ABU Garcia question/help

[Van]

My nearly brand new ABU is acting up. On the retriev the line guide goes to the left of the spool and stays there. If I keep reelihng the line piles up there (bad thing). I have to push it to the right with my finger while reeling to get it to move again. It does not stick on the right side though.

Any ideas/suggestions.

[maddog2020]

Screw under the levelwind is loose?

Check to see if its lose, OR the gear could be stripped?

If you had taken it apart and put the pawl piece in upside down?

No insult to you, just some senerios that came to mind .... lol.

[Van]

If you mean the screw under the guide loop, that is tight. I checked it when the prob started.

Reel has only been used 4-5 trips. never been apart for sure.

striped gear?? where? The guide bar spins OK when I crank, the guide only gets stuck on the left side. Like i said it will go over if I push on it a bit to the right.

[Mike P]

The pawl and/or the worm gear are worn. Hopefully just the pawl, which is just cheap metal. MikeCC might have them in the shop. If not, Buckos will have them.

[chubsdad]

hey van is it the new BIG GAME 7000 i hear alot of people are having problems with them. last week mike b used his for the first time and had the same thing happen take it back to where you got it

[Rob Rockcrawler]

Sounds like the gear in the sideplate might be ripped up. ITs easy enuff to take off the side plate and take a look, its a nylon gear i think, i tore mine up real good a few weeks ago. M&D can prolly take care of it, he fixed mine real quick.

[Van]

Got the worm gear and pawl replaced. All is fine now.
I think what happened is the pawl showed some corrosion on it which probably restricted it from making that subtle turn to track the other way. That in turn nicked the worm gear and it would not get past it. $11 repair ain't too bad.

Thanks for the replys.

[chris L]

van
the pawl wears out with no warning . I change mine every season and If I could fish like I used to Id change it more frequently . Keep spares !

[Van]

The pawl wears before the gear?
Do you change the gear often too?

[Saltheart]

Its the pawl as Mike P said. Get a new one. get a spare at the same time. Happens a lot on ABU reels. Call abu , maybe they'll send you a new one or two free since its a brand new reel.

The worm gear almost never wears out. Gear on the clicker side that spins the worm gear almost never wears out either.

[RIJIMMY]

For future reference, whats the pawl?
I just started using an ABU 7000 this year.

[Van]

Under the line guide is a cap with a slot for a screwdriver. In there is the pawl which is a little rod with a "fin" ?? that rides in the worm gear slot when you crank or cast.

I learned alot about this in the past few days. I also learned to lube it OFTEN !!!!! then it should last longer. (lube under that cap that holds the pawl in)

I like Chris's post, carry spares, they can be changed while fishing very easily.

[Mike P]

When it hangs in one spot, 99.9% of the time it's the pawl and/or the worm gear. If it was the gear inside the left plate, it would hang up randomly across the spool whenever you reached the busted gear tooth.

[Iwannakeeper]

Sort of a side question.

What recommendation do you ABU experts make for parts for an ABU?

I just bought my first convench set-up. Is it worth adding smoothies?

What should I carry for a Abu first aid kit?

I carry the wrench/screwdirver that is included. I carry the lube and some clean rags. I plan to get some WD-40 and silicone spray. Should I be carrying spare drags, pawl, a toothbrush (for cleaning) etc? Or even if I do not carry these items, are they worth having in man-town (my at home tackle-shop/billard room/bar room/ all man room?

thanks
-tuck

[Saltheart]

Yes to smoothies and extra pawl. maybe carry some oil. No to everything else except a screwdriver and pliers. Be carefull pulling any reel apart on the beach , etc. Without a pan to catch parts , you could lose some.

[Iwannakeeper]

yeah - I would probably do the maintenance on a matt in the back of my SUV, not on the beach or on the rocks...or worse yet, wading up to my arm-pits. LOL

[Stewie]

Never,ever remove the big plastic gear that drives the level wind by prying it from the side.If you do you will loosen the dog it turms on. Abu sent me a replacement sideplate for free,but I couldn't use the reel for 2 weeks. Also put a drop of light oil on the aforementioned dog at least twice a season or the reel will start screaming on hard casts. Drag washers in 6500 series reels can be replaced with ht100s from a Penn 965. Use two on the outside and leave in the middle stock washer. I can set my 6500 rocket to 15 lbs of drag with this set up. 7000 series drags are OK to begin with.

[maddog2020]

Good gawd, longshot. What casting rod ya using w/ 15 lbs of drag?!#

I swapped out the washers to my Abu 6600 C-5 mag when I first purchased it w/ std smoothies & smoothie washers. I've used it on a stout 7' rod (30 lb Stealth) and have muscled in 42"- 44" stripers w/ it pretty fast.

I went to conventionals last yr just to be able to get more drag pressure on the fish so I didn't have to finesse them in like I do w/ spinning gear. Sometimes I just want to get the fish in fast and off and other times I want to use lighter mono and play them in.