Scorpion missing the sting.

A customer sent in a Shimano Scorpion XT with the complain that it feels like a reel he used to know. There's something amiss with it that he cannot pinpoint. Everything seems to be working fine, accept that there's a weird kink or grind on a downward stroke of the crank handle.

It's one of those things that isn't going to stop the reel from functioning or create further damage when in use. It's a tiny splinter that gets under your skin that it's not 100% to your liking. It irritates the hell out of you with that niggling sensation resulting in a self imposed handicap.

We're off to taking this reel apart to see if there's anything wrong, worn off or perhaps just misaligned when reassembled together.

Excellent condition from the outside. Cranks creamy smooth with the exception of a weird kink on downward crank.

First to be eliminated, free spool support bearings. Both are in excellent condition spinning freely without any grittiness.

Not much to do with the weird kink but does look like it needs a bit of a clean up and regular grease rub maintenance.

Spinning the crank shaft without the gears produced the weird kink. To confirm this suspicion, a quick reassembly with the gears and crank case somewhat indicated to the crank shaft. When free spinning, it didn't look like it was bent or wobbly. Possibly a misalignment during installation. A total removal of the crank shaft should reveal the issue.

The culprit discovered. With closer inspection, the crank shaft support bearing seemed to be scrubbing against the shaft retainer metal piece. The outer ring scrubbing against the metal retainer (red). Another quick test this time with a thin shim slotted in (green) in order for the inner ring to be the contact point against the metal retainer/shaft so that the bearing can function properly with the outer ring flushed against the reel housing.

A tiny thin shim is all it takes to sort out the weird kink. Free spinning of the shaft doesn't produce the weird kink anymore. Light oil in the bearing, grease rub down all over and the reel's ready to be reassembled.

The entire drag disc systems just needs a clean up and new coat of marine grease for protection and smoother drag action.

The weird kink was quickly eliminated with an additional shim for proper bearing fitment. My suspicion is that minor wear and tear on the related parts may have generated that weird kink. It's just a matter of tuning the fitment to 'fix' the issue and give this Scorpion the sting it deserves.