Curado (green) reels and some of these reels are really getting some age on them. I take these reels apart, clean and lube them yearly. Wondering if there are rebuild kits for these reels or if there are certain parts, bearing.... that would normally wear out. Any help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 I did a web search for supertuning reels and got some info. I spent several hours doing some of my old Cs. They averaged about 30' gain in distance. 600 grit w/d, 1500 grit w/d, and semichrome polish was all I had to buy since I already have a Dremel. I also replaced the drag washers with smoothies from Heartland before he retired last year. You can check your bearings by soaking them in naptha then reoiling them and giving them a spin on a pair of needle nose pliers. I have only had to replace 1 spool bearing and no others. Mind date back to 1996 and get used a lot. Just be careful with the spool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwatson Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Not sure what you are saying here... (600 grit w/d, 1500 grit w/d, and semichrome polish was all I had to buy since I already have a Dremel.) Can you spell it out for me ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 (edited) Not sure what you are saying here... (600 grit w/d, 1500 grit w/d, and semichrome polish was all I had to buy since I already have a Dremel.) Can you spell it out for me ? He polished stuff inside the reel. Like both brass gears and the spool shaft (after he bought a new one:eek:). With a supertune, any part of the reel that has friction with another part gets polished. Jig Man.........how did that happen? Looks like it has a good story behind it. For what you're asking......you need to tear the reel down to nothing. Get a parts diagram online. When you take it apart you need some way to organize all the parts. I use egg crates, put each part in the next hole that way they're in order. Clean everything inside with simple green and a toothbrush, and soak the bearings in naptha (lighter fluid). You can use alcohol, too. You'll be amazed at the dirt that come out of them. Get some reel oil, one drop for each bearing. Also oil the worm gear for the level wind. Reel grease, lightly grease all the other parts inside. I like the Abu Garcia grease and Shimano oil. you only need a little grease, otherwise it's just going to push to the side and sit there. When you get it back together you'll be amazed at the difference. Some of the parts will wear over time, especially without regular cleaning, but the reel will still work with some slightly worn parts. There will just be a little slop in it. As for what parts, that's different with every reel I've taken apart. But any tackle shop that services reels should sell you the parts if you can figure out where the problem is. I'd definitely just give it a good cleaning and see how it is before buying any new parts though. There's probably nothing that needs replacing. If you're not up to tearing them all down for a good cleaning, there's plenty of guys that'll clean them up for you, usually costs 20-30 dollars. If they're lefty's, I'll buy them from you if you're thinking about replacing them. Edited January 18, 2009 by clamboni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 I don't know of any Shimano rebuild kits, just separate parts you can order. You should always do a 100% disassembly, cleaning, and relube before you order parts. It's amazing how often that will bring a reel back to factoryfresh - or even better. On the other hand, a reel with new parts will still work like crap if it's dirty. On a Curado, the things that wear fastest in my experience are the drag washer, the brass brake ring, and the copper pad under the cast control knob on the right side of the reel. Smooothies are a great replacement for the drag. You can polish out the brake ring. It will last much longer and work better if you wipe the ring with solvent and dress it with a Qtip wetted with a drop of bearing oil whenever you lube the bearings (2-3 times per year). Flipping over the copper pad is usually enough to get the spool spinning easier. As far as bearings go, the ones getting the most wear are the 2 spool end bearings. I've used Curados for 10+ yrs and never had to change the bearing next to the spool. I can get bearings up to snuff 90% of the time soaking them in aerosol starting fluid and spinning them on a pencil tip repeatedly. If they refuse to spin smooth after 4-5 iterations, buy some 3x4x10mm ABEC7 bearings to replace them ($7-8 each). Reel lube products are critical. I use Superlube grease, Yellow Rocket Fuel or Reel Butter for bearings and Shimano Drag Grease for Shimano fiber drag washers (but not Smooothies). The thick sticky drag grease is important if you want a smooth drag - it's very different from standard grease. You can also use it to lube the main gear teeth, or break in a new pinion/main gear set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwatson Posted January 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 Thanks for all the advise, just finished 2 of the reels and everything went fine. The only tricky part is polishing the spool ends and the area where the pinion travels. Great site! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
