Mr. Rusty visits Daiwa Ryoga

A friend's been complaining about his Daiwa Ryoga's making rough grinding noise while cranking. The usual suspect's not hard to pin down as it is usually one of the outer most bearings where water can easily sneak in, was likely a visit from Mr. Rusty. This reel's seen some serious action and most recently, it's been used for salt water fishing too.

A popular model, somehow a people's choice for salt water fishing too.

This reel isn't really water proof but most materials used are corrosion resistant. There are no seals or gaskets around the box to prevent water intrusion and the design seems to allow water to pass through without getting trapped. However, the drag stack is supposed to be water-proof with o-ring seals around it.

Water everywhere in the gearbox. Possibly from rinsing after fishing. That means water can easily sneak all the way in to the gear box since there are no rubber seals or gaskets. Top stack of the drag is o-ring sealed both around outer ring and on the crank shaft.

If water gets trapped in the gearbox, it's definitely a bad sign and there seems to have some gunk oozing out from the anti-reverse bearing.

MR. Rusty found. There was quite a bit of gunk oozing out of the anti-reverse bearing and upon sliding the sleeve out, blotches of rust was everywhere on the sleeve, bearing pins and housing.

Luckily, rusty grime somehow hasn't dug deep into metal surfaces as it is probably an early detection. Rust removal was straight forward and surface cleaning afterwards made for a spanking clean bearing pins and roller sleeve. The outer most crank shaft support bearing looks like a corrosion resistant bearing that 'should' shield water away from the anti-reverse bearing but the inside's exposed.

A dab of one-way bearing oil, roll and work it into the roller pins for good measure. Just make sure that the excess oil's cleaned up using absorbent kitchen towel without it dripping or flowing everywhere into the reel. Marine grease all over the outer most bearing that doesn't seem to have any exposure to water and rolls smooth as new.

When the stacked gear with drag discs was removed, it looked like a mud fight took place. A combination of grease, carbon dust and water inside the drag system. Weird thing is that this drag stack is suppose to be water proof with o-ring seals around the top stack disc and also on the crank shaft.

Mud like gunk all over the entire drag stack system. Degreased and cleaned then marine grease brushed all over for protection and water displacement.

Most of the grease that came with the reel when new were no where to be seen. Too dry for my liking and definitely needs to be brushed cleaned before applying a new layer of marine grease.

Too dry and needs thorough cleaning to remove old grease/gunk before applying a new layer of marine grease.

Here's a mid way reassembly and grease application on most surfaces not just to protect but also to displace any water in the event of water intrusion. Make sure to work the mechanical parts in order for the grease to work into all contact areas.

Upon general cleaning of all mechanical parts, new marine grease is being applied all throughout. Green arrow shows where o-ring's suppose to prevent water intrusion, removed and cleaned in case there are debris stuck preventing the o-ring from doing its intended job.

Top most layer of the drag stack with o-rings around the outside somehow wasn't stopping water intrusion. O-rings removed and cleaned, marine grease thorouhgly brushed all over the gaps between the disc and gear as well as the crank shaft.

What was not shown here are the spool support bearings that seems to be smooth as silk and spins freely as they are quite shielded from water exposure. Even though plenty of people claim to use this reel for salt water application, I wouldn't bet my money on using it right out off the box. I'd definitely give it a full strip down with sufficient marine grease coat on it before doing so to ensure prolonged lifespan and longer lasting fishing adventures.