This time the reel for service is the Shimano TLD 15. A good, solid, reliable reel that has handled all sharks I have encountered, comfortably. After another year of sharking, I thought it was time to treat them to a service.
Usual points before I begin :
1. Get somewhere quiet, with plenty of light to work in. Create a tidy workspace and have all the tools you need at hand.
2. Take photos as you go along , if you are unsure or worried about how things will go back together.
3. Spend a few quid on the right materials, dont skimp on grease,oils etc.
4. If possible have the reel schematic at hand or better still a laptop with necessary pages open.
5. Read-up on the process before you start, so you have some idea whats in store.
The TLD 15 is fairly similar to the TLD 20 & 25 but there are some differences, namely some extra springs etc in the bigger reels, so this tutorial will help in servicing the bigger reels, but will not be an exact match.
First the tools of the trade :
And so we begin and here are the reels in question :
Both these reels are made in Malaysia, not Japan, so I was expecting to run into some trouble at some stage |( In saying that both have behaved remarkably well when in use :pray:
So I picked one and away we go………..note loads of 45lb Bionics line fits on the spool , so plenty of line capacity, for the majority of sharks we are likely to encounter in Irish waters.
Ok, to start we remove the pre-program drag dial and the lever drag quadrant….there will be a spring under the pre-program dial onthe 20/25 IIRC, align all pieces out as you take them apart, so you know how they go back together again
Then remove the five right hand side plate screws/bolts
This allows us to split the reel into the right hand side plate, the spool and the frame
Next step is to service the clicker and as with most Shimanos this one is in good nick, a quick clean with the tooth-brush and some mobil blue grease is applied
Now we turn our attention to the spool, time to get at the 3 bearings here and give them a service. Tape up the line or it will break your heart getting in the way.
We have to get the cooling shield off
Careful here as the threads are the opposite to normal so make sure you twist the correct way :point: These can often be stuck, try gripping with a cloth and do you best not to damage them in any way. This one was stuck fast and I eventually removed it by holding one side in a cloth and getting a rubber clamp gripped on the straight edges of the cooling shield, worked a treat :thumbup: And now we have a good view of the drag plate with the washer underneath
Turning to the other end of the spool we can see the click gear and screws. These screws have to be removed so we can get access to the spool shaft and accompanying parts
The spool shaft, bearings and all other parts can now be removed from the spool. Here is the way they line up in case peices get mixed up.
Time now to clean the bearings in a bath of lighter fluid, re lube them with ReelX and put the whole spool back together
Agitate bearings to make sure all old oil is removed
Add plenty of Reelx to get the best freespool and bang the whole lot back together.
At this stage you can also address the drag washer if necessary. The standard drag is a canvas one and thankfully mine was fine. I did consider upgrading to the superior carbonrex washer , but decided that I will do that when the canvas one is on its way out. Do not grease the canvas drag washers.
Well thats the spool and clicker addressed , its now time to get into the guts of the right hand side plate and get some grease into the bearing in there.
This is what we start with
As you can see there is a bearing behind the main gear we need to get at. To do this we first need to remove the reel handle, by removing the retaining screw and nut(size 10). Again lay everything out as you go along , so you know where it all goes back, alternatively take photos.
With the handle off and main gear shaft out, we can now see the anti-reverse, the dog arm and the bearing that has been removed for servicing.
Again, soak and agitate in the lighter fluid until thoroughly clean
Then pack with the blue mobil grease. Clean the dog and anti-reverse and slap on some blue grease here too and re-assemble
Apply some ReelX to the main gear shaft and its time to begin re-assembly, holding the dog arm back with tip of screw-driver until the main gear slips into place
Put the handle back together,re-assemble spool,graphite frame and right hand side plate and all thats left to do is re-attatch the lever drag quadrant
Replace the lever drag control lever and we are almost there. All thats left now is to put a drop of ReelX on the reel handle here, to ensure free spinning
And last but not least the reel clamp. Remove the screws/bolts, give them a quick clean with the tooth-brush and put on a light coat of the blue grease
And thats all thats to it. Probably just as easy as the Avets to service, certainly less bearings to look after. Again , like the Avets, the range of drag can be adjusted by altering the beville configuration, but I was happy with mine, so why fix whats not broken.
Again few things of note -
Do not force any screws and use a good set of screw-drivers, as there is nothing worse than a wrung screw-head and having to go look for replacements.
The Cals Grease and replacement drag washers are available here http://www.smoothdrag.com/ if using the carbontex washers.
Replacement bearings available from Shimano here [url]http://www.shimanofelindre.co.uk[/url] and here [url]http://www.bocabearings.com/[/url] or here courtousy of SeanP :thumbup: [url]http://www.blakdogtackle.com/index.php?cPath=22_91&osCsid=cg3kkmgqkpqooe60frpirvdbh3[/url]
Plenty of info on reel servicing available here http://alantani.com/index.php
I sourced the blue grease locally from a Mobil distributer in Carrickmacross and this grease is also suitable for trailer brakes.
Most important of all is to wash your reel properly after each use, otherwise its pointless to put any effort into servicing it in the first place. I generally just rinse the reel with some warm water and leave to dry, with the application of a high quality spray oil every 2nd use on the reel frame. I use a spray designed for gun barrels, spray it on a rag and rubbed on to the reel frame.
I hope this tutorial gives some of you,who are considering servicing your own reels, but perphaps a tad apprehensive, the ability to carry it out yourself. There is nothing more satisfying than using a reel you have confidence in and having that confidence because you looked after it yourself.
