In this video I show you how to grease and oil an Abu Garcia Black Max fishing reel. This is one of my old bass fishing reels and it was getting sluggish.
This is a good maintenance tutorial. Others show how to take the reel completely appart including the gears. There is no need to do that if the reel is functioning properly. I agree with your method.
I take it apart once a year. I clean/brush/grease the main gear to remove debris and also wipe down and put new drag washer grease on my washer stack. I add oil to my reel handle paddle spindles as well. I've gotten to the point that it takes me 15 minutes to go from top to bottom on a reel even with taking the main gear side plate off and totally going through those gears/washers. Every third year or so I take the bearing out and sonicate them in a solvent to totally clean them.
Even with a brand new reel, to make the spool run as fast and as smooth as it can to allow for maximum casting distance, remove the spool bearings and soak them in lighter fluid (naphtha) to remove any grease/oil. Allow the bearings to dry off, then put ONE SMALL drop of a quality LIGHT bearing oil (TS-321, TS-301, Rocket Fuel Red or Tournament, Quantum Hot Sauce, HyperSpeed, etc) on one side of the bearing only (it will work its way onto all ball bearings). Keep grease off anything that directly affects the FREE spin of the spool AND the entire level wind mechanism (level wind worms will work best if they employ a ball bearing at one end, instead of a bushing bearing).
I don’t comment often but I had to say thank you so much for this video! It gives me exactly what I’ve been looking for. Many videos want to take the reel all the way down to all the small pieces. Yours is just right and I really appreciate that!
Thanks for the vid! Like others, I have wanted to service and lube my Black Max and was afraid I would screw it up. You made it really easy! I've had my Max for years and it's still a Bass workhorse!
@@scottsime5197 Not at all wrong, a light coat of oil will more than protect and will increase casting distance of the worm and pawl. Grease the gears that will disengage and allow free spool to occur, ABEC5 bearings are oiled, ABEC7 hybrid ceramic bearings may not or maybe are lightly oiled, carbontex drag discs are lightly Cal-greased. For the best distance, remove the entire super drag inducing level wind and main gear. To each their own, it's all good if it works reel good for ya. 😏
I'm not sure why your views are so low this was a great tutorial. Gave you a like. I just bought this reel. It's my first bait caster reel. Every review is excellent and I'm stoked. What kind of oil/grease are you using?
Thank you. This is a great reel for your first one. They last forever. I always use Ardent oil and grease on my reels. If you have any questions about it, let me know.
It really depends on how much you use it. I fish my reels hard once or twice a week. I usually go through them about once a month. If I’m fishing a tournament I go through them prior.
Hahaha I’ll tell you, if I had it to do over I would cut that part out of the video. There have been some who have had strong feelings against it lol. But the reason I do it is so that the oil runs down beside the brakes and into the moving parts. Where I put the oil depends on how the brakes function. They will move in and out in one way or another. It’ll be different for other reels. I use my brakes a lot on the water and that keeps the dial on the outside easy to turn. It doesn’t make sense to a lot of people but I can use my baitcasters hard for a lot of years before I feel that they are wearing down on me.
Bad idea to press the thumb bar without spool in place; risk of damaging gears/pinion - the noise you hear when you try to reel / BAD. Good informative how-to, I just don't understand oil on magnets? I have silver max, great reel, will last you for ages with proper/regular maintenance. The much more expensive roxani seized up on me after a total of 6hours on the water; after 2months of sitting in the box uncleaned (6hrs)..the antireverse bearing was gone..completly rusted.. Abu garcia did make everything right and sent me a new reel,despite me voiding the warranty when I opened it up to see what the... The day that I sent out the reel to them I got new ar bearing I oredered from ebay, so now I have a brand new reel and a replacement bearing, abu garcia did a great job, but the trust in that particular reel is gone,sadly. From that moment on I became reel maintenance fanatic nutjob..and the reels really shine in performance - always as new.
Never tried it. It probably works pretty good. I’ve never had a problem with Ardent Reel Butter attracting dust. I’ve put it to the test in west Texas! Lol
I get that question a lot. I wish I still had a reel that worked this way so I could do a video specifically for that question. I haven’t seen one in a long time and it may just be cheaper reels but some of those magnets will come in and out like a piston so that when they’re closer to the spool they produce more braking. That oil will run down beside the magnet and it keeps the adjustment smooth. Most of them not move with the whole housing so it’s not necessary. But that’s why I did it.
Great video! Do you think this reel would be a good budget reel? I want to have 2 baitcast setups for when I go fishing, one for primarily fishing weightless senkos/dingers on 15 lb test and another for flipping and pitching 3/8 oz jigs with 20 lb test.
It’s a good budget reel. It’s as durable as they come. The gear ratio on it is versatile too. You’ll be able to do a lot with it and it’ll hold up. It’s not the smoothest reel though. I’ve got a KastKing WhiteMax that blows it away as far as casting. The White Max has dual brakes as well. I like it better but it’s a 5.1 ratio instead of 6.1 so it’s not as versatile
@@freaknfishn I actually already own one! Just adding more reels to my collection. I have really enjoyed my Pro Qualifier 2 and have caught some huuuge Wisconsin bass on it
@@freaknfishn Thanks for immediately answering! I understand what you mean, but to put oil ON THE MAGNETS ITSELF makes no sense for they do not get in contact with moving parts. The mechanics for moving the magnets in and out is situated insite the sideplate, so you shut give some oil there, if anywhere at all.
You seem really offended by this lol. If you put a drop on the magnet itself the oil will run down beside it and distribute pretty evenly between the magnet and the housing. It keeps the brakes smooth. I use my brakes a lot.
They have modified the design of the black max. Now there is a silver bar above the line spool. You slide it over and twist the door. It’s a little harder to open than the old ones. Take a look at my video on the Abu Garcia ProMax. It opens the same way ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PNxL2AtF8Pw.html
Internal use grease, external use oil..you need to cken and remove all pieces before you grease them.,just adding oil and not cleaning does more bad than good. Gears need grease, bearings take oil.,
Don’t know if you will view this comment. Just bought the real got it all lined out and won’t cast don’t matter the setting I’ve got it on or anything won’t cast further than 5 ft
Hey there, the reel in this video is a model from probably 15 years ago but they should be similar. Does the release button seem to function? Does it click when you push it. If it does, will the spool spin freely if you spin it with your finger?
