Quote:
Originally Posted by Casting Z's
I'm not sure if your serious or you don't know the difference between oil and grease? I have opened these VS150 reels because of frozen bearings under the spool basket and found only some white lithium looking grease on the gear. The oil would have prevented condensation or water from a leaky seal to rust the bearing.
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I'm completely serious and I'm quite sure I know the difference between oil and grease, and VS has been using
both in their reels for quite a while now...
The lubricants used in a standard service are white grease on the moving parts and fill up of gear oil (literally the same stuff that you'd put in a rear differential). There are a few reels that are only grease (very rare) and some that are only oil. The reason for the oil, as you discovered, is that if oil is coming out water can't be coming in. The VS is a "loss system"; if it's working as it should, it's slowly losing oil. It shouldn't be a pace much faster then a sheen on the main shaft. Heavily used reels may have a little more grease and oil at the base of the main shaft because they will lose what's inside at a faster pace simply due to the main shaft going in and out more.
If you have rust inside a VS it ran out of oil a long time ago and while it was leaking it was probably leaking like a stuck pig in order to run out of gear oil. There's usually at least a tablespoon in there. If it's leaking at a pace faster then it should be it will often be obvious. A puddle under a reel with a bad seal isn't unheard of. The gear oil also has a distinctive smell you probably will immediately notice if you've got a leaker.