"When you buy a baitcaster, sooner or later you will face the question of how to keep your beloved piece in good shape. Depending on how often you fish and how many baitcasters you have in your arsenal, the maintenance intervals can vary greatly."
At least once a year it makes sense to take a close look at a baitcaster to see if something should be done. For me, there are baitcasters in my arsenal that I use no more than ten times a year, and these are not serviced every year. Other baitcasters receive a bit of attention every two to three months. There are different levels of care. Quite often, I just do a quick maintenance of the casting bearings.
Quick maintenance of the litter boxes
During a quick maintenance of the spool bearings, I really only take care of the ball bearings that are responsible for the cast. These are the two ball bearings that are in contact with the axle. One of them is always located in the non-handle sideplate. The second ball bearing is located depending on the manufacturer either on the spool axle or under the knob for the spool tension. Some call the knob axle squeeze...
"For quick maintenance, there are one or two tiny drops of thin oil on each of the ball bearings. When casting and cranking, the oil creeps into the ball bearings by itself, even when they are closed."
The lighter the casting weight of the baitcaster, the thinner the oil must be to keep the ball bearings extremely smooth. The downside is that such thin oils also disappear faster than thicker oils. It's not difficult to notice when the next quick maintenance is due. You can tell immediately when the ball bearings become loud, but otherwise run smoothly. Depending on the frequency of use, a BFS baitcaster needs to be oiled with one to two drops every few weeks. Baitcasters for heavier weights with thicker oil for the ball bearings can easily go a season without new oil.
Thorough maintenance of the litter boxes
During the thorough maintenance of the bearing housings, they must be removed. But that's not really an art either.
The ball bearings that are not seated on the shaft are usually held in place with a spring steel clip. To remove the clip, you need a bit of finesse and a tweezers or a fine flathead screwdriver.
You have to be extremely careful so that the brace doesn't get lost. The stretched brace can really fly far. If you're unsure, I recommend doing this operation in a clear plastic bag, then the brace can't fly far and you still have everything in view. I did it this way the first few times after I had to search for half an hour once.
If the bearing is on the spool, I definitely recommend a Pin Remover. This is a special tool for removing such pins. With pure muscle power or pliers, you can damage the spool edge or the axle, and then the damage is often irreparable. This is frustrating, as a new spool is usually extremely expensive.
The pin usually has a thicker and a thinner end. The pressure must be applied to the thinner end of the pin, as the thicker end does not fit through the hole in the axle. A little force is okay, but violence should not be necessary!
When the ball bearings are removed, they go into a bath of isopropanol. You only need enough to cover the ball bearings. To thoroughly remove the oil, I shake the jar with the isopropanol and the ball bearings from time to time. After a few hours, I lay the ball bearings out on kitchen paper to dry so they can dry. Once the ball bearings are dry, each one gets one to two drops of oil.
"I place the ball bearings on a chopstick or a Bearing Check Tool and turn the ball bearing a little. The oil then disappears very quickly inside the ball bearing. If I feel that it is still too little, I add a third drop."
Then everything is simply reassembled. The working time is not significantly longer than with the quick maintenance, provided you don't need to access the bearing from the inside under the spool tension, but the waiting time until everything is nicely soaked does require a bit of patience.
Thorough Baitcaster Maintenance
To thoroughly maintain a Baitcaster , you need a few things.- a cloth and/or kitchen roll
- Phillips or flathead screwdriver (depending on model)
- a Lock Nut Wrench for the Handle Nut
- a pin remover (depending on the model)
- Bearing Checktool or Chinese chopsticks
- cotton swabs
- cheap toothbrush
- one or two small bristle brushes
- Isopropanol
- a grease for lubricating the gears and brake discs
- Oil for the ball bearings and other low-friction parts
basic cleaning
First, I clean the baitcaster from the outside. I remove the non-handle sideplate, take the spool out of the baitcaster, and remove all dirt that I can reach from the outside. For this, I use a cloth or paper towel as well as cotton swabs. A clean bristle brush or a toothbrush can also be a great help. Especially at the reel foot and in the area of the level wind (the shaft that allows the line guide to move), lint and other debris accumulate.
Disassembling the baitcaster
The Non-Handle Sideplate has already been removed. I am now taking out the ball bearing and placing it in the isopropanol bath. It is important not to lose the clip that holds the ball bearing in place during removal or maintenance. Up to this point, everything is easy, but the rest won't be much harder either. I have two left hands and can do this, so you can too!
Order helps
Now it's time for the Handle Sideplate. Since it gets a bit more complicated here, I prepare a piece of paper as a base and place all the parts - in the exact order in which I removed them - on the paper. I also pay attention to where the bottom and the top are, as that can make a big difference.
"If you want to be completely sure, take a photo now and then before you take apart something that looks complicated. Then, even if something happens to your arrangement on the table, you'll still have a lifeline."
The harder part
To remove the handle, you first remove the screw that secures the retainer to the handle nut (the hex nut on the handle). Then you remove the retainer and loosen the handle nut. Now you can simply take off the handle.
Next, you unscrew the star of the drag brake. Underneath, there is usually a spring, a square nut, various washers, and often a clicker. Especially with the washers, it is important that they are positioned correctly, as some of them are curved. If the curvature later points in the wrong direction, you will have to fiddle around with how they belong until the baitcaster works ideally again.
When the handle and everything below it is removed, the screws that hold the handle sideplate come into play. Usually, these are three small screws. Once the screws are loosened, the handle sideplate can be easily lifted off.
"By the way, under the spool tension knob in the handle sideplate, you will also find a roller bearing. If you feel it needs to be cleaned, you can also place it in the isopropanol bath. All bearings that you find can be bathed to remove the old oil."
The inner workings of the baitcaster
"It's also important to keep things organized inside. Please take one or two photos between the work steps if you're not quite sure! When disassembling, make sure that all parts are facing the same way up as they were in the Baitcaster. If a part is installed the wrong way around, it can cause a lot of trouble."
As soon as all parts that can be easily removed, such as the transmission, the brake discs, the pinion gear (the small gear tube that interacts with the large gear wheel) and other small parts are removed, it’s time to clean.
"Partially, the baitcasters are completely dry inside, and partially they are extremely caked with grease. First, I remove all the old grease that I can find. I only degrease the brake discs if they have already caused problems or look dirty; otherwise, I leave them alone."
Next, new grease is applied to all gears I can find. You don't have to be too stingy, but too much is not good either. If you use too much grease, you'll end up with it everywhere in the baitcaster after a warm day of fishing. If you have degreased the brake discs, a very sparing lubrication is also required here, otherwise the brake will stutter!
All other movable particles and springs are oiled sparingly. The ball bearings are also carefully treated with a thin or very thin oil after they have been bathed and dried. Simply add one or two drops to the bearing and - as described in the first part - rotate the ball bearing. The oil then creeps into place by itself.
For the bearing, you can use either a rather thick oil or a very thin grease, depending on your preference. Then, simply reassemble everything just as you laid it out.
"Don't forget to grease or oil the cleaned levelwind a little bit. The thumb button also benefits from a small drop of oil at the points where it moves within the frame."
"Now your baitcaster should work like new again! Don't worry, I almost died the first time I took it apart, but by the third or fourth time, you'll have it under control!"
"Of course, one could disassemble even more than I have described. However, if you go further, you should either really know what you're doing, have a used baitcaster for practice on hand, or leave the valuable equipment to a professional !"
Author : Luitgar Summer
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