How To Upgrade Abu Bushings To Bearings

[JERMSQUIRM]

never hurts to try. my sons 2 skate boards we dismantled this fall testing out the fastest wheels for his soapbox. the skate wheels spun 5-6 revolutions when spun hard. the bearings in them are ones much like the abu bearings. i sprayed them with a soaking of wd-40. they then spun for almost a minaute. be amazed what a good oil will do for moving parts.

[fliesforall]

There are a number of sites on the internet that are carying the new abu bearings that are only sheilded on one side this makes for easy cleaning and lubing. the trick is to ensure that the sheilded side faces out to keep it clean. I think I even saw some on ebay recently I don't remeber if they were the same size though. Anyway I guess if you try and remove a sheild I would suggest only removing one side.

[canebreaker]

good to know about the 10 pack, I bought a pair for 20.00

[dinkbuster1]

thanks a lot man, ive had my 6500's since '91 and was wonderin why those reels would scream when i casted them lol. found a place here in Dayton that sells 'em.

[Whistler]

Library material Abu, I'll send you a PM about it. Thanks for sharing.

[truck]

The upgrade link does not work for me??

[Terry Day]

Didn't work for me either truck! I have saved the link and will try later. May just be a problem with my server.

Abu - I just bought a 6500! Do I need to worry about replacing the bearings and bushing at this time or is the new reel set up and ready to go?

Great post, Thanks

[truck]

If your saved link works could you repost it?Thanks TRUCK

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[gottafish]

It appears that maybe the web service that the link that Abu posted the tutorial on may be down.

Terry, which 6500 did you get? A lot of them already have bearings.

All will work out of the box. The reels with bushings just require a little more maintenance to keep them in top shape just because the bushing won't hold oil like a bearing with shields.

It's not a good idea, IMO, to run bearings in fishing reels with a shield removed. Oil just gets slung around inside the reel and the bearings are now open to collect dirt and debris which oil is very good at attracting.

Cats - that WD40 worked for you because you diluted the viscosity of the lubricant in the bearings. Most bearings come from the factory packed with grease which is why your wheels only ran for a couple of seconds. Grease is perfectly fine in most fishing reels and in casting situations where you don't need every extra foot of casting distance. In fact it is most appropriate for long life WITH LITTLE OR NO MAINTENANCE.

If you want to squeeze out every bit of performance from your reel - remove the bearings and soak them in lighter fluid for a few seconds. Use an acid brush to work the fluid into the bearings under the shields. The place the bearing on a spindle of some sort (sharpened pencil is fine) and spin while holding it up to your ear. You will be able to hear it when the bearings have been fully cleaned of the old grease or oil. It could take a couple of dunkings. Don't leave them soaking for long periods of time. Some bearings have plastic "bearing retainers" and the solvent could damage them. Once they're clean, let them dry. I actually give mine a dunking in alcohol at this point because it evaporates quickly. After the bearing is dry, lay is on a paper towel and apply a couple of drops (any more is overkill) of you oil of choice and let it soak in. Oil can be any good oil - reel lube of different brands, 30 wt, tranny fluid, 90 wt, it doesn't matter. The heavier the oil - the slower your reel will run when adjusted properly. This is how distance casters tune their reels to suit their casting style! They don't "adjust the spool so that the weight will drop to the floor without backlashing" It damages bearings(over the longrun) and is a bit of a pet peeve for me. :glare: This is a topic for another post :rolleyes: In fact I have responded about this in several threads and don't want to sound like a broken record.

If you REALLY want a fast bearing - I can post up a tutorial on how to "run the bearings in" using a dremel tool. (Not recommended or necessary for most fishermen) If anybody is intested, pls let me know and I will post up a short tutorial on that.

/Scott

[Terry Day]

Scott,

I just purchased two of the 6500 C3's. They are still in the box. Will I be OK with these? I usually use spin cast outfits. Just decided to change to a bait caster. So, I really won't have anything to gauge the distance of a cast with. I know that a bait caster will probably not cast as far as a spin cast rig. I need to start practicing my casting, backlash is a concern of mine. Need to learn how to cast before I get out in the boat!!!!

Your thoughts and comments area appreciated.