Penn 30tw question...

[Deep C]

As many of you know I live, eat and breath shimano but with this new gig I'm doing I am having a pile of Penn tossed into the mix. For complicated reasons the boat owner would like these to be used when we have certain guests along for certain tournaments.
I think I already know the answer to my question before I even start but figured I'd toss it up in hopes that some one might have a definate answer for me. I toyed with the set earlier this year. All fresh from a "servicing" and what crap! I had to tweek and reset almost everything on every reel. Had to bust open and lube all the 50w of the set. Drag washers were mushed down on on of the new 70Vs. One of the 30w in the set just took some adjusting but the other was sent back hammered down on the drag.
It should be simple enough. Back off the preset... But nooooooo! She didn't want to budge. I emplyed a whole lot of muscle and the preset started to come down then suddenly got easy to turn for three quarters of the way around but tight for one quarter. The drag had backed down some but not enough. The preset turns but is doing nothing to adjust the drag any further????
I figure I have stripped something... Before I go in and teter on the edge of a stroke trying to fix it, I would love to know just what the hell I should be looking for...
Perhaps our Alantani could chime in?

[tom s]

who did the "service"? I fish a 61 Viking and the reels are all Penn and we have never had a problem with them.Tom

[Deep C]

Some place in north Jersey. They smoked this guy... As for my dealings with Penn I have had entire sets bad in the box. That was simple enough to exchange until I found some "keepers". I have had failures at the wrong time too many times,even if its only a few. I had some "sponsored" ones that I returned after only a few months.
I still have a set but they're in moth balls. At least those that I didn't give away or sling on ebay...
This set I'm stuck with using for a few tournaments so I gotta make them as close to right as they can get...

[alantani]

the cam needs to come out. it needs to be greased, worked back and forth, and then re-installed. for that, you need to remove the handle, then the main gear, then the preset knob and lever.

the hard part is the gear set. i'm cramming to get ready for a long range trip the beginning of october. i won't be able to do any photo shoots until then. i'll get back to this when i return. in the mean time, consider tearing it down yourself, try to stay organized. you will either find a screw or a push pin inside the drive shaft to remove the drive shaft and the main gears. after that, everything comes apart and goes back together in order. alan

[Deep C]

That was the answer I was expecting... I can travel through tld or triton with relative ease... Busting open Penn is something akin to neurosurgery versus just an apendectomy... Man! There are a load of tiny little things in there that you need four hands to hold in place when it comes to putting back together...

I'm a boat driver damnit... not a doctor...

[gradywhite273]

wooooos

[Deep C]

I feel like telling the owner to send it back to Penn and have them do it. I will say on their behalf that Penn's service at the factory level is the best there is. They have performed miracles for bad cases for me in the past...


Tim...
I have mittens where my nimble little fingers used to be...