Cleaning my own baitcaster questions

So I've thought about cleaning my own reels....I have all Shimano E7's, E5's, and 50E's....Looking at the schematic I see that there are two bearings that would potentially need to have the original grease cleaned out and a drop of oil added....The spool bearing inside the side plate appears to be fairly easy to get to, but the other one appears it might be more of a hassle....My question is would I be wasting my time only doing the spool bearing inside the side plate? I've heard a lot of guys say this is the important one to clean....Any of you guys that clean your own reels feel free to comment, as any input would be appreciated...I'm scared to go inside the reel for fear of not being able to get it put back together correctly

There are some Shimano videos on U tube that show how to clean these reels properly.

Most all the cleaning is done with a cotton Q tip or with a little bit of Alcohol on the tip end of a cotton Q tip.

To oil I think that they added a small drop of light weight oil onto the tip end of a Q tip and just dabbed it on the parts. Don't use too much oil at any time. Less is more in this case according to the Video's I saw.

Check out the U tube site and search for videos about cleaning fishing reels.


[QUOTE=Fishin is life;480381]So I've thought about cleaning my own reels....I have all Shimano E7's, E5's, and 50E's....Looking at the schematic I see that there are two bearings that would potentially need to have the original grease cleaned out and a drop of oil added....The spool bearing inside the side plate appears to be fairly easy to get to, but the other one appears it might be more of a hassle....My question is would I be wasting my time only doing the spool bearing inside the side plate? I've heard a lot of guys say this is the important one to clean....Any of you guys that clean your own reels feel free to comment, as any input would be appreciated...I'm scared to go inside the reel for fear of not being able to get it put back together correctly[/QUOTE]

I clean both of those bearings on my Curado E's and D's. Unscrew the cast control knob till it comes off. Remove the spring and washers( I think the D's have some) and either tap the palm side of the reel or use a dental pick to remove bearing. I soak the bearings in lighter fluid overnight, then put them in water for 10 minutes. Next you have to spin them to dry them out. I use a drill with a Qtip put in chock. I put the bearing half way on the cotton and hold it inside a paper bag and start the drill slowly then speed it up. You will see the paper bag get wet. Then I put one small drop of Quantum Hot Sauce on them and reassemble. I do this with the seals on the bearings. I have never tried taking them off. Half way through the season I just add a second drop of oil to the bearings while they are installed.

Thanks for the responses guys

Ribbluefish....I've also heard you can use compressed air to dry out the bearings after soaking them in the lighter fluid, would that be OK? Is it necessary to soak them in water after the lighter fluid? I was also going to leave the shields on the bearings, as that's one less thing I could mess up...Also isn't the quantum hot sauce a grease? Should I use grease or oil?

I am sure compressed air would work. I think the water step is to make sure there is no lighter fluid left to break down the fresh oil. The Hot Sauce I have is the liquid reel oil not the grease in the tube. Ardent does make a product I have seen at BPS that says bearing oil, but I have used the Hot Sauce with no issues.

Thanks a lot guys....I'm gonna give it my first attempt on a reel tonight

[QUOTE=Fishin is life;480446]Thanks a lot guys....I'm gonna give it my first attempt on a reel tonight[/QUOTE]

Just finished yesterday cleaning my reels. Shimano Black Magnums w/Fightin Star. Has 3 ball bearings, one in the reel handle and 2 on the spool. I used lighter fluid on the bearings to loosen the oil that was in there from last year and then used a can of compressed air that is used to clean computers and other products with. Bought it at Wal-Mart. Afterwards I only put no more that 3 drops of oil on each bearing and let it get into the bearing before reinstalling. Also put a drop of oil on other bearing surfaces that do not affect the spool and also on the level wind. Reinstall bearings and make sure everything is in good working order. BTW, had 12 rods with reels to clean. Removed the reels from rods, cleaned the cork handles with comet and a stiff brush and everything looks like new and Ready To Go.

I'm cleaning an E5 as my trial run....I'm seeing a fair amount of gunk and old grease in the cleaning solution so I'm assuming that's a good thing....I'll be using compressed air to make sure theyre dry as well and then oil before reinstalling....Hope I'm doing everything correctly

Trial run was a success....Went out and threw it in the yard and it was noticeably better....Looks like I have 6 or 7 more reels to do this week

[QUOTE=Fishin is life;480491]Trial run was a success....Went out and threw it in the yard and it was noticeably better....Looks like I have 6 or 7 more reels to do this week[/QUOTE]

Three drops of oil on a bearing is too much oil. Put one drop on a Q tip end and then use that Q tip end to damp the bearings a few times. That's all the oil they require as per the Shimano Videos that I saw on U Tube. This was a factory rep that cleans these reels when you send them into the factory to get cleaned and lubed. He was very specific about not using too much oil on the bearings. The more oil you use the quicker they will collect dirt and grime again. They only need a very light coating of oil on them.

Check out this video on U Tube and see how the Shimano Guy's clean and oil a reel.

[URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLpO74dWuoE[/URL]

I hope this link works

I'd heard the one drop of oil previously and that's all I used....seems tough to get the one drop down in the shielded bearings though, but I made it work...thanks for the input