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Posts: 1
| I have two C4s, one left handed and one right handed. Just got back from a trip and both seem to be having gear issues. I lubricated and they are still acting up. The lefty seems to retrieve well with no baits attached but the minute I cast a bait, it's difficult to retrieve. The righty is grinding despite appearing to be properly lubricated. Any thoughts out there or anyone out there good at looking at/repairing these reels? Thanks in advance. |
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Posts: 323
| kdawg - 8/5/2019 8:49 PM
Supertroller, I have abus from the 70's - 80's that still work like new. I would say they last. Like any reel, following some simple maintenance, gives years, decades, of great service. Kdawg
Agree! |
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Posts: 2376
Location: Chisholm, MN | C4s are not good Muskie reels no matter what anyone tells you. Buy Tranx 400 and don’t look back. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I would Like to know how many MILLION muskies have been caught on 6500's and 7000's when I started playing the game they were the gold standard. I have 35 year old reels that perform flawlessly and in my opinion are better than the ones of the last few years. I have lost count of the muskies I have caught on Suicks and spinnerbaits in shallow slop for which they are well suited. I don't use them for trolling the St Lawrence. I have seen many wonder reels come and go over the last 40 years but the 6500 and 7000 are still hanging in. No they are not built for double 10's but I no longer am either and Firetiger Suicks still catch big fish. |
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Posts: 1039
| I've got a slew of 6500C4's.... I have them on specific rods for specific baits. Mostly smaller baits.
I found that I ruin pawls often when I throw big glides with them. So they do not get to throw any gliders, except small ones and they are great at that. Baby squirkos, phantoms...etc. But once those glides get big and heavy, that is when I tend to blow out a pawl. Easy fix, though.
I wouldn't bad mouth them at all. I also wouldn't say that they are as musky "tough" as other reels on the market today. Reels that cost a whole lot more! |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Anyway, it sounds from the grinding that you simply have a bearing going out. There are several good resources on the internet and Youtube on how to take it down and lube it up, here is one:
https://www.catfishedge.com/clean-abu-garcia-ambassadeur/
The one that is slipping may have a drag issue. Repair shop may be more likely for that one, but try taking it down and doing the clean and lube and see if that fixes it. I've had my c3 and c4 for many years and use them constantly. m |
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Posts: 8829
| Hi Marty. I'd pull the main drive gear and the pinion gear and check them with a magnifying glass. (if they're really shot, the wear will be obvious even without one) If you notice significant wear, you can order new gears from Abu. It's been a couple years since I had to do this, but last time I did I had the parts in a couple days and the cost was around $15 if I remember correctly. Took all of 10 minutes to replace.
That's the nice thing about those old Abu's. Parts are cheap and easy to replace. |
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| horsehunter - 8/6/2019 7:02 AM
I would Like to know how many MILLION muskies have been caught on 6500's and 7000's when I started playing the game they were the gold standard. I have 35 year old reels that perform flawlessly and in my opinion are better than the ones of the last few years. I have lost count of the muskies I have caught on Suicks and spinnerbaits in shallow slop for which they are well suited. I don't use them for trolling the St Lawrence. I have seen many wonder reels come and go over the last 40 years but the 6500 and 7000 are still hanging in. No they are not built for double 10's but I no longer am either and Firetiger Suicks still catch big fish.
if you remember ,back in these days there were no big lures ,and there was lil to none lures that were made for musky.there was no mag blades,no pounder lure,no 12 inch lures etc .that's why these reel worth nothing for today's musky fishing at least for normal musky water . im not talking about place where musky have been stocked like il,in,or ky where a 30 inch fish make you happy.imo you can't claim that because it was a good one years ago it still good for today's fishing. make no sense at all!! things change ,i hope you are not still using 6'' rod. they were called the best jerkbait rod remember ?  they also caught millons of musky. im wondering what are these today's reel that are not as good as a 6501 ..... |
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Posts: 780
| Marty50, just curious but what kind of lures were u throwing with ur c4's? High resistance baits are a big no-no for these reels. I will say they are a good reel for muskies but for a specific set of baits, jerk baits, topwaters, minnow baits, and small bucktails. Mikie, and EA have good advice on your repairs. Business #101, supply and demand. If people were'nt buying them, Abu would of stopped selling them a long time ago. kdawg |
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Posts: 16
| I use my 6500s for downsized baits: small rubber, tops and glides. No blades larger than a Mepps Musky Killer. They run great with a little care and cleaning. I use two 60 Toros for the big stuff; it's nice (and sometimes necessary) to take a break and put the big stuff down. |
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