Better Grease for Metaniums?

[Kurt L]

For what it's worth I have used the DG02 and the JDM DG06 with much better results from the DG06... so far. My Met 13 was gritty feeling when new until cleaning and lubing with the DG06 then it became my yard stick for the smoothest reel I owned until last weekend... I serviced it prior to using it this time with DG02 and fished it side by side with my Met MGL. My MGL just had the gears replaced by the service department and same deal after the first day it was Gritty feeling so I cleaned and lubed it with DG06 and bingo it's butter now, well back to the Met 13 it went from butter to grinder in about 4 hours and 6 or 8 Silvers while casting 1/4-3/8oz lures on 8lb Line. The MGL is still smooth after a couple of very successful days using the same setup in the same spot running on the DG06!, My Met 13 ran butter smooth two years on DG06, it became gritty and rough in four hours on DG02 I cleaned it again hoping to bring it back but feels like she's done.
I purchased the DG06 from Hedge Hog Studios, I believe it is listed for use in spinning reels, it is much thinner and oilier than the DG02 but it's worked well in my Mets so far.

Kurt

[y2k88]

Thanks for the tip!

[Strewth]

Interesting. I was advised by Jun at Japantackle to use thick grease in my 13 Met for the same problem. Will give a thinner grease a go, but these gear sets seem to be a real problem. I've tried Cals, ACE-2, Reelx soft, Reelx medium, ZPI medium, and Daiwa blue grease with only temporary improvement. Just wish a brass gear set for this reel would become available....

[Jeffbro999]

Corrosion X grease is working great in my Metaniums. They are all very smooth.

[Kurt L]

I'm going to try DG11 next (Shimano's heavy duty grease) in my Met 13 now that it's so rough just for the heck of it before dropping $60.00 on new gears, just wish I could get a brass drive gear and I'm sure a lot of other people do to! just look at how cheap Met 13s are on the auction sites that says something right there... No more aluminum geared reels for me. I'm seriously thinking about selling them both, the bummer is aside from the gear durability they are the finest baitcaster I've owned including the Antares!

Kurt

[Strewth]

Corrosion X grease is working great in my Metaniums. They are all very smooth.

Soft ReelX grease is the same as CorrosionX HD grease, and the medium ReelX grease is the same as CorrosionX grease. Neither kept my 13 Met smooth for long, even after replacing the gear set, the AR sleeve, and the AR bearing . Of course, smoothness is subjective but I call my 15 Conquest 100HG smooth (10/10), whereas my 13 Met is a 5/10. Both have mm gears. My 5 year old Calais 100A is way smoother than my 13 Met, as is my 15 year old Millionaire with a Pixy 6.8 gear upgrade (both 9/10).

[y2k88]

I'm going to try DG11 next (Shimano's heavy duty grease) in my Met 13 now that it's so rough just for the heck of it before dropping $60.00 on new gears, just wish I could get a brass drive gear and I'm sure a lot of other people do to! just look at how cheap Met 13s are on the auction sites that says something right there... No more aluminum geared reels for me. I'm seriously thinking about selling them both, the bummer is aside from the gear durability they are the finest baitcaster I've owned including the Antares!

Kurt

Maybe Shimano needs to do a kickstarter campaign. Lock in some funds/sales before committing on the tooling.

Anyway, have you considered polishing the gears with a dremel/brush wheel as something to try?

[Slazmo]

smoothness is subjective

Absolutely bang on...

have you considered polishing the gears with a dremel/brush wheel as something to try?

Why not use a "ultra" fine cutting compound through the gears, than a whirring metal comb which'll remove metal unevenly?

And or then try a ceramic based grease?

[Jeffbro999]

Corrosion X grease is working great in my Metaniums. They are all very smooth.

Soft ReelX grease is the same as CorrosionX HD grease, and the medium ReelX grease is the same as CorrosionX grease. Neither kept my 13 Met smooth for long, even after replacing the gear set, the AR sleeve, and the AR bearing . Of course, smoothness is subjective but I call my 15 Conquest 100HG smooth (10/10), whereas my 13 Met is a 5/10. Both have mm gears. My 5 year old Calais 100A is way smoother than my 13 Met, as is my 15 year old Millionaire with a Pixy 6.8 gear upgrade (both 9/10).

I remember your threads and that's very unfortunate nothing has helped. That's really a mystery to me. I can only share my experiences, and since switching to CorrosionX I feel nothing when turning the handle, it's better than new. I also pack my frame bearings in this grease and it's a little stiff at first, but breaks in quickly and has stayed smooth for a several months now fishing inshore. This same gear set had the rough gear feeling previously, but whatever it was hasn't occurred again.(Don't know how that's possible, so I've always thought of it as a bearing problem and replace frame bearings with Boca Yellow Seal hybrids) I've also cleaned a few of my friends Met MGLs that were said to be feeling rough, used this grease, and they are still working perfectly. I've been very happy with the grease, and my Metaniums.

[Kurt L]

Boy I messed up on the part numbers the DG02 I mentioned is actually ACE 2, and the DG11 is actually DG10, Dang I need to quit posting when the wife is giving me the evil eye...

I have the Met 13 on the table going in for another new grease test.

Kurt

[Bantam1]

We use ACE 2 in our repair department for all baitcast reel gears. It stays in place better with pressure than the lighter greases do. What I have found is that the gears typically did not have enough grease. This was done to maintain a lighter rotation feeling. The grease amount was adjusted this year with more grease being used on the drive gear. It has curbed gear wear issues from my experience.

MicroModule gears are also really smooth from the start, so much that I think savvy anglers detect wear quicker than with the older gear designs.

Do not use any sort of lapping or rubbing compound on our gears. It will damage the gears in short order.

Gears do wear out from use. If the gears feel "gritty" it means they need to be replaced. Typically when gears wear they will not feel gritty. You can usually feel and hear a worn gear set.

[Kurt L]

Thanks Bantam!, I use Ace 2 in all of my Baitcasting reels no matter the brand it is excellent, but at least in my two Mets it doesn't seam to last long before the gears start to feel dry (Gritty), the DG06 seams to run much longer and smoother in my small experiment with two reels, I tried DG10 yesterday with no change in my now worn 13, then I started over cleaned everything again and re-lubed it with IOS Factory Gear Grease (Again From Hedge Hog) and I may be on to something it's very expensive Grease but my Met 13 is smooth again I need to get out on the water and find out for how long?

Kurt

[Slazmo]

MicroModule gears are also really smooth from the start, so much that I think savvy anglers detect wear quicker than with the older gear designs.

Pretty strange design philosophy there with MM gears. Would rather have the old adage that Shimano start out geary and go smooth other than that way around.

Do not use any sort of lapping or rubbing compound on our gears. It will damage the gears in short order.

Can work for some so probably wouldn't write it off straight away, especially if the service department doesn't do weird and strange things - especially complete pull down of reels in for service.

Gears do wear out from use. If the gears feel "gritty" it means they need to be replaced. Typically when gears wear they will not feel gritty. You can usually feel and hear a worn gear set.

Contradiction there?

[Kurt L]

Well the IOS Gear Grease held up very well today, I put a bunch of fish on the bank with the 13 and its as smooth now as it was this morning! I had a Tatula Type R with me that didn't have a good day but I will fix that shortly, I think I'm going to try the IOS in it also.

Kurt

[Bantam1]

Micromodule gears require a very, very tight tolerance. I will not tell you the exact tolerance, but it is really, really small. Adding a cutting compound will increase the gap between the teeth. With any Shimano gears do not use a lapping or cutting compound.

Why should gears start out rough and smooth over time? That is the wrong way to think. Reels should be smooth when new. As with anything mechanical, it can and will wear. To think gears will last forever is a pipe dream. Now if you feel the wear is premature, there could be an alignment issue with the side plate to frame, or something else. This will cause the tolerance of the gear mesh to be wrong. However, aluminum gears tend to wear a little quicker than an all brass alloy gear. This has always been a challenge with making reels light weight.