Met. MGL Micro Module Smoothness?

Kurt L · Post by **Kurt L** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 1:59 pm

How are you guy's reels? my experience has been disappointing, I bought a Met. 13, 151HG and it is butter smooth, from here it went downhill, I saved up for an Antares 151HG and it was rough and distracting to fish, It now has a new owner. So I ordered a Met. MGL 151 XG and it is rough as well, for example my Curado 201i is much smoother, what's up with that? I will be sending the MGL to the Shimano service center this week. All three MM reels are/were JDM, I live in Alaska and it's just easier shipping from Japan than the lower 48 believe it or not. (nobody stocks them in AK to be able to put hands on one).
I think this marks my official break from 30 years of Shimano out of the last 6 reels I bought 4 have had to go for service within the first few days of use. Shimano's service is top notch but I shouldn't need to use them so much on new products!!!
Our seasons come and go quickly and it's such a disappointment to order a new reel only to have to send it back for issues right out of the box when the fish are showing up!

Kurt

fffishing · Post by **fffishing** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 2:16 pm

Sometime on new reels they are just don't put enough grease and oil

It's not just Shimano,and not a big deal.If you can use a screwdriver ,-you're safe!

Strewth · Post by **Strewth** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 2:48 pm

It's the aluminium gears. Had the same problem on my 13 Met. Started smooth and got rough quickly (by rough I mean a small but noticeable vibration on the retrieve). Swapped gears and anti reverse bearing but no improvement. ZPI medium grease seems to help - I tried many other greases with no joy. The mm gears in my 15 Conquest are super smooth, but they are brass.

Kurt L · Post by **Kurt L** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 2:54 pm

I went through a number of reels yesterday 301E, 201i, 201D, Met. 13 and the MGL, it was bone dry inside but did not improve in the least, I have to be self sufficient here so I have a large supply of Shimano (ACE) and Daiwa Grease & Oils. I follow the instructions supplied by Shimano's technicians for reel service.

Kurt

DavidSA · Post by **DavidSA** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 7:29 pm

I have 3 from Japan, all butter. Smoother then the 13Met. You may be putting yours though much more load though.

Kurt L · Post by **Kurt L** » Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:51 pm

It was a grinder strait out of the box, I only fished it for about 15 minutes hoping for the best...nope, switched it out with a Curado and went after them, If there is a bad one it always seems to find me... but the factory must not even spin the handle on them before boxing them up so much for QC, I wouldn't be surprised if was a $100.00 reel but $400.00? very frustrating to say the least. I'm looking for another 200 size reel and was excited to try a Curado K, now I'm not going risk it! it will be a Type R.

Still venting... Kurt

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Tue Jul 04, 2017 1:00 pm

Kurt L wrote:It was a grinder strait out of the box, I only fished it for about 15 minutes hoping for the best...nope, switched it out with a Curado and went after them, If there is a bad one it always seems to find me... but the factory must not even spin the handle on them before boxing them up so much for QC, I wouldn't be surprised if was a $100.00 reel but $400.00? very frustrating to say the least. I'm looking for another 200 size reel and was excited to try a Curado K, now I'm not going risk it! it will be a Type R.

Still venting... Kurt

I agree, it is a QC issue. I'm sure the subs who supply parts to these companies do it as cheaply as they can, and the assembly is just that, assembly, not QC.
I wonder if the aluminum main gears can be polished, and whether that would help?

down4ttown · Post by **down4ttown** » Tue Jul 04, 2017 10:11 pm

I have noticed the micro modules due tend to roughen up over time. I suspect the aluminum has something to do with it, but I wonder if maybe grease is needed more frequently due to the design of the smaller teeth.

DavidSA · Post by **DavidSA** » Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:37 am

Kurt L wrote:It was a grinder strait out of the box, I only fished it for about 15 minutes hoping for the best...nope, switched it out with a Curado and went after them, If there is a bad one it always seems to find me... but the factory must not even spin the handle on them before boxing them up so much for QC, I wouldn't be surprised if was a $100.00 reel but $400.00? very frustrating to say the least. I'm looking for another 200 size reel and was excited to try a Curado K, now I'm not going risk it! it will be a Type R.

Still venting... Kurt

well, if rough right out of the box then a quality problem. Knock on wood I've not had a problem with any JDM in recent years. Had a 2005 Metanium was my last JDM lemon. Likely easy repair for US Shimano or just see if Ian Shields will work on it for you.

Markanthony404 · Post by **Markanthony404** » Wed Jul 05, 2017 5:46 pm

I just had a similar experience with one of my new curado's. I recently purchased 4 of the 200PG. 3 are buttery smooth but 1 was grinding right out of the box. Whatever is causing it is inside the gearbox. I can take the spool of the other reels and they still feel smooth, I do the same thing with the bad one and it's still rough. Probably just some bad gears or a bearing. This can happen to reels with brass gears as well as aluminium.

I understand your frustration, any $400+ reel I buy better be perfect.

wilddog66 · Post by **wilddog66** » Fri Jul 07, 2017 9:28 am

Has anyone noticed that the gear ratios for the new Curado 200/201K reels are identical to the Met MGL? Zander's First Look article mentions that these gears are also larger. Time will tell, but our wishes for brass gearsets for the Mets may be answered.

Rodster14 · Post by **Rodster14** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 2:26 am

I have had the same experience with the reel not being that smooth. I sent the first one back to Shimano for repair. It worked ok for a while and then progressively got worse. I sent it back to Shimano and told them that I didn't want it repaired again, but instead wanted a replacement. They sent me a new one and it isn't smooth either (the 2 Shimano MGL's are smoother). This was supposed to be my flagship setup (mounted on NRX rod). At this point, I could not recommend the Metanium. In fact, it may have a new owner soon.

y2k88 · Post by **y2k88** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 2:36 am

I felt mine was ever so slightly gritty but not geary.
Maybe it's the same thing on different ends of the scale.

LgMouthGambler · Post by **LgMouthGambler** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 3:02 am

They get like that over time. It's a combination of the MM gearing, and the gears being aluminum. Add the fact that the reel is Magnesium which adds to the "feel". Good luck trying to get it to smooth out. It will never happen. They should have made the gears brass. You can get teeth that small and expect it to be smooth with aluminum.

Strewth · Post by **Strewth** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 3:31 am

y2k88 wrote:I felt mine was ever so slightly gritty but not geary.
Maybe it's the same thing on different ends of the scale.

That is an accurate description. Beats me why they don't use brass for the gears.

Met. MGL Micro Module Smoothness?

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