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| The real is only five or six years old, but in a day's worth of fishing it will happen about 15 times. After I cast and crank the handle, the spool won't engage, so there I sit with a bucktail sinking into a wed bed as I crank at mach 1 to try to engage the spool. Any ideas on what the problem is? Should I take it in to get looked at or is there a fix I can do at home? | |
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| Hey there.... The spring in your reel is broken or twisted... so when you try to engage the reel, the spring will not bounce the push button back up... I have had this happen time and time again with Abu's.. if you can find a new spring you can fix it yourself. But, for me...it just seemed to keep happening. I have a 5500 C3 and a 6500 C4 both in the shop right now... it is their fourth trip each.... every time for that same spring...
hope this helps? | |
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Posts: 699
Location: Hugo, MN | Send it to Spirit Lake, IA | |
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Posts: 358
Location: London, England | If you fancy fixing it yourself, look here. If your reel's a newer one it will have a plastic unit instead of the spring.
http://www.timkelly.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/lasreel%20maintanence2.htm... | |
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Posts: 572
| It's probably a spring or a clutch paw or dog (a part that locks into the teeth to engage the handle). I'd replace both and look for other worn parts. | |
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Posts: 578
Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI | Well, of all the respondents, Muskie Bob is the closest guess. Your problem cannot be narrowed to just one thing. One of two things is the problem, more than likely. First, if it is an older reel, then it will have a spring. If it is broken, the button will not pop out at all.
Second, if it is a newer reel, the spring is actually a compression spring with a nylon cap over it. The spring could be sticking, but that probably is not the case.
Third, this is probably your culprit. The clutch arm is worn on the end that engages into the drive shaft. I think this may be what Muskie Bob was talking about, but not sure. This wears because of one basic thing, engaging the reel before the bait is slowed down. You can do wear one of these out in no time doing that.
Before people get their grundys in a bundle and go off on how cheap Abu's are made, I think that they should get on the case of every car maker out there. That is right, I am comparing a fishing reel to a car. On a car, you can drop it into neutral and push the car around, thus free-spooling a reel and moving the spool; called casting. You press on the gas of the car and get it whining high (the cast) and then drop it into gear at its peak RPM (engaging the reel when the bait is going out the fastest). That is when you can listen for the transmission to drop and go to pieces. The reel does not go to pieces, but it does significantly wear on the arm.
I do not want to come across as rude or a jerk or anything, but there are a lot of guys out there that need to learn how to cast. I have fished with some of the best in the musky world as they are my friends, and they DO NOT engage the reel when it is flying out. They have a smart thumb and slow the bait way down and engage it just as it hits the water when using a bucktail. They also engage the reel after the bait hits the water when it is other types of baits.
Please, do not go bashing reels for not holding up when they are not being treated properly. I certainly do not go on a vehicles site and bash their brand of vehicles because I keep dropping transmissions. I treat my vehicles right and they in-turn take care of me. Yes, the engaging system has changed on the Abu's since the '70's and early '80's, but the change from then until now has eliminated a lot of moving parts and stretching springs.
I have spoken with people that have done in CT400's, TE's, Daiwa's/St Croix's, Pfleugers, Tica's and every reel out there for this very problem. For what I know about reels, give me any reel and I know how to mistreat it that I can have that thing not engaging, grinding or locking up in under a week, and I mean ANY REEL. I know the inner workings of these things and inturn, what will do a reel in.
Take care of your reels just as you would take care of your vehicles; they both are tools.
Now, the repair you are talking about is very simple. If you have to pay for it, the part is very inexpensive. Send it back to Iowa and they will be able to take care of the problem for you.
Spring Cannot Come Soon Enough,
Chuck | |
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| check out that site that Tim Kelly posted - it's very helpful for taking your Abu reel apart since it works through step by step how to do it. even if the problem isn't the release arm, this site is still very helpful in learning to take apart and reassemble your reels.
i had the same problem with all 3 of my Abus develop this year - wouldn't engage after the cast, and just replaced the release arm on all three of them because it looked exactly like the picture on that site.
why did it happen? exactly like Chuck said...bad technique on my part! i was engaging my reel before the spool (and gears) stopped spinning on the cast because i wanted to start cranking more quickly in shallow or weedy areas.
lesson learned, more thumb this year!
luckily release arms only cost about $3 each. get two, they're cheap.
Abus are bombproof, work well and are easy to maintain - what more could you ask for $70???
i found this a helpful site: you can order parts for pretty much every reel on the planet and they have online schematics to help you find the part number you need for your reel. fast delivery too!
http://fishingreelrepair.com/frames.asp | |
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Posts: 1310
Location: Washington, PA | I just stopped buying them. Had the same thing happen after using a 6500 c3 for one day. Better to spend a little extra and get a better reel. go ahead slamr, delete. | |
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Posts: 2014
| GREAT REELS (for the money) - 1 of 4 gave me problems, over five years of abuse - If its given you six good years - fix it AND add one more to your arsenal  | |
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Posts: 2
| Thanks guys for the help and the links. I'll rip it apart this weekend when I get home. | |
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Posts: 724
Location: Southern W.Va. | I had the same problem for a while, came home , added a little 3-n-1 oil along side the button and I've had no problems since. I think that a little grit or dirt gets in the spring and causes it to stick. Worked for me .
Just my $.02 worth
Mauser | |
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C3 6500 Spool Engage Problem