Abu Soron Stx10

[woodch0p]

I documented this strip down of an Abu Soron STX 10 a few months ago, but due to sheer laziness I have only got around to posting it up now. I thought it would be a good time seeing as there is an influx of interest in the reel.

The reel is brand new out of the box, these are the things I do to all my reels before they get used to increase their life span, and the fact that I like to tinker. Whole process took me 20mins.

Quick apology about some of the photo’s being out of focus or having shadows, if you would like any in further detail leave me a post or pm and I will take some more.

Here are the schematics of the reel FYI.

Start by removing the drag knob and spool from the reel.

The first thing we will look at is the drag knob itself. Remove the two screws on the underside. You should now be able to remove the cover and access the internals. Be careful on the small metal clicker ball offset from the middle, as there is a spring underneath it which can cause it to go walkabouts. Second photo is of an exploded view of the drag knob. I apply some marine grease (Castrol boating grease being the marine grease of my choice, but there are a lot of other quality marine greases out there) to the metal spring and thread inside the drag knob. I do not apply any grease to the drag knob clicker as I have done this once before and it reduces the sound and definition in the clicker. Once done put it all back together.

Apply an ultra fine coating of grease to the waterproof seal on the drag knob for protection. The grease I used during this strip down is Shimano Ace-2 drag grease, but have since removed this and have now used Cal’s Grease. There is no reason for the change other then the reputation behind Cal’s. I had no issues with the Shimano grease.

Once done the next part to look at is the spool itself. To access the drag washers I used a small pair of needle nose pliers in the grooves to unscrew the casing. For photo purposes they are bare, but I actually used a thin sheet over the pliers to avoid scratching. Once this is removed you can now access the drag washer stack. The second photo is an exploded view of the stack in the order they came out (right being the top and left being the bottom). All were coated with Shimano Ace-2 drag grease (now converted to Cal’s). Before putting back together a small amount of the same drag grease was applied to the washer and thread of the top of the spool (as seen in photo three). This is to prevent salt corrosion and the two rusting together and not being able to access the washers, as this is a problem I have had with one of my neglected old reels. Even though this reel has a waterproof drag system I prefer to be safe than sorry.

The last thing to do with the spool is to flip it over and apply some marine grease to the spool clicker spring and mechanism. To many times before have I heard about people’s reels no longer clicking when the line is running and 9/10 times the spring being rusted and broken is the problem. Yes the part may only be worth a dollar or two, but if it saves me the hassle of sourcing one and installing it, I will spend the extra two seconds applying some grease.

Now remove the spool components off the main shaft. The two plastic washers in the first photo are on pretty tight, and will need to be wiggled back and forwards to remove. Second photo is an exploded view of components. The metal spring 3rd from the right holds the bearings and spacer onto the chrome sleeve (actually plastic) 3rd from the left, be careful when removing this to avoid it flying off. On the underside of the sleeve is also a washer which fell out on removal, if I didn't see it fall out it would have never made its way back in. The washer is shown in the 3rd photo. I also lightly coat the waterproof washer in this stack with grease upon reassembly, the same as I did with the one on the drag knob. Also from here on in every bearing I come across gets a drop or two of Reel-X.

That leaves us with the core to look at. Remove the screw holding the retainer ring on the nut of the rotor, and then remove the nut. You can now take the rotor off the main assembly. The two other screws on the top of the rotor are for the counter balance weight.

I haven't got photos of the bail arm assembly, it is similar to the ones found on alot of other spin reels, if someone wants the photo's let me know and I will pull it apart again and take some. A few points of interest shown in the photo’s below. First one is a hidden screw behind the Abu logo on the bail arm. Don't undo the first screw and try to remove the outer casing, as the first screw is only for the logo plaque. Have read on the net of people removing this first screw and forcing the side plate off causing it to crack the casing or thread the screw. Second photo is of the line roller. The bearing inside the line roller is actually held in place by a retaining ring. As with all retaining springs caution will need to be taken when removing this to avoid it flying off.

Now for the guts of the reel. Start by removing the shield held by three screws.

Remove the metal ring and bearing from the top. This can be done with a small flat head screwdriver. Then disconnect the anti reverse spring, allowing you to remove the anti reverse system. Be careful that the anti reverse bearings don't fall out everywhere. Once this is removed the worm drive can also be removed. Make sure during the service that you avoid grease getting on the anti reverse bearing as it can cause it to stop working. I give mine a coat with Inox on a rag for protection.

Next remove the rear silver casing off the reel via the screw at the base, this will give you access to one of the screws holding together the main body. It is not clearly seen in the second photo but there was a silicon like gum on the rear of the reel under the casing on the raw metal, not sure of its purpose.

Now you can undo the side plate and access the internals. Note: these photos were taken after I serviced it, reason why everything is coated in marine grease. By undoing the screw on the rear of the spool shaft will allow you to remove it and give you room to be able to remove the main gear. The fifth photo in these series is of a small spacing washer on the right hand bearing. Make sure you remember the order of all spacer washers in your reel, two more brass coloured ones can be seen on top of the main gear in the first three photo's. My reel has a total of three but other reels might be different due to the tolerances in the reel and minute differences in manufacturing. I put one of these spacer washers on the wrong side, it was 0.6mm thick and it caused my reel to clunk like it has been filled with sand. Goes to show you the precision and ultra fine tolerances these modern reels have. Everything inside here got a generous coating of marine grease as shown.

Now reassemble it all by doing everything in the opposite order. I added a small amount of Inox to the handle joint at the end also.

Hope this post will have some use to someone. Simple steps like this will help the lifespan any reel you own. They may seem complex but it is actually quite easy to do, and as I said only took me 20mins.

Daniel

[slinkymalinky]

Great work, Daniel.

I've got 3 Sorons now so this will come in very handy. Thanks for taking the time to put the tutorial together... I know how much time they take.

I've edited your original posts into a single post now, so you might want to just give it a quick look and make sure I haven't missed anything.

Cheers, Slinky

[woodch0p]

Cheers Tony for fixing that up. I should have a couple more up in the coming weeks.

[slinkymalinky]

Cheers Tony for fixing that up. I should have a couple more up in the coming weeks.

Great... keep 'em coming. I've got one to put together too... just waiting of some parts for an ABU 6500 then I'll get the camera out.

Really nice work on the Soron too. The way you posted worked fine.

Cheers, Slinky

[Catchin Jack]

Nice, 4.

[Stippy]

Hey guys,

How do I go about removing the roller bearing? Mine isn't spinning smoothly as it should and really affecting my enjoyment of an otherwise smooth reel. I tried to get the bearing out myself but I didn't want to force it and it didn't seem to want to come out after removing the screw on the bail arm. I was hoping to clean and lube it up myself but if I need to I will send it away to Pure Fishing, trying to learn the basics of reel maintenance.

Cheers,

Adam.

[woodch0p]

Hey guys,

How do I go about removing the roller bearing? Mine isn't spinning smoothly as it should and really affecting my enjoyment of an otherwise smooth reel. I tried to get the bearing out myself but I didn't want to force it and it didn't seem to want to come out after removing the screw on the bail arm. I was hoping to clean and lube it up myself but if I need to I will send it away to Pure Fishing, trying to learn the basics of reel maintenance.

Cheers,

Adam.

After removing the screw you should be able to seperate the bail arm from the body arm. Now slide off the roller. There is a small spring clip ontop of the roller bearing holding it into place shown in photo number twenty. Remove this using a small hook and you should have the bearing seperated from everything else.

Regards

Daniel