need some help with zebco and abu garcia cardinal reels

[nctrucker]

I have several of these reels. thinking about getting abec's for some of 'em. has anybody changed these bearings and know the sizes I need for zebco cardinals 3 and 4 and/or the black abu Garcia 3 and 4? thanks in advance, nctrucker

[uljersey]

First thing is why ABEC bearings in a spinning reel ? While spinners can benefit from upgraded bearings to a certain point, you won't get any advantage with ABEC's ...

Second thing is to get yourself a set of calipers that can measure inside & outside diameters. You can get them cheap from Harbor Freight, they will be more than sufficient to measure bearings. No need to spend top dollar on them, you can spend as little as $2.99 on a plastic set or get a digital one for $9.99 on sale.

http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools ... 93293.html

[steve1206]

ABEC is a scale to rate the tolerances of bearings..not a brand...........

And I can't imagine you are going to see much benefit in those older spinning reels, anyway. Any internal advantage, if you could possibly find one, I would think would be greatly overshadowed by the poor tolerances and iffy parts used to build those reels. I am not ripping your reels....I grew up fishing them so I have first handle experience. My opinion is that you should fish those reels, as is, and if you are looking to spend some money, invest in new reels, not parts for those...Just my 2 cents.

[nctrucker]

I appreciate the replies and the advice. I did get some calipers and found some measurements on them. the zebco cardinal 4 reels need 10x19x7 bearings and an abu Garcia cardinal 3 will need a 7x14x5 bearing. a zebco cardinal 3 will need an 8x16x5 bearing. I put abecs in a chronarch 100a I "stole" at a fleamarket (along with a shimano crucial rod and a shimano speedmaster rod, all for $5each). major difference in performance with abec's. cardinal reels don't need bearings but just to show they're appreciated I plan of changing some out.they are 35-45 years old, wow. I have 5 cardianal 3's- two zebco and 3 abu Garcia. two of the abu Garcia are very smooth, one not so much. it is a candidate for my playing with it.