This is a trusty veteran Conquest that's been through countless hours of battle despite it's tiny size. It's been in action non-stop for about a year or more without any issues and it's starting to hint to the owner that it needs to be juiced up asap. It's starting to squeak and rough riding, which usually means way past overdue for a check up.
Having this tiny reel in hand never seize to amaze me at how small this reel truly is. Pictures cannot do justice as to how compact and solidly built this reel is known for. The initial impression build up quickly died with the squeaky crank and overall roughness felt. I suspect we'll have a blast busting some rust while servicing.
This Conquest came with a specific instruction to maintain the mechanical 'light feel' and therefore dictates how this reel would be serviced and tune up. So here goes.
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| Poster shot before diving in for some rust bustin. |
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| Owner gave it a bit of natural pimpin, wooden knobs to match. New bearings that came with the knobs just need a bit of salt water protection. |
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| Spool support bearing on the centrifugal brake side also showed no signs of rust or roughness. A clean up and light oil application is sufficient. |
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| First rust bust, mechanical brake side knob and bearing doesn't look so good. Rust seem to have chewed the bearing up good. Some deep pitting found on the crank case (bottom left, red pointer) and rust particles found all over the crank case (bottom right, orange pointer) |
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| Rust seem to have covered the spool shaft with some light damage. Some rust removal solution rubbed in, followed by polishing and buffing to fully remove any traces of rust. Luckily, there are no major pitting on the shaft. |
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| Seized bearing covered in rust. Needs some elbow grease scrubbing and a few rounds of ultrasonic cleaning to see if the bearing can be revived. (Right) Mechanical brake knob internal was a straight forward brush down and bearing nicely brushed, un-jammed and ready to be dunked into ultrasonic bath. |
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| The drags were also well worn with plenty of debris on the entire crank case mixed in with rust particles. (Red pointers) Pinion support bearing seem to have sustained some rust damage and lightly fused with the pinion shaft. The bearing seem to be spinning a bit rough but fine, possibly light damages internally. Pinion shaft just needs a nice scrub down and also ultrasonic cleaning to remove tough bits. |
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| The pinion support bearing shields are removable thus visual inspection of the inner balls for rust is possible. Light rust found mostly around the inner races. Balls are rolling fine, just dirty inside. Nothing major. |
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| Main shaft support bearing's also rusted up real good. More elbow grease scrubbing needed. Looks nasty but infact, the bearing's still spinning smooth. Most likely damages are on the surface of the metal bracket. |
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| Another rust bust here on the worm gear support bearing. Rust particles tarnished the plastic drive gears, easily cleaned. Bearing seized but a few turns after rust removal shows no major damages. |
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| 2 rounds of ultrasonic bath needed for this. All parts flipped about for the second round of cleaning. |
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| Initial impression out of the ultrasonic bath looks promising for all the rusted bearings. Light lube test on all bearings indicated that all bearings are fit for battle except for the free spool support bearing on the mechanical brake side has some permanent damage resulting in some serious roughness and occasional seizure. |
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| Before and after elbow grease scrubbing and ultrasonic cleaning. This bearing passed the fitness test, survived to fight another day. Light grease coated for that 'light feel' instruction. |
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| As for the pinion shaft, close up inspection of the rust infested part didn't reveal any permanent damage to the shaft. Fit for battle once again. |
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| No damages or premature wear on the gear teeth surfaces. Built to take some serious beating. |
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| With the 'light feel' instruction in mind, only a few bearings can be packed with marine grease for maximum protection against rust. Some others need lighter grease in order to maintain that 'light feel'. |
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| Fully exposed worm gear needs thorough grease coating as well as the pawl compartment nicely packed in. |
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| Light grease needed for the spool's inner support bearing. No heavy stuff here for that 'light feel'. |
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| Above as before, bottom shows after thoroughly cleaned drag system. Main gear looks tattered but they are merely cosmetic stains and not a deal breaker. Drag discs are made durable for light drag, not all out stopping power like carbon fibre discs. Upon cleaning, they are back at their best with smooth and firm stopping power. |
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| All surfaces brushed, degreased and contact cleaned in preparation for a new coat of marine grease. One way bearing's perfectly fine too without a hint of rust. Some pitting found around the free spool support bearing compartment. |
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| All surfaces coated with marine grease for protection. Pinion support bearing's packed with marine grease which doesn't affect the 'light feel'. Main shaft support bearing with light grease to maintain 'light feel'. |
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| Drag system layered in with light drag grease. Gears lightly coated with Shimano's heavy grease for that signature creamy smooth and light feel. |
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| Mechanical brake side spool support bearing took a while to arrive as it was a unique size to this 50 size bait caster. Mechanical light feel was achieved with a few quick cranks to spread out all the grease coating on all mechanical parts. |
Plenty of rust bust and yet survived to fight more battles with the exception of one unfit bearing that needs to be replaced. It is now fully restored to its full glory and would keep up with the solidly build feel in hand and creamy smooth mechanical feel that it's well known for.
