abu garcia record no. 60 rebuild

pull up the schematic and follow along with me....

http://mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/schematic.php?url=Ambassadeur,%20Cardinal/Ambassadeur%20Record%2060%2015%2000.pdf


every once in a while i get something new.  that was the case here.  this box arrived from alaska.  hmmmm, carbon matrix drags?  i wonder what this is all about? 



i pulled it out of the box and the first thing i noticed was the weight.  it's heavy!  much heavier that a normal ambassaduer.  i ran into the house and grabbed my camera.  i've done an ambassaduer post already, but i knew this one would be different.



this one had a very nice live bait handle.  the levelwind assembly is basically the same as all the other ambassaduers.  i fix alot of penn levewind assemblies, but not many abu's. 



the spool design was interesting as well.  i'm not quite sure why it would be beveled like this.



the left side plate should not be removed.  just back out one left side plate screw (key #199) at a time, grease the hole, zip the screw back in, and move on to the next one. 



back out the three right side plate screws (no key #), remove the right side plate assembly and the spool.





add a little corrosion x to the left side plate bearing (key #5230), the idler gear (key #1117079), the worm gear (key #5205), and the click plate assembly (key #12642).



now for the spool.  remove the spool shaft (key #1117122).



lube the right spool bearing.



pull the white nylon sprocket gear (key #23403) and lube the left spool bearing (key #19843)....  HEY, WHAT'S THIS!!!!!!  SOME CHEAPSKATE PUT A BRASS BUSHING INSIDE INSTEAD OF A BEARING!!!!!!  WHAT A BUNCH OF CROOKS!!!!!  well, i guess i shouldn't say that because i don't really know for sure.  it could have been an honest mistake, or they could have intended it to be that way, it which case, it might still be an honest mistake (right?). 



i have whole box full of extra bearings, so i'll just switch it out and lube this bearing with corrosion x as well.



and back into the frame it goes.



now for the right side plate.  remove the set screw (key #14868) and retaining collar (key #20944).



remove the handle nut (key #5327).



remove the c - clip.



remove the handle (key #1117097), the spring (key #5115), the star (key #1117091) and both spring washers (key #5131) and line everything up.



remove both bridge screws (key #13369).



separate the right side plate cover (key #1117131) from the baseplate assembly.



line up all the components of the gear cluster.  interesting, it looks like ambassaduer has switched over to dry carbon fiber drag washers (key #1116906) inside the gear and a hard fiber washer (key #13169) underneath the gear.



i'm going to substitute a penn ht-100 drag washer for the hard fiber washer (key #13169).



this penn washer is a penn ht-100 #6-965.  this washer has been cut down from 24mm down to 15-17mm.  it fits nicely under the gears of the ambassaduers and the smaller shimano bait casters.



because this penn washer is thicker than the stock ambassaduer fiber washer, it is necessary to remove the small brass thrust washer (key #5189) underneath the gear sleeve (key #22079).  i am quite certain that these carbon fiber drag washers will have the same high failure rate as penn ht-100's following water or oil intrusion.  i highly recommend a thick coat of shimano drag grease and then rebuild the drag stack. 



pull the anti-reverse roller bearing sleeve (key #22001).



install it on the gear sleeve with a little grease (they get stuck easily).



grease the bridge screw holes.



grease the side plate screws (no key #).



lube the right side plate bearing (key #5230) with corrosion x.



slide the right side plate cover (key #1117131) straight down on top of the base plate assembly and install the two bridge screws (key #13369).



hold the thumb bar in the "up" position and the right side plate assembly should match up perfectly with the frame.



zip down the frame screws until they seat, then cinch then down a little extra until they are snug.  use good mechanical judgement and don't snap off any heads. 



install the spring washers (key #5131) in the "()" position.



install the star (key #1117091) and the spring (key #5115) with a little grease.



install the handle (key #1117097) and c-clip (key#4490).



add a little grease and install the handle nut (key #20944).



install the handle nut collar (key #20944) and set screw (key #14868).



clean off the excess grease and you're done!

cool!

whatup with that bushing? but then I don't understand what the side plate bearings
are doing since I'm only used to the bearings in the spool. that does not seem right tho?

here's a possible insight on the spool bevel:

1. it looks cooler. this seems to be the main improvement with the record. looks. bling as scwafish says.
2. if a spool is going to be crushed, it is likely to happen on the ends of the spool. why? I don't know,
but one of my ebay used abus (probably a salmon charter reel from oregon/washington)
had a slightly crushed spool and it was near the ends. making it wider
at the ends should increase strength.

I see the pinion is still tiny to allow 6.3:1 gears. I think if I was in charge of abu, I would make
the pinion out of something stronger than brass. I'm assuming that when the gears fail due to
higher drag pressures available from carbon fiber drag, it is mainly the smaller pinion gear, certainly
when it is 6.3:1 and way smaller than the pinion on the 'winch' or 3.8:1 gears.
I'm surprised there are no after market stainless pinions.

also, what could be the reason for the one hard fiber washer? I wonder if it is only cost or they really
have a functional reason for it?

finally, it's kind of a shame about the weight. I can see everybody thinking heavy is more durable, but
the weight is all about feel in the store and looks, nothing more, right?

Best,

J

Thanks again.  I bought a few of the 50 Records for rockfish, I was thinking about getting one 60 as well.  The box of reels I need to send is growing, since the drags in the new reels will also need to be greased.  Why do you think they leave them dry at the factory?

I think the new spool is all about looks but I dont think it is nessarly a bad thing  maby it would help keepthe line on a overfilled reel from building up in the midle and rubbing.  that same spool is used on the 2006 6500c3s as well.

I'm pretty sure the question is rhetorical or else directed to a. t. or patrick.

but if you don't mind, I will hazard my own hypothesis.

grease does dry out over time, if exposed to air. since the drag system is
not completely sealed to either water, oil or indeed, air,
the grease could dry, and become basically dirt that trashes the washers.

in a perfect (laboratory) world, no oil or water gets into the drag system, and the
carbon fiber and metal washers do not age.

basically for sitting on the shelf, or test conditions (i.e., not on a kayak), the dry drag works
better.

But for actually using them in wet salty conditions (like on a kayak), the wet (greased) drag works
better.

probably wet (greased) drags should be cleaned and re-greased once in a while.

that and the fact that greasing them would cost more money. 



best,

j

I see some comments in the shimano marketing literature about
dartanium (graphite) washers being impervious to water or oil.

I see this as evidence that they think it is better than greased carbonfiber for this reason. 
ungreased carbon fiber is not impervious to water or oil. greased carbon fiber is
largely impervious unless the grease degrades over time somehow.

dartanium might last a long time, and be impervious to oil or water but
if alan t. says dartanium is sticky, I'm sure it is.

j