Roller clutch issues?

[Slazmo]

Tranx 300...

Super doughy out of the box.

[lifeofRiley]

Roller clutches, especially the newer ones, have been one of the trickiest aspects of reel service for me. I know the answer is usually to place oil on q tip and then swab the rollers with a really light coat. I've done this before and put the reel back together and there can be a squeaking noise when reeling, usually after sever uses or a light rain. A lot of reels from the factory have had greased clutches which can cause slippage after extended use. I understand this may not be as much of an issue for saltwater reels as they must be cleaned much more often and so are taken apart more frequently and the clutch in turn will be cleaned and re-lubed on a more frequent basis. I don't know if there's a magic bullet here, but I will say that with time I've gotten better at putting on just the right amount for the clutch not to squeak and also not to slip. One final question, why do the fat rollers in shimano spinning reel clutches that require no grease and no oil never rust(at least for me) but the rollers in casting reels will rust over time if not maintained properly?

[Slazmo]

Lots of interesting points. I've started to grease some AR's with 0000 NLGI grease as mentioned prior, but the difference between the stuff I've got vs that of in the Tranx is chalk and cheese...

I personally like to liberally oil my AR's (some especially the lighter reels) to the point of wet lube via pinpoint oiler, ensuring that there is oil in that gap where the pin roller exists. Because that AR is really worked for what it actually is...

One final question, why do the fat rollers in shimano spinning reel clutches that require no grease and no oil never rust(at least for me) but the rollers in casting reels will rust over time if not maintained properly?

Hold my beer... Because let's be honest I doubt they're even oiled from factory...

[Jeffbro999]

I fish in the salt, and can say these ARBs can be a huge issue. Probably said this earlier in the thread, but CorrosionX is the deal and can’t be beat for these. Haven’t had a single issue with one since I made the switch. Simply spray it in the bearing liberally, insert inner tube to spread it around, and install. No squeak, no rust, no slip....just as smooth as when it came from the factory, and it stays in place a lot longer than oils, especially if you fish through rain or soak a reel. Don’t think to far into these, it can’t get any easier.

[lifeofRiley]

Hold my beer... Because let's be honest I doubt they're even oiled from factory...

Haha, I figured you'd have a pic of a rusted out spinning reel clutch. I'm guessing it had use in the salt. For my shimano spinning reels I usually only clean once every two years although if a reel starts feeling off I will break it down right away. I have a few that I wade fish with, and they tend to take a dunking frequently, which leads to more frequent cleanings. For my use in freshwater only, I have yet to see a rusted spinning clutch. I never add any lube whatsoever. Of course the casting versions are totally different for me and we just covered that.

JB, thanks for the tip on CorrosionX, I will use it.

[Slazmo]

It's strange as it seems that what starts the corrosion on the roller clutch is the outer ring, seems a deformity in the stainless alloy starts a rust spot which erodes inwards and just blossoms outwards and attacks the roller bearing towards the end. It's strange as those rust spots are very random and clean right beside it totally unaffected...

That bearing was from a project Stradic FJ I got a while back. Had to swap out that bearing though...

With oil it just helps keep water off the surface through its surface te sion most of all, you know I've not swapped out one of my own yet in all these years. Maintaining them is the key.

[Jeffbro999]

Just to be clear, I was referring to ARB in casting reels. If I had a spinning reel I would give it a try and report back, as I can’t really see a negative to using it even though they are supposed to be run dry, but I don’t own one. Be sure to let the bearing drain on a paper towel before reinstalling.

As for the squeaking, is this dry rollers that cause this? I used TSI on these for a while, and while it did a great job of protecting the surface of the metal, it would on occasion start to squeak, which is very annoying. This confused me though, since I know the TSI didn’t just wash off. Switching to CX took care of that problem, but still something I’ve wondered about.

[lifeofRiley]

The squeaking w/casting reel clutches I have run into is either on some of my old dirty curados that were never maintained. This was several years ago before I got into maintenance. I broke the reels down and there was water/rust in the clutches and on the surface of the inner tube. Cleaning and/or replacement solved this depending on each reel. Last winter I serviced a large amount of reels for a friend. They were older shimanos that had been neglected and many clutch assemblies were replaced. I didn't put any lube on them because in the past these came from shimano "pre-lubed" just like they are in a newly purchased reel. My buddy got his reels back and after 5 trips he said a lot of reels were squealing on the retrieve. It turned out the rollers were rusting already. I took them all apart again and lubed all the clutches, and explained to my buddy what had happened. So if you ever do a parts order, lube the new clutch!!

(reels in the post were only used in freshwater)