Tsurinoya DARK WOLF ULTRA Spool Bearing replacement

Hey guys,
In this video I will show you how to “easily” remove the circlip, aka c-clip or e-clip, on your Tsurinoya Dark Wolf Ultra, Soloking Acura, Kyorim Black Knight 2, or Kingdom Micro Monster’s spool pin so that you can easily replace your spool bearing.
If you lose your c-clip don’t worry! I’ll show you a good way to replace the c-clip and keep your spool pin from coming out. Thanks as always for watching and cheers!
Chapters:
00:00 Intro and what were doing
00:50 Circlip removal
04:30 Reinstallation of spool pin
06:11 Lost circlip workaround
#tsurinoya #darkwolfultra #bfsfishing #bfs #soloking #aliexpress #bearings #soloking #kyorim #kingdom

[@quanloikid1]

Great video as always. Mini O-rings also work well. I used 2.5x0.5mm and smaller, and sometimes use more than one They're also easier to remove and very easy to replace. Doc 1/5

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey doc! That sounds like a really great and simple solution actually. Really appreciate that share! Going to pin your comment if you don’t mind so people can see the suggestion. Thanks again and cheers my friend!

[@quanloikid1]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Absolutely-Doc

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@quanloikid1 much appreciated Doc and thanks again for that awesome tip! Cheers my friend!

[@saraieatsstirfry5537]

Where you buy the o ring from. Just lost 1 of the c clips. Don’t want to mess with my other spool since the Acura comes with 2. Flew out of the ziploc bag when I was removing c clip. lol

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Sarai! You can also use a thicker diameter braid in a pinch. Might not look as pretty as an oring but I think it might last longer? Cheers my friend!

[@jayludvigh6958]

An excellent video. Also pretty gutsy to do it all on camera from start to finish.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Appreciate the comment Jay! I want to show everyone what actually is involved and if I encounter issues then it’s better to share those as well. While I can’t show every single problem or situation that happens I can at least give people the generally idea of the process. I have another video coming up soon that will show the entire process of swapping out bearings and the results of the new bearings from start to finish. Cheers!

[@NathanVanGilder]

You make it look so easy! I was hoping someone would make this video eventually. I tried removing that clip on one of my DWUs with a micro flat head screwdriver and I still have no idea where it ended up LOL. To keep the pin in place, I took some think cotton thread doubled up and soaked in some thin epoxy and ran it though the hole and pushed the pin in so it was nice and tight. Hasn't worked loose yet, so I'm happy with it .

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Nate! One other solution is to reach out to the manufacturers and ask if they have extra parts available. I know Soloking says that they will send parts if needed and that you just need to pay for shipping. I might actually ask them about these little circlips. In any case, it sounds like your solution works great! Thanks again for the view and sharing your solution! Cheers!

[@lunes-1]

Great video keep it up 🕊️

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Much appreciated! Cheers!

[@zankyou101]

Excellant video. Gives me enough information to know that if i need to change the spool bearings on my DWU, I'll send my reel to you to do it.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Haha Eric you are more than welcome to do so in the event you decide to upgrade that bearing! 🙌

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@UCNA1GzVSzFboXztDLzkwa6A yep. All of the dark wolf ultra variants use this method to keep the spool pin in place. I titled the video with dark wolf ultra because it’s the most well known of these OE reels.

[@zankyou101]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I posted my question then deleted after watching the beginning of your video again where you stated the C clip setup was the same in the DWU variants including the Acura. Thanks.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@zankyou101 haha I was about to ask but it’s no worries. All good but yes same for this OE CDM reel. Cheers Eric!

[@jplee3]

Nice! This is more or less the same method I had used to remove the c-clip from my spool pin. In my case, I just wedged both tips of the forceps/tweezers under each side of the c-clip and pulled it off at the same time (vs one side at a time). But that could be risky since the c-clip may just fly off. One thought is to add a bit of grease or vaseline to the spool pin and c-clip so that it's less inclined to do that.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Jeremy! Thanks for the suggestion! Might be useful to add that grease or Vaseline but also might get a tad messy haha. Guess you gotta “pay” to play sometimes. Cheers!

[@thatonebeone]

to prevent any C clips from flying out and losing it. do it inside a ziploc bag so if it flys off its in the bag

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey JDM! Yep doing it inside a ziploc definitely works. It’s a bit hard to maneuver but it will help prevent clips from flying away. Thanks for the tip! Cheers my friend!

[@yep.fishing]

Here while Im fooling around with a few reels :p

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey yep! Stay awhile and listen… lol wonder if you’ll get that reference 😆. Cheers my friend!

[@yep.fishing]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL no I had to look it up though, I was more of a red alert guy of you are referencing diablo

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@yep.fishing hey yep! Haha yea once upon a long time ago I used to play Diablo lol 😆. Cheers mate!

[@jasonrenshaw9010]

I have the ceramic bearings ready to do this mod, but was nervous about losing the c clip, now i have seen a solution if i lose it, i might get brave lol

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Jason! If you’re really nervous about losing the circlip you’ve got a couple options; remove the circlip in a plastic bag(not easy to do), use braid as I showed in another one of my videos, or just reach out to the manufacturer and see if they’ll send you some spares for a small fee. Just keep in mind that the circlip is super tiny, a well lit work place is your friend and patience is key! I wish you the best of luck and cheers!

[@jasonrenshaw9010]

OMG! I DID IT! Did the easy retaining clip first on the cover plate, it ping’d off! Not going well already i thought, but managed to find it on the wooden floor, phew. Then the hard one. I couldn’t even see it with my naked eye (i need glasses). I tried doing it in a plastic bag with a fine needle point tool pushed through the bag and the bag sealed around my wrist. Used a jewellers magnifying eye glass, but struggled to get close enough with the eye glass. So, sod it! Thanks to seeing your “fix” with the braid, i just went for it out of the bag and got it off (eventually) without losing it! Hooray. Putting it back on though, the clip fell off! It fell on the plastic bag, so i found it. I then put a small but deep plastic tub under the spool, and then used a pair of tweezers to tease the clip down, knowing there was the tub underneath should it fall. Wouldn’t have attempted this without watching your video, many thanks.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@jasonrenshaw9010 that’s so awesome Jason!!! really stoked that you were able to get it done! Very encouraged to hear that the plastic bag trick work cut more importantly that you attempted and accomplished it! Freakin rad man! 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌 cheers Jason!

[@arabarran]

Have you ever tried any ball bearings from Ali? I just bought Soloking Hicc 50, cuz i was very pleased with Dark Wolf ultra.. I also did magnet mod on DW, which helped a lot. I wonder if magnets will help with Hicc, it's different brake mechanism..

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey ara! If you feel like the Acura is underbraked then you can definitely add some 0.5mm thick magnets to the existing ones like you did with the DWU. Which Acura do you have? The Acura pro or the older long shaft Acura? Imho, the new one doesn’t really need bearing upgrades and actually the tighter tolerances with the c-clip on the spool shaft makes it a lot harder to remove. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!

[@arabarran]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I have newer one. Still need to test it on the water.

[@jeysirantharumalingham245]

Good day bro, do u know any aftermarket spool that would fit into genuis?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey jey! CDM reels tend to not have aftermarket spools available for them. The spool that comes with the reel is already quite light and suited for bfs fishing. Hope that helps and cheers!

[@The_Multi-species_Angler]

Glad you posted this. Wonder why they went with clips 🤔. Madness.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hi there! Im not really sure to be honest… that being said, I do think that this system is ever so slightly better than what most reels use which is a friction fitting spool pin. Over time those will need to be completely replaced as the material wears down or becomes compressed. Then again how many time is a person gonna remove their spool pin to upgrade their bearing? 🤷‍♂️… In any case, thanks for the comment and cheers!

[@tannermccalister9841]

Can you use just a spool bearing pin remover to do this on an Acura reel?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@tannermccalister9841 hey tanner! Technically yes but you would be basically destroying the c-clip that holds the spool pin in place. For some reason the Acura and other DWU variants do not use a press fit spool pin and instead use a c-clip to hold the pin in place. This is the reason why you need to use this method for the Acura and Acura pro as well as other DWU variants. Hope that helps! Cheers my friend!

[@Cjmm007]

I know they all are similar but which has the better brakes Stock without modifications? And Best quality reel? Acura soloking, DWU or micro monster?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hi Cj thank you for the question. I can only really speak about the DWU and the Acura as I’ve owned those two. I have a couple friends who own the bk2 and have only seen yt videos about the micromonster. To answer your first question, I think the brakes stock might actually go to the Acura. The reason I say this is because the Acura has a good deal more magnets than the DWU in the current static brake configuration. The magnets on the DWU are also much smaller. Quality wise the DWU and the Acura are quite close. However, the Acura does come with 11+1 bearings as opposed to the DWU which comes with 10+1. The real advantage that the Acura and the micromonster have over the DWU is that there are two different gear ratios and two spools offered as an option. I do have a video reviewing the Acura and comparing it to the DWU so I hope you check that out. Cheers!

[@Cjmm007]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL awesome thank you. I might go for the Acura then. I was thinking kingdom mm or Acura sk anyway because I like the deeper spool option.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@Cjmm007 you can actually find the Acura on Amazon now. Search for doviello acura reel and you should be able to find it. It’s still being sold on aliexpress and sometimes goes on sale there as well but you’ll have to be patient as aliexpress takes a bit longer to ship. Cheers!

[@Cjmm007]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL oh wow thank you! I’m glad you said Amazon. A lot quicker!!!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@Cjmm007 yep! Another point going for the Acura for that.

[@trout_spankn_dominoeacosta6914]

So the spool bearing. I got the roro as well but on one video i see u put it with the rubber peice facing in an another video video rubber faving out like this video meaning the roro bearing. Please help befroe i install ty

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey trout spanking! I’ve tried both methods and didn’t notice much of a difference between either way. That being said, I believe what is suggested is to have the oring facing towards the middle of the spool on both the spool itself and also the side plate. To be honest, because of the variances in tolerances I would just go with whatever feels the most snug/secure as that is what the oring is designed to do. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have more questions. Cheers my friend!

[@trout_spankn_dominoeacosta6914]

@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thanks for replying brotha. Appreciate it very much. So ur saying facing them inwards. OK Kool ty

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@trout_spankn_dominoeacosta6914 hey trout! Yeap that’s my configuration currently. Honestly though I think the difference between inwards and outwards is negligible. I have not noticed anything. Hope that helps and cheers!

[@anyaforger2021]

Just a random thoughts. As we all know this reel copy curado bfs ftb 1:1 like completely the same they just flip it am I right. So... What if... Let say we have a curado bfs or Calcutta bfs, what if we just swap their parts. Cause if they really copy it exactly the same there's a possibility it'll fit. If it fit I guarantee it'll be the most awesome reel

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hi Anya! Actually, I have used the brake shoe springs from a Curado bfs on my dark wolf ultra. That being said, some of these DWU variants use the older traditional static brakes and so won’t really benefit from the parts. I’m not 100% sure that the Curado uses a circlip to keep the spool pin in place. I believe they use a spool pin that uses a friction fit but I can’t confirm that as I do not own a Curado bfs. In any case, thank you for the great idea and for sharing your insight! Cheers!

[@markraciborski4289]

Ace Hardware sells E clips individually. I'm not sure down to that size. They are the best place for odd things. Why someone would sell you a set of bearings and not supply an extra e-clip is a mystery to me. On my bigger ABU baitcaster, i have placed a see-through thin plastic bag over my hands to contain an e clip. Gee, I thought that was a pain. The e clip was much bigger. At least spare parts are available from resellers with the Abu.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey mark! That’s awesome to hear! Love it when you can find what you need at the local hardware store. Anywho, I think these c-clips might fall into the “we don’t go that small” category haha. If and when you see these you’ll understand what I mean. They’re so small that they’re not flat c-clips. They’re literally just little semi-circles made of some very small diameter wire. The diameter has to be something like 1mm or so or smaller. You can get the clips from the store vendors so it’s not a huge issue but it’s somewhat of a specialty part and since these vendors are from aliexpress it may take some time. The good news is you can just some braid line to act as a temporary c-clip while you wait for your replacement. Anywho, thanks so much for sharing that info with us and cheers my friend!

[@G3Steve]

Which do you recommend, ceramic or stainless bearings? And do you lube them or keep them factory?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey there! It kind of depends. SS bearings are quiet and fairly corrosion resistant but do not spin as freely as ceramics. Ceramics spin freer but are noisier. SS bearings do require lubrication. For these I prefer a very low viscosity oil over grease. Ceramics you do not lubricate at all. In fact, I would clean them with acetone and then run them. I hope that helps! Cheers!

[@G3Steve]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL great info, thanks! I’m guessing the o-rings on the roros must be removed before dunking in acetone. Are the factory DWU bearings shielded? Can I just flush those in acetone without any prep? Thinking I might try that before spending $30 on bearings. Fishing discoveries did an experiment and cleaned/oiled factory bearings performed almost as well as roros.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@G3Steve yep! You can definitely give the factory bearings a good soak in acetone. I would put some in a small jar that has acetone and will not leak as some jar seals will actually disintegrate from the acetone 😅 I know this from experience lol. Once you’ve cleaned out the SS bearings, preferably an overnight soak, go ahead and let them dry out and then try giving them a drop of some low viscosity oil. I could go on about oils but anything you can get easily is better than nothing. Lmk if you want to hear recommendations. Cheers!

[@G3Steve]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I’d love to get your recommendations. Last time I did this 11 years ago for my regular baitcasters and I was told regular shimano oil that they pack with their reels would work fine.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

You can definitely give it a try! Just one drop per bearing where the shield is should work it’s way in. Cheers!

[@rickyfitsgerald577]

Hello guys Can anyone tell me if there are differences between tsurinoya dark wolf 50 and dark wolf ultra 50?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hi there! The dark wolf is an older design and a slightly larger than the dark wolf ultra. Both are 50 size reels but the DWU is better at handling the ultralight side of bfs, ie 1 - 4g lures. The DW might be better at 3g+ but I have no direct experience with the DW. Hope that helps!

[@rickyfitsgerald577]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thanks man I don’t what reel buy I Just bought the sabre jks51 but i found the dark wolf 10 euros lower and now i don’t know what reel buy from this two

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@rickyfitsgerald577 imho if you are looking to try out UL BFS the DWU is a very solid reel. I have not had any experience with Sabre reels. I know there are reviews out on KZbin of Sabre reels though so hopefully you can watch those and compare. Sorry I can’t provide more insight in this matter… cheers Ricky!

[@jimfarley5486]

4 1/2 minutes to show how to take off a c clip, could not stand anymore.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Jim! I was probably giving explanation and a bit of information regarding the process. I understand it’s not for everyone but I appreciate your feedback. It was nice of me to add chapters but I hope you’re able to find videos that are more direct as mine tend to be more info heavy. Cheers my friend!