Daiwa Td Sol 2000 Bearing Replacement

[slinkymalinky]

A while ago you may remember my significant other dropped my Sol into the salt water. I got stuck during the strip down, being unable to see how to remove the main drive gear.

So I gave the reel to a tackle store recommended servicer (not Daiwa)... BIG MISTAKE. It should have gone to Daiwa but I was worried about the delay and what the salt might cause in the meantime. Probably fewer problems than the recommended repairer as it turns out.

The reel came back with a new rough, 'gravelly' feel... usually a sure sign that the bearings are stuffed. So I decided to pull it down myself if I could to see the damage for myself.

I spoke to Daiwa and they were more than happy to give me advice on removing the drive gear... I can't praise their customer service enough. I've ordered a new set of bearings from them.

In the meantime here's a detailed look at me stripping down the reel to check the bearings and clean the reel before I put in the order. (I'll just have to do it again when the bearings arrive). I couldn't describe or photograph every single screw and part though... sorry.

Step 1 - getting started

Remove the spool, handle, bearing retainer plates and rear cover.

Step 2 - removing the rotor

Here you can see the spool clicker assembly (quite different than on most reels). AND you can see the first problem from my 'expert servicer'... the clicker leaf spring and holder are on the shaft upside down creating problems with the seating of the spool and with the drag.

You'll need to disassemble this, beginning by removing the hard to see fine-wire retaining spring, then the clicker spring assembly just slides off.

To remove the clicker assembly metal 'collar' you'll have to push out a small pin that secures it to the shaft. Sometimes this pin will be obscured by grease.

Here's the disassembled clicker. The rotor nut securing the rotor can be easily removed with a small spanner after first removing the retaining screw.

Step 3 - Removing the clutch bearings & main shaft bearing

Having removed the rotor, you'll be confronted with the clutch bearing assembly. The first thing is to remove the retaining plate, then the clutch bearing with clutch cam and retainer will come out together.

DON'T MESS WITH THE CLUTCH BEARING

It's made up of lots of tiny bearing rollers that can fall out and go everywhere. The best thing to do as I've done here is leave it intact as a unit

Beneath the clutch bearing assembly is a retaining plate for the main shaft bearing. Remove this plate and then the brass pinion gear with the main shaft bearing can be slipped out.

This is where I found my 2nd problem... the 'expert' had installed the thin spacer washer on the wrong side of the main shaft bearing (the photo was taken during reassembly when the spacer was back in its proper place)

Step 4 - Reel internals

Remove the 3 screws securing the left reel side plate and remove the plate.

You'll immediately see the main drive gear.

Removing it is a bit tricky... you'll need to remove the left side handle bearing by either gently tapping the reel on a bit of wood or something... or as I did, by gently pushing the bearing out from the inside with a wooden skewer (you'll have to reach under the drive gear).

As you lift out the main drive gear, you'll also need to centre the anti reverse lever of the rear of the reel... this lines up a notch in the anti reverse shaft so the drive gear will slip out.

Next, you need to remove the oscillating gear which can be done by removing the stablizer bar...

... so that the main shaft can be moved out of the way, providing access. I didn't have any need to disassemble and remove the shaft itself and I always think it's a good policy to never play with what you don't have to, inside a reel. The oscillating gear assembly can then be removed by removing the screw.

NOTE: The oscillating gear in a TD Sol is made up of a number of small parts so BE CAREFUL.

Step 5 - cleaning and lubricating

Here's the Sol all pulled apart (well, mostly). This is a very complicated reel and not recommended for beginners. You'll note as always that all the parts are grouped in sub-assemblies in order on a white towel. I even make sure each part is the right way up so that reassembly is easy.

Before reassembling the reel I had to clean it, removing all the old lubricant with white spirit (DO NOT use Kerosene, Petrol or anything else that will leave a residue... White Spirit is 100% Hydrocarbon and evaporates completely after removing oil and grease)

Individual parts like bearings and gears can be immersed in white spirit while hard to get to areas can be cleaned using a paint brush dipped in the spirit. With bearings (even shielded bearings aren't completely fluid proof by the way), you should gently hold the centre spindle and spin the bearing then dip in spirit. Do this repeatedly and you'll feel the bearing free up (and hear it) as the old lubricant is washed out.

You can see some crud floating in the white spirit in the photo... this is just from the 2 side bearings and main shaft bearing... that's not stuff you want inside your bearings and it's also not stuff that should be inside bearings after a reel's been serviced

Allow all the parts to dry thoroughly, then you'll need some good quality lubricants. For this job I'm using Rocket Fuel oil and Shimano's Permalube grease.

The oil is for ball bearings and the main shaft. The grease is for all gears. DON'T use grease in ball bearings.... it might be good for packing your trailer bearings but if you want your reel to spin easily, only use good quality oil. Grease will just clag them up.

NEW NOTE

The clutch bearing is a separate case that, according to Daiwa, should be cleaned free of any old lubricants and only given a really light smear of grease (which can be distributed evenly by turning the collar in the bearing). Any excess should be removed leaving only a film residue on the bearing. (Over lubricating a clutch bearing might cause the anti reverse to slip)

Applying grease and oil can be made easier with a paintbrush if your bottles don't have an applicator.

Then it's just a matter of reassembling in reverse order. As a tip, it's worth testing the functioning of each component and sub assembly as you go... otherwise you could completely reassemble the reel only to find you have to go back many steps to rectify a problem.

Back to the beginning... here's the clicker assembly reinstalled... THE RIGHT WAY!

After this service the reel is much better and I could probably get by without replacing the bearings... but it's only at 95% and I'd only get frustrated knowing it could be better. Given that the simple botching of the clicker and the position of 1 spacer had the reel at maybe 60%, a bit of time was worth the effort. I'll just do it all again when the new bearings arrive.

And a final comment if you're not completely confident... DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS... for a Sol in particular, if you're not familiar with the fundamentals, I'd strongly recommend sending any Sol to Daiwa (and only Daiwa) for servicing.

Cheers, Slinky