Smallmouth Hunter

As a rule of thumb, put grease on the gears, and oil on the bearings. A good thorough, yet quick way to clean reels is to take the reel apart completely other than the clutch mechanism, then take a toothbrush and clean the teeth of the gears (master/drive, pinion, both idle gears). Then take a paper towel and clean out the flat services, and a few cu-tips to clean the inside of the master gear, all around the pinion gear, and the inside of the idle gears. Then regrease half of the master gear, and a small amount on the idle gears and pinion gear. Clean off the flat parts of the drag washers, AR ratchet, and key washer on the paper towel, and regrease. Put all that stuff back in, and take out the spool bearings (one in non handle sideplate, usually one under CC knob, and sometimes one on spool). Flush them out with acetone, or some other solvent, either by soaking thoroghly, or by using an ultrasonic cleaner. Then reoil with 1 drop per bearing, or slightly less than that. Re-install bearings, and put everything back together. This is a quick method of cleaning which works pretty good. I clean my reels once a month or more, and usually I just use this method.. Favorite grease is either penn's or cal's. Favorite oil would probably be daiwa's oil.

Take something very thin and pry it off from the master gear..

I too am un-impressed by the lexa.. The internals were not impressive, specifically the low quality bearings, lack of bearing under CC knob, weak yoke springs, and a few other things..

This is correct. The spool is the only thing that changes in this switch from mag to mag z. The sideplate will very likely be the same size..

The only complaint i have is the huge spool capacity/deep spool.. I don't understand why Daiwa insists on keeping such a large spool capacity..

Valley sports is a great addition to bassresource.com I wonder how much $$$ has been saved already by BR members..

I doubt mag z costs much more than magforce.. It is all about the selling point for the higher end reels. Mag z used to be in all of daiwa's reels, low and high end, but they just recently starting using magforce (standard) in their lower end reels.

The difference between the lexa and the exceler are a few bearings, a different paint job obviously, and an aluminum handle sideplate.. The exceler has a composite handle sideplate.

Daiwa exceler sales are going to go way down after this.. Can't believe Daiwa put mag z in this reel.

I spy an Abu fanboy..

Why would the drag be stronger with less line on the spool? I would think the drag would be stronger in a way if the spool was filled due to line digging..

Some daiwa reels seem to have this issue as well, and a quick fix (found by a member named ninjaman on TT) is to take plastic covering/packaging from a clamshell package, and cut a circle the diameter of the spot that the drive shaft bearing goes in. Take the small circle, and put it in that hole, then put the bearing on top of it, and the rest of the drive shaft assembly. (11 posts down on the 2nd page of a thread called "Steez EX handle play from left to right + clunks" on TT to see pics.)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I learned the hard way once, and I will never make that mistake again.

I got my lexa for $65-70, and I would rather have put that money towards a tatula.

If it isn't under warranty for whatever reason, try buying a ch51e sideplate off either ebay or shimano's online ordering parts system. Cost is probably less than $10.

Another thing that bothers me is that the diameter of that cheapy plastic bushing (which isn't even a bushing, just a plastic cylinder) is bigger than the spool shaft. If I take off the CC knob, the spin the spool via turning the handle or just spinning it with fingers, I can see the spool wiggle around at the end.

The solvent will chemically remove it from the metal so it still cleans it out when the shields are on, but it probably would be best to remove the shields.

One thing that I don't like at all about the lexa is that under the CC knob, there isn't even a bushing, just a plastic cylinder. Also, casting is not on par with most other $130 reels out there.

Here's one from WRB You don't have to do the ultrasonic thing, but I would soak overnight, then in the morning, take the bearing out and let it dry for a minute, then put it on a wood dowel or a pencil tip or even a cue tip, and spin it for 1 minute to stir up any leftover gunk. Then put it back in the acetone for maybe an hour longer. Then take it out after an hour, spin it for a minute on the same wood dowel or whatever you used, and put it in rubbing alcohol (to remove the film left behind by acetone) for 30 mins or so. Then take it out, and let it dry for 5-10 mins on each side, and lubricate with 1 drop of your preferred oil. Good luck.

There are lots of threads on this, just do a quick search and you will find great info on it.

Lexa < PQ < Tatula PQ will cast much better than the lexa IMO. The standard magforce (lexa has this) feels very restricted on casting. The magforce z (tatula has this) is much better for casting. You don't have to cast nearly as hard to get the same distance. The PQ has dual braking which IMO doesn't come close to mag z in casting performance, but it is better than magforce standard. If you don't know the difference between magforce and magforce z, you may want to watch this video. The difference IMO is very substantial. It's a long video, but very interesting.

Just so we know what you are talking about, what rod and reel are you using? The rod might have something to do with it.

I found it funny how the tatula effecting zillion sales was a "negative" for the tatula? I think that the tatula arguably could have got a 9 or so if it wasn't for the features scoring which IMO is not as high as it could/should be, and the application score which is debatable as well at 8 points.. It makes up for it with a 9.47 in construction/quality though.

That's why I am excited for this Spring classic show. I like Shimano and Daiwa equally, and now that Daiwa has stepped up and shown why they are one of the most popular brands, it is Shimano's turn to make something innovative and outstanding. If Shimano releases a sub-par curado this spring-classic (that's the rumor anyway), who knows how many fans they will lose to Daiwa, lews, etc. I hope they know this.

They were meant to fit specific techniques. Not sure why some were and weren't included...