How To disassemble, clean and reassemble Abu Garcia Bait Caster Reel

This week we show, in detail, closeup form, how to maintain your Abu Garcia Fishing Reel. This one is the 5500-C3 Commander Series but this process will work well for almost any reel.
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[@tbboy11]

My granddad just gave me three of these. Never used one so this is hopefully the video I need.

[@Svdreamchaser]

That is great news, I hope you find it helpful with cleaning them up.

[@naturewins]

Good video, I like the close up to see detail

[@Svdreamchaser]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Check out some of the other topics that may interest you. From repairs, to grilling to Sailing and cruising on our sailboat.

[@warrentug]

The video was a life saver since I couldn't remember where all the springs went! You didn't remove them but I could see their location in your video....thanks!

[@Svdreamchaser]

Glad it was helpful. Hope all is back to good and functional.

[@johnhenderson7094]

Hands down the best tutorial on cleaning an Ambassador

[@Svdreamchaser]

Wow. Thanks John for the kind words. Love this reel too.

[@WhiskerWhippers]

I did a pretty good one on the 6500C3

[@bubbazoux]

Best video I've seen on doing this. I have multiple reels that needed cleaning and now I'm confident I can do it myself

[@Svdreamchaser]

That is great, I am glad you found it helped. The parts are small, put a light colored towel down on the working surface so any dropped parts don't "bounce". That was my big lesson learned. lol

[@abnormaladventuresatv9955]

@@Svdreamchaser i’m having trouble putting tuw spool back on the reel can you help me?

[@stevedennis7639]

Nice job. It was very informative

[@Svdreamchaser]

Glad you found it helpful. It was fun to take apart and see what was going on and clean/treat it.

[@gleiberrabelo4496]

Very useful , thanks very much for teaching us

[@Svdreamchaser]

Oh great. I am glad you found it helpful.

[@southernlongleafoutdoors6304]

This was a great tutorial, thanks so much. I'll share it with my peeps and I ask all others to do the same.

[@Svdreamchaser]

Thanks a bunch. I am glad you found it useful.

[@abdulhalimjaafar9079]

very usefull video and best i got.. my 6501 never been service sinces i bought it now the time to re-lube em

[@Svdreamchaser]

Glad you found it helpful.

[@abdulhalimjaafar9079]

@@Svdreamchaser ya thanks a bunch

[@Kacamatagombal-wz5lw]

Thank you so much tutorial

[@Svdreamchaser]

@@Kacamatagombal-wz5lw glad it was helpful.

[@davidrateliff1231]

Very well explained. Thank you

[@Svdreamchaser]

Tha is for the kind words.

[@japinoybettajapan]

Nice tutorial boss

[@Svdreamchaser]

Many many thanks. I am glad you enjoyed it.

[@MrUFGators85]

Very nice job! Extremely helpful. Thank you.

[@Svdreamchaser]

I am glad it helped. Please do take a moment and subscribe if you haven't already. Thanks for tuning in.

[@josecordoba1757]

I have two Abu need some work done

[@Svdreamchaser]

Got er done! As they say. Lol

[@klink370]

Helpful video but several key steps left out. One MAJOR step is to be sure the a/r pawl is fitted to the shaft it goes onto before reassembling the right side.

[@Svdreamchaser]

Thank you.

[@jamiendurrence1110]

Help! When I took the line leveler off and the worm screw, there were two small copper colored ball bearings with holes in them sitting on my towel and I have no idea where they came from or go back to. My reel is an Abu Garcia 2500c -1977, Any ideas where these go?

[@Svdreamchaser]

Oh no. I am not clear where they go. If anyone else has an idea please do reference it here.

[@jeffreybabino8161]

Hi I had this reel a long time ago and could not maintain this reel learned how to use it I am not very handy 😊

[@Svdreamchaser]

Hopefully this helped.

[@ryanboldt7751]

I have an Abu Garcia 6500 C, maybe from 1988. I found it in the attic, and I took it apart to lube it. It looks similar to the one in this video on the inside. I did pretty much everything like you did, but now it goes in reverse (and forward to0) and I can’t figure out how to lock it with anti-reverse? Any idea what has happened?

[@Svdreamchaser]

Oh. I am not sure as i cant think of any way turning the crank one direction would make the otems go backwards. If it is just letting it turn backwards. I think the small arm at 11:55 on the left of the image. There is a curved part called a pawl, it engages with the teeth on the gear to keep it from going backward.

[@ryanboldt7751]

@@Svdreamchaser I figured it out, there is a dog tooth like thing (at 17:35 and 21:59 of your video) that actually slides onto the bottom post gear thing. When I took my reel apart it fell off that gear before ever saw what it was suppose to do or look like. It was kind of an intricate application and would be good to show how to do it.

[@Svdreamchaser]

Great new!!!

[@camorama666]

Really great close-up video of the maintenance on this real. However I do have a question, why did you use oil instead of grease on all of the gears? I have always thought that you use grease for applications where you need the lubrication to stay put.

[@Svdreamchaser]

Thanks for the kind words. I think it comes down to personal preference, I agree grease will certainly stay longer however my experience is that grease also captures more dust and salt then oil does and I’m OK lubricating these every year. That’s my opinion, certainly I think this could vary depending on the person and I’m sure a very very small amount of grease would be a great solution. Unfortunately, many people over Greece applications and end up with something that can capture outside substances and turn into something more glue like then lubricating. As a seller, I’ve seen this repeatedly in things like winches on a boat for hoisting and adjusting sails

[@Xx233xX]

Grease goes on internals oil on external parts...if you use grease outside it’ll give dirt and grime something to stick to

[@xe9c309]

i got an issue, the little mechanism that goes inside that makes the line leader able to move back an fourth, it fell out and i lost it and idk what to do

[@Svdreamchaser]

Oh. That stinks. I don’t know your options there. I may start looking at garage sales for people selling older rods and reels and rebuild/clean one from there.

[@dodgersfnshepard8673]

Excellent video! Would you suggest this same method for other reels? I've got 2 beat up slim cats and can't find any info on them, forums videos nothing. Any info would go miles

[@Svdreamchaser]

I think so. If you take them apart carefully so you can clean, lube and reassemble I suspect all would be good.

[@normancallaghan1750]

Enjoyed your strip down video. Personally I would have cleaned up the corrosion on the reel foot.

[@dannydnice1]

Awesome

[@gleiberrabelo4496]

Do you have any video about Abu Garcia 7000 cL big game Colletion ?

[@Svdreamchaser]

Sorry I only have this one on a reel rebuild.

[@L0st-n0found]

any place to find metal replacement gears for the POS plastic ones? Great video thanks.

[@Svdreamchaser]

Not that I am aware of. But there may be aftermarket companies that do it and I’m just not sure of them

[@jjseandxcefree]

I've got abus from the 60s and hauled in 40lb salmon - the plastic gears actually hold up fine...they are also lighter and are smoother then metal.

[@carolemcconnell4651]

Now I know how! THANKS...

[@Svdreamchaser]

Glad you found it useful!

[@abnormaladventuresatv9955]

Hey I’m have trouble getting my spool back in the reel! I can’t fit it in there so do you have any advice

[@Svdreamchaser]

You were able to get the line spool back in? I am thinking it means that something is in the way. We’re you able to get the items out of the way.

[@abnormaladventuresatv9955]

@@Svdreamchaser do you have insta or any socials so you can help me more

[@Svdreamchaser]

@@abnormaladventuresatv9955 sure. Send me the picture to my account. www.SVDreamChaser.com You can email me at this site.

[@abnormaladventuresatv9955]

@@Svdreamchaser The size is not secure so do you have Instagram or like a number

[@abnormaladventuresatv9955]

I’m not saying that I don’t trust you it’ll be easier if you have like a number Instagram

[@barclaysauers255]

How about the level-wind line bail? Your whole vidio it appears that it was not down (up) into the guide groove of the cross member. Is that true or is it an optical illusion caused by the camera angle? Please reply.

[@Svdreamchaser]

I think it was just a camera angle because it all worked great after reassembly.

[@jamiegoodwin]

@@Svdreamchaser, Your line guide was not in the upper frame groove in this video. That puts the pawl in a more stressed situation of keeping the line guide upright, and will wear out/break the pawl easily. Barclay is correct, and it isn't just camera angle, there is one instance you can see the line guide tipping out of the frame.

[@Svdreamchaser]

I am glad it worked out for me. Seems maybe I licked into it given your knowledge of it. Thanks for the feedback.

[@openstenosis]

Great video thank you. I got into my 4600C (Has the red tab casting realease) & obviously I screwed up the reassembling Click the red release, turn handle but line can still be pulled out & even spins the handle backwards! This was my 1st bait caster as a kid, have it 45 years now! Love to pass it on to my son. Help, & thanks!

[@Svdreamchaser]

Wow. That stinks. It sounds like there is a catch arm on the gearing that is not in place. I am not sure exactly where it would be however. You may need to take it to a local fishing supply store for an assist.

[@josecordoba1757]

What part of USA you are

[@Svdreamchaser]

South West Florida. How about you, where you at?

[@allancrow134]

Are you an engineer? Because you sound like one. I've got two of these reels lucky for me they have never been used in saltwater. If I took it apart that would be the end of it. Thanks for the heads up eh!

[@Svdreamchaser]

I am not, but I am taking that as a compliment for sure. Lol. They aren’t that hard to work on but there are small pieces so if you do, put down a towel it keeps the little parts from bouncing when they land on the table unexpectedly. :)

[@vin18m]

Great video, I’m about to do this myself and will be following this step by step. Are there any bearing or other upgrades worth doing at the same time?

[@Svdreamchaser]

Not that I saw a need for when doing this one.

[@vin18m]

Thanks, did the service on mine today and all went well. Was slightly different on the inside although I suspect that is due to slightly different model year

[@Svdreamchaser]

@@vin18m glad it went well. I suspect they change everything a little bit every few years. Mine worked a lot better after the service for sure.

[@rmp608]

Thank You!!!

[@Svdreamchaser]

Glad you found it useful.

[@carolinacoins]

Is the Royal Express similar?

[@Svdreamchaser]

I think so

[@wannabeeoutdoors8188]

I did it but now mine line is hard to reel in and pull of the spool when I reassemble the reel

[@Svdreamchaser]

I wonder if the brake discs are not in correct?

[@wannabeeoutdoors8188]

@@Svdreamchaser but I didn't even disassemble all that I just greased it through the holes in the side and put it back together but when I have the side off the reel spins easy

[@kthen7162]

Now to find to plastic straw like tubes :)

[@lesrinehart933]

Good vid... those little white guys are brake shoes on the brake plate

[@Svdreamchaser]

Awesome. Thank you!

[@nyquisst]

do you know what year it is rheel?

[@Svdreamchaser]

I am not sure I understood the question Are you asking what year model the reel is?

[@nyquisst]

@@Svdreamchaser yes, what year is that rheel? Thanks

[@Svdreamchaser]

I am not exactly sure. I think it is from about 9 years ago so guessing 2010-2013 or so.

[@thedonssp]

no grease?

[@Svdreamchaser]

No. I used oil only.

[@kthen7162]

I opened the small screw side...

[@Svdreamchaser]

And it worked ok?

[@kthen7162]

I've watched the vid x2 thanks but I'm having trouble with the cog stopper or gear (tiny hook) .does it go above nearer the line release or inside the casing where you attach the reel handle please?

[@kthen7162]

It's ok worked out thanks

[@Svdreamchaser]

@@kthen7162 glad you found it. I was going to have to rewatch the video to refresh my memory. Lol.

[@kentyler966]

I’m not trying to be a jerk but i suggest you lay down a cloth hand towel in your work area. If you drop a small part it’s usually laying on the towel, not somewhere on the floor.

[@Svdreamchaser]

Great tip!! Luckily I didn’t lose any but it sure could have happened.

[@Xx233xX]

You missed the slot lol. You know that by know tho lol

[@Svdreamchaser]

Yeppers.

[@jamiegoodwin]

Not trying to be mean, and considering this is a 2 year old video, I am sure you figured out, but the work you did on the Worm Gear, and Pawl is the hardest way I have ever seen someone do it on these videos. There are much easier ways to do what you did. Remove the Pawl retainer, remove pawl, remove worm gear, tube slides out, line guide drops off. Make sure when you reassemble that the line guide is in the little slot on the frame that keeps it in place, you missed it on this video, and all that is holding things in the "Semi-right" position is the pawl, which causes extra stress on the pawl, and will wear it out quickly. Simply put, that line guide was not in the frame groove.

[@Svdreamchaser]

Thanks. I may have kicked into my success but I had no idea that was the case.

[@Andromedust]

Great video but now I have that godamm circus music going over and over and over and over in my head. WHY????? WHY THE CIRCUS MUSIC????

[@Svdreamchaser]

Lol. I guess to leave a lasting memory. ;).

[@Andromedust]

@@Svdreamchaser I had to listen to a half hour of "It's A Small World" to get it out of my head.... which ended up being like the little old woman who swallowed a fly. Seriously though, great video. Although I should mention, I assumed the 6500 C would have the same inner workings as the 5500 and while there are many similarities, there are a bunch of differences. This video did help me bring it back from the dead though. The only thing, there is a little tiny pin about 1/8th inch long and a 32nd wide that fell out of something while disassembling and I couldn't figure out where it went. The reel is working great though so not too worried. I'm wondering if it might go in the thumb slide brake thing on the left maybe since it doesn't seem to effect the main workings. Ever have a 6500 C apart anyone?

[@Svdreamchaser]

I haven’t had a 6500 apart but for some reason I am not surprised there are sone small differences. Glad it is working without the pin.

[@mtn-endeavors67]

Clip your nails bro

[@Svdreamchaser]

So you searched for and found a video on how to repair your fishing reel, you found it, watched it, and your concern is the length of my finger nail. Lol.