TackleTour

I have two reels as shown in the picture below. I am cleaning them for a friend, and when I flip the bail and then crank the handle, the bail doesn't fully trip over. It kind of goes mid point and just spins. I have tried cleaning the bail mechanism along with oiling it. On one reel it helped on the other it still doesn't flip over. What is the cause of this problem and how do I fix it. Thank You for your help.

Most of the time, this happens because the bail hit something and is slightly bent in. This happens when you put a spinning rod down. You can take the index and middle finger of each hand on each side of the bail and pull it out a bit. This should solve the problem.

More than likely the bail wire is bent out of shape as mentioned. Almost all of the bail issues we see are due to that. The spring and associated parts rarely fail. If the reels are used in saltwater there could be corrosion on the bail pivot (opposite the bail arm/line roller).

Try pinching the wire on each side (bail arm and pivot) and squeeze it towards the center to alter the shape a little. Typically the wire is bent in the center of the "U" and forces it outwards. This places tension on the pivot.

Have these reels ever been disassembled before?

Check the bail trip strike RD11610.

Thanks for all the replies. These reels have never been cleaned since new. I bet they are at least 5 years old ?????

I would try playing with the shape first. As I mentioned previously that is the most common issue we see. Spring and other part issue failures are rare. Another ting to look at is the bail arm (part with the line roller). Make sure the roller is perfectly vertical while holding the reel vertical. If it is leaning forward it could be wear on the arm and it alters the angle. This can also cause trip issues.

I haven’t bothered to ever disassemble any bit of the rotor apart from cleaning or changing the line roller, but it wouldn’t be any overnighted screws at the pivots?

Typically you cannot overtighten the screws unless you really wrench on them to the point of deforming other parts or stripping the threads.