reel issues...what to do? 2025

Red reply :

here is the story. i have two Revo S-L's, thats it, those are my only two reels. i have had one since last x-mas and the other only a few months. the older one has had several problems, mainly pawl's and worm gears. i have spent about $70 in repairs on this one reel, and it is messed up again as of today, seems like the worm gear again. the other reel has been fine but i havent fished it nearly as much as the first one. I have had it with this reel!! i dont know if i should have it repaired again and hope it lasts. or repair it and sell it. or send it in to Abu Garcia. i am sick of paying again and again to fix it, i just dont have the money to keep doing this. what would you do? maybe i am way off but if i pay $100 for a reel i guess i expect it to last a while without any problems. my previous abu C3's were great, one went 5 years without anything, not even a cleaning. but i switched to a LP reel due to some hand issues. any thoughts, besides "buy a shimano"? ;D i am considering selling both "as is" and switching brands or something. anyone wanna trade!!??

thanks

Cliff

Micro reply :

I remember the first time you brought this up. I hate to say it, but you should have sent it to Abu to begin with. Now that it's been worked on by someone, they may not exchange it. At this point, you don't know if it's a manufacturer problem, or a poor repair job. If the repair has failed, I would think a respectable repair person would re-repair it. Fixes are supposed to last.

.RM. reply :

Red,

I agree with Micro...

I have a S-L that is a year old, and no problems. When I read issues with reels like you have posted here, I can't help but say take the reel back to were/who ever serviced it, and get it done right. I have not seen or heard of all those problems with this reel. The guys servicing the reel/s must be using grease on the worm gear, for you to have that many issues with the worm gear and pawl.

One question are you using them from the bank or boat?

What would I do, I wouldn't give up on the reels..

Just my .02¢

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!

Red reply :

i fish from the bank, and i admit, i am hard on my gear, no doubt about that, i just toss the sucker down to lip a bass or whatever. but i bought the stuff to fish with, not to have it look all pretty and worry about scratching it up.

the guy i have taken it to uses "hot sauce" mixed with another "high dollar oil" thats what he told me, after i get my reels from him, i can see the red "hot sauce" on the worm gear, if that helps.

i know i should have sent it to Abu the first time, but that fact that i only have two reels, losing one for that amount of time hurts, but i think now i should maybe send it to someone. can i send it to you reelmech? if so where/what to i need to go/do?

thanks for the input

Cliff

njbasser reply :

Quote
the guy i have taken it to uses "hot sauce" mixed with another "high dollar oil" thats what he told me, after i get my reels from him, i can see the red "hot sauce" on the worm gear, if that helps.

I'm no expert, but i dont think you are supposed to mix oils. Reel Mech probably knows for sure, so he can correct me if im wrong

.RM. reply :

Well there it is, Hot Sauce again... I always say if the manufacturer want that junk used in their reel they would put it in the box.

First off if it is the Hot Sauce Grease, that is collecting the dirt when your on the bank, and causing excessive wear on the pawls blade and the cuts in the worm gear.

If I were doing the work it would be cleaned and oiled with only one drop of quality reel oil, on the worm gear, then only a drop or two in the line carriage were the pawl is housed, you would find less ware on the worm gear and pawl this way. Then you would be the one to add a drop or so every 4 or 5 outings to keep it lubed...

Red reply :

thanks, maybe i will send it to you and just have it done right. now i just need to find a way to print your form!!

thanks

Cliff

cart7t reply :

I've got 6 Revo S reels I've had for a couple years. I've yet to have a problem with them.

If you're going to treat your reels the way you say you do, you'd be much better off buying some cheap BPS reels and just throwing them away everytime they break. No reel of quality, regardless of brand, is designed to be abused and keep working over and over.

.RM. reply :

Quote
If you're going to treat your reels the way you say you do, you'd be much better off buying some cheap BPS reels and just throwing them away everytime they break.

Yep that will work if you have an endless supply of money.

I don't see where he has done anymore to the reel/s than any other bank angler I have watched.

MALTESE FALCON reply :

If it were me, I would have sent it right to Abu Garcia. In twenty five years, I've only had one problem with one of their reels. They fixed it, at no charge, even though the warranty was expired.

Falcon

Grey Wolf reply :

Hot sauce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Red reply :

Quote
I've got 6 Revo S reels I've had for a couple years. I've yet to have a problem with them.
If you're going to treat your reels the way you say you do, you'd be much better off buying some cheap BPS reels and just throwing them away everytime they break. No reel of quality, regardless of brand, is designed to be abused and keep working over and over.

i dont mean i throw the thing down at the ground as hard as i can then stomp on it. what i mean is that i am not concerned if it gets scratched up or anything, my reels, over time, get a good bunch of "bank rash" i take care of them enough to keep them working, but in this one case i am having problems. i am going to send it to reelmech and have it fixed right, and i will not be returning to my previous reel guy anymore.

after thinking about it some today, this all started when i took the reel to him for just a clean and lube. thats what he did, and thats when i first started having problems. so i have to agree with others that the hot sauce is what is causing the problem. the current worm gear is less than a 2 months old, and i had to wait 5 weeks for the part to arrive.

Red reply :

was playing around with this reel tonight. when there is nothing on the line and i crank it, it is perfectly fine. so that tells me that it is only "catching" when there is even a sleight load on it. can this thing be salvaged? if i was to remove the gear and clean off the hot sauce and re-lube with another oil, could it be ok? i dont see exposed brass color on the gear yet like i did on it that last time, you could see right where it was worn down. or maybe it is only the pawl that is damaged right now?

thoughts?

thanks

Cliff

.RM. reply :

Red,

Clean and re-lube the pawl and worm gear, use a quality reel oil (not grease) and that should clear up the problem unless the pawl is worn out then you will need to replace that (PN# 1125806)..

Just another after thought, remove the pawl cap, and look for a small round stainless washer that sits on the end of the pawl (could also be in the pawl cap) if it isn't there it is supposed to be you will also need it (PN#1124201)...

It takes up the gap between the pawl cap and the end of the pawl. Sometimes that space (if the washer is missing) will cause the pawl to not engage into the worm gear the way it should.

Good Luck!

Red reply :

thanks for the info RM!!! i will see what i can do and keep you updated!

Cliff

.RM. reply :

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!

Red reply :

well i have to say this was my first time taking apart a reel with the intent to put it back together and still work. i learned a few things tonight. first of all, the phrase "righty tighty lefty loosey" DOES NOT APPLY!! i learned how the inner reel looks and is put together and stuff. anyway i cleaned the worm gear and all that free of the red hot sauce and put it back together and ....IT WORKS!!! weather or not i fixed the problem i wont know untill my next outing, this coming weekend. in the mean time i will purchase some reel oil(cant find my abu stuff) and i will oil the places reelmech told me to.

if anything i feel i could take the reel apart anytime now to fix or just clean and lube, so thats a plus. i will keep you poasted on weather or not the problem is fixed.

also, the worm gear and pawl looked fine, to me, an untrained eye.

thanks for the help reelmech, it is much appreciated!!

Cliff

roadwarrior reply :

Geez Cliff...

If you weren't paying attention to anything else I thought you might

notice that Hot Sauce is only recommended for oiling the inside of a

trash can!

Red reply :

lol...yeah i didnt know anything about it, he does all his reels with it, and he services reels for a local tackle shop as well. i know that it will never again be in my reels, thats for sure. thanks again to reelmech!

Cliff

Jeff H reply :

Quote
Geez Cliff...
If you weren't paying attention to anything else I thought you might

notice that Hot Sauce is only recommended for oiling the inside of a

trash can! :

LOL....seems appropriate.

I learned something from this thread. I've never used Hot Sauce, but now I know why NOT to.

.RM. reply :

Cliff,

That's great I am always ready to help anyone service their own (if they have the mechanical ability) and are into the work. Some day I will get my book back up for sale...

The whole key is that you do not grease any outside exposed components on a reel (Oil Only).

Tight Lines!!!!

Red reply :

yeah i will keep that in mind, i just hope that nothing was damaged and it works. if not i saw the worm gear and pawl on ebay.

thanks again

Cliff

.RM. reply :

Red,

If they are needed I personally would contact Pure Fishing Garcia® and order the parts,

Abu Garcia Service Department

1900 18th Street

Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360-1099

call: 1-800-228-4272

but then I wouldn't buy any reel parts from the worlds largest flea market (ebay)....

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!!

Red reply :

will do, thanks!

lubina reply :

Quote
Some day I will get my book back up for sale...
]

I hope it is soon......That book is the best piece of information in reel's mechanics that I've ever read, live on my bench.

Red reply :

yeah i want a copy!!

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