ambassaduer revo inshore rebuild

i never fish fresh water so i actually do not own a reel this small, but i understand that these reels are quite popular. i could not find the schematics anywhere on the net.  if someone could find a link, i would appreciate it if you could post it.  i do have a hard copy of the schematics with key#'s and part #'s.  as is typical of ambassaduer schematics, there are no names given to any of the parts.  i hope you will not mind if i make up the names as i go. 

all i will do with this reel is replace a plain drag washer with a carbon fiber washer, grease all of the carbon fiber drag washers, and clean the bearings. 







remove the handle nut cap screw (key #75) and the handle nut cap (key #74).



remove the handle nut (key #73) with a 10mm wrench.



remove the handle (key #94).



remove the handle spring (key #71) and star (key #70).



remove the spring washers (key #69), the star clicker assembly (key #67 and 68), and the handle thrust washer (key #47).



back out the thumb screw (key #61) but leave in place. 





remove the two side plate screws (key #64 and 65).







rotate and remove the left side plate assembly (key #77).





remove the spool assembly (key #76).



there is one last inner right side plate screw (key #66) that will need to come out.





remove the right side plate (key #65).





here's an inside view of the right side plate bearing (key #53), the integrated anti-reverse roller bearing (no key #, translation - not user serviceable), and the roller bearing inner tube (key #46).  the right side plate bearing is 3x10x4mm.



remove the roller bearing inner tube (key #46) and set it aside.



take a moment now to brush a little grease on the inside of the right side plate and a little corrosion x to the anti-reverse roller bearing. 



now for the gear cluster.



in a new reel, the gear cluster should slide right off.



let's line everything up.  you see dry carbon fiber drag washers (key #42), stainless steel washers (key #43, 44 and 45), the main gear (key #41) and a fiber washer (key #40).



the carbon fiber drag washers inside the gear are 9x25x0.5mm. 



the fiber washer under the gear is 8x20x0.85mm. 



we are going to substitute a carbontex drag washer from smoothdrag.com for this fiber washer. smoothdrag has a set of four washers intended for the round ambassaduers.   the smallest one of that set goes underneath the main gear and is about 20mm.  this is the one that i will be using.  you could also put a
a penn ht-100 drag washer underneath the gear.  the part # for this washer is #6-965 and the dimensions of this drag washer are 8x25x0.85mm.  this washer would have to be cut down to 20mm. 

let's grease all of the drag washers with cal's drag grease.



install the carbontex drag washer.



rebuild the drag stack.



install the roller bearing inner tube (key #46).



install the right side plate (key #51).





install the inner right side plate screw (key #66).



install the two outer right side plate screws (key #64 and 65). 



check the function of the free spool thumb bar (key #4).



check the function of the anti-reverse system.



the service for the right side plate is now complete.  assuming this reel will never see salt water, this is the last time you should need to open up the right side plate.  the greased carbon fiber drag washes should stay smooth forever. 

now for the most difficult part of the rebuild. 



we are going to pull the right spool bearing, clean it, relube it and reinstall it.  a cross pin very inconveniently holds the bearing in place.  if this pin is lost or damaged, you may have to make another from stainless steel welding rod stock, or buy a new spool and repeat the proceedure all over again.  let us proceed.

you've seen this modified pair of vise grips in the bearings post. 



we will use it to push the cross pin out half way.  this pin was pushed out easily.  your cross pin may not be so.



now i am going to take the smallest blade from a jeweler's screwdriver set.



it goes into the drill press chuck.



using the drill press, the cross pin is easily and cleanly removed.  if you try to pull the cross pin out with a pair of pliers, you may damage it.  been there. 



the right spool bearing slides right off.  it is 5x11x4mm.



a number 1 ringed owner flyliner hook allows you to easily remove the retaining rings and shields from these bearings.  a sharper hook does make a difference. 



the bearing is cleaned with carburator cleaner and compressed air, lubed and reinstalled. 



the cross pin is centered with the vise grips.



now that the bearing is open, it can be properly cleaned and relubed after every fishing trip without having to remove the cross pin.



the owner of this particular reel requested a lighter lubricant because this reel will never see salt water.  there are many to choose from.  i've selected oust met-ol from smoothdrag.com.



install the spool assembly (key #78).



remove the left side plate bearing retaining ring (key #69).



the left side plate bearing (key #68) is 3x10x4mm.  remove the bearing with your homemade bearing puller.



remove the retaining rings and shields.



clean the bearing with carburator cleaner and compressed air, reinstall the bearing (key #68), reinstall the retaining ring (key #69) and lube the bearing.



place a small dab of grease on the left side plate retaining thumb screw (key #61) and select the number of brakes that you wish to use.



install the left side plate (key #51) and tighten down the thumb screw (key #61).



remove the right side plate bearing cap assembly (key #56-60).



remove the click plate (key #55), the bearing retaining ring (key #54) and the right side plate bearing (key #53).  the right side plate bearing measures 3x10x4mm.  note that a bearing thrust washer (key #52) remains in place in the right side plate. 



clean the bearing (key #53) with carburator cleaner and compressed air, then lube and reinstall it.  reinstall the retaining ring (key #54), the click plate (key #55) and the right side plate bearing cap assembly (key #56-60).  adjust the bearing cap until you have zero load and zero freeplay.  it may be tighted slightly at a later time, depending upon conditions on the water. 



install the thrust washer (key #47), star click assembly (key #67 and 68), and the two spring washers (key #69) oriented "()".



install the star (key #70).  as you turn the star clockwise down, it will seat against the click tongue (key #68).  push in the click tongue manually and continue to turn the star clockwise until it seats fully. 



install the handle washer spring (key #71).



add a light coat of grease and install the handle (key #72 or 94).



install the handle nut (key #73), the handle nut collar (key #74) and the handle nut collar screw (key #75).  make sure that the handle nut is seated properly. 



add a small amount of oil to the handle grip.



check freespool.



and we're done!  well, almost.  there was a slight problem with this reel.  i bottomed out the star to check for the maximum drag pressure and it got only 8 pounds of drag.  the manager of my local tackle shop told me that this reel was supposed to get over 20 pounds of drag.  i initially thought that was odd, because that amount of drag pressure would most assuredly shred the main and pinion gears.  i had him check another revo inshore that he had in stock and the star on this reel also bottomed out at 8 pounds. 

to increase the drag range, i made a slight modification to the order of the spring washers (key #69).

http://www.fullspeedfishing.com/gallery/data/500/medium/revo_008.jpg

i placed one spring washer (key #69) underneath the anti-reverse roller bearing inner tube (key #46).



that raised up the lip of the inner tube (key #46).



after reassembling the reel, i was able to get an easy 15#'s of drag. i opted to not push the reel further because concerns regarding possible damage the main and pinion gears at those higher ranges. 

now, for a few comments.  as a strictly salt water guy, i feel a bit uneasy about telling you how to set up a bass reels, but many of the principles are the same, whether you are fishing 2# test or 200#. 

first, understand that a full set greased carbon fiber drag washers will INCREASE your functional drag range.  i define a functional drag as being able to pick a weight, say 10 pounds, tie off that much lead to the line, lift up the rod to a 45 degree angle on the butt and be able to adjust the drag until the weight drops one foot every five seconds.  no other drag system, except greased carbon fiber, will deliver that level of performance over the lifetime of the reel.  do this drag washer upgrade one time and you will never have to worry about it again. 
consider that a properly functioning drag washer may allow you to use thinner diameter line.  thinner diameter line might deliver more hookups and fewer breakoffs.  more hookups and fewer breakoffs could mean the difference between placing in a tournament, or winning, or going home a loser. 

secondly, bearings should be cleaned and lubed after every trip.  this should apply to tournament bass guys as well as serious offshore fishermen.  if you are required to cast in order to deliver a bait or jig to a fish, then casting distance and accuracy are key.  shielded bearings will only trap water, causing failure of the bearing.  ceramic bearings will not help.  remember, the races are still stainless steel.  a clean, open, all stainless abec-5 bearing that is routinely serviced and properly lubed, should allow your reel to perform at it's best.  the rest is up to you. 

finally, my opinion of the reel?  hey, i'm a strictly salt water guy.  um, it's expensive, very smooth, and little.  what else can i say?  pick one up, cradle it in your hands, turn the handle a few times and decide for yourself if it's worth the asking price.  good hunting, gentlemen!

Alan,

It's nice to see you tackle a reel so new to the market.  I'm sure with their popularity among inshore fishermen that a rebuild tutorial like this will be very useful for many if for no other reason than routine maintenance.

Any idea how your drag washer replacement effects the 26 lbs of silky smooth drag that these reels reportedly can accomplish.   Is it possible your upgrade might be a downgrade in this case or do you think that the drag really isn't as good as they say it is?

Brian

Hi Alan. Here is a link.

http://www.abu-garcia.com/product_schematic.php?id=239

In the Search field, you will need to enter the series of numbers and letters that are on the foot of the reel.

Hopefully, those schematics will have names for the parts.

Howard

did you all count 6 bearings and one roller bearing? seemed like less to me...  whatever the count, it's too many and I like the nonserviceable one (future bushing!).

regarding the drag, alan greased the existing 3 carbon fiber washes, replaced one fiber washer with a greased carbon fiber washer and tested it and got 8lbs. then changed the hardware so turning the star wheel compressed the drag stack a bit more and got the numbers approaching the claimed numbers. Now maybe ungreased you get more with the stock hardware config, but then there's the issue of smoothness with lower drag pressure and corrosion resistance.

the issue of gear durability is an interesting one. I'm guessing alan is extrapolating his experience with other brass gears, whether these are somehow different (dura-something don't they call it?) is unknown. only one way to test that one. try to destroy some gears.

btw, I could not view this post in entirety in firefox, but could view it at coastside (with firefox), so it's this web software and firefox that in combo can't handle alan tani level postings!

ok, so my definition of "smooth" drag may be different from ambassaduers.  i had my local shop check a revo inshore that was new in the box.  the manager got 8 pounds as well.  and looking at the reel, there is no way i would trust this reel at 25 pounds of drag.  i have never called bs on a reel before, but since you are all obviously asking, i call bs this time. 

no way, guys.  no way in hell!

Thanks Alan, that's what I wanted to know.

The line capacity is also WAY less than claimed, but I still LOVE fishing with my Inshore.  Super smooth and the drag is very nice in the real world.  Mine has already seen lots of salt, so we'll see how they hold up, as I appear to be great at screwing up reels.  Fortunately, Alan is GREAT at fixing them .

BTW Alan, I got my 3 reels yesterday and the Quantum is reborn!!!  Thanks!!!!  Off to the Smith next week.