About 8 1/2 years ago, I purchased the 750 FI for my main crappie rod (7' B n' M SHSS). It's been a great reel for this combo and I do a LOT of casting (and catching) with it. Recently I started having problems with a "hurky-jerky" kind of feeling (from the handle) while retrieving jigs, or crappie for that matter.

 

I took the reel down, cleaned & re-lubed the ball bearings on both sides of the handle. Tried it again....same results. Finally I pulled the spool rotor and clutch. Low & behold, a simple rubber friction ring that wraps around the covered rotor, was broken with a couple of pieces here & there.

 

I called and ordered a replacement ring which will be here in a couple of days. Do you guys think this will solve my problem? Can't put it back together without this flimsy rubber ring, but I'm wondering if this really is the cause of the problem, or if there is something else I should be looking at? Thanks for any feedback. I dearly love this reel and am looking forward to another 10 seasons with it!

 

BTW.....I have all my reels cleaned and re-lubed during the winter months every year.

Replacing the friction ring will likely resolve your issue. The newer ones are a different material and should last with the rest of the reel. The reel is fishable with out it in the mean time, but the handle may creep forward  or back if you don't have a hand on it. 

Thanks for the feedback Delaware. Can't for the life of me figure why they put in such a flimsy part as this friction ring! Still a great reel.

Ya, I here you. Those rings are the culprit of the old binding when wet syndrome. Seems like the next generation didn't swell up but disintegrated over not so long of a time. The current rings appear to be a nylon of some sort and should be pretty long lasting. You're right though that they have been good reels right along. By far my favorite spinners to service with the enclosed AR assembly. Let me know if you need anything.

DVT..... could this be an issue with the Sahara FD as well? I have several of these reels and I've experienced the binding when wet that you mentioned.

Yes. I'd order a new friction ring right from Shiamno

Well I guess I'll be ordering 4 of them. Thanks for the tip.

My Symetre is 6-7 yrs old and a year after I got it, had the same problem.  I couldn't see what that rubber ring was doing so I just threw it away.  Reel has worked just fine ever since.

The friction ring keeps the rotor from creeping forward or back with your hand off the handle. I think it adds to smoothness as well but the reel is fishable without it.

The friction ring keeps the rotor from creeping forward or back with your hand off the handle. I think it adds to smoothness as well but the reel is

fishable without it.

Adds to the smoothness? How?

Well I guess I'll be ordering 4 of them. Thanks for the tip.

Just remove the ring from one reel and see if it still binds before you buy 4 of them. I've had Sahara fds and symetre fjs that still bind when wet without the ring installed.

Got the friction ring in yesterday and installed it on the 750. Took it out for a "spin" today and it worked just fine! Couldn't believe how fast it came. Two days! I'm happy again.

Service the drag if you're still getting binding without the friction ring.

Adam32, I had binding on a Shimano Sedona 2000 after a couple of hours when it got wet while river fishing.  Dried out and re-lubed, the problem disappeared - until the next time in a canoe on the river.  I still don't know exactly what caused it.  But if I fished rivers in a canoe regularly, I'd consider a different brand reel.  Shimano is still my go-to brand but I seldom canoe on the river nowadays. 

Service the drag if you're still getting binding without the friction ring.

I went through the spool drag while I had it apart. Very clean in there. So I cleaned off the washer (felt I believe) and put a couple of drops of oil on it. Seems to be working just fine now. I am experiencing a rough "feeling" of the gear teeth, as I retrieve each time. Not a great roughness, but noticeable. And it does not give that same feeling when the anti-reverse is off and you reel backwards. I figure that it either just needs the gear box cleaned and re-lubed or it's just a sign of wear. I do use this reel quite a bit during each of the 8 1/2 seasons I've had it.

 

While I had it apart, I tried to disassemble the side plate and gear box to clean it up, but I could not get the main gear out for whatever reason. Most of my other reels are easy to disassemble, but this one seems to be a bit tricky, so I didn't try. Didn't want to keep the reel out of service during the short span of what's left of this season. Maybe after the holidays, I'll strip it down completely and service it properly. I'm sure there must be some disassembly videos out there to enable me to accomplish this.

 

Again, thanks for your help!

Service the drag if you're still getting binding without the friction ring.

The drag has nothing to do with the whole shimano binding issue. It's not the drag that binds, it's the gears when you're trying to reel. The older friction rings did cause problems, but they weren't the only problem with the binding when wet issue. The friction rings would get gummy or swell and rub the inside of the rotor causing binding. The friction rings don't keep the handle from moving when your hand is not on it. They keep the rotor and handle from turning ONLY when the bail is open. This keeps the bail from slamming shut on the cast. The bail trip rod presses against the ring when you open the bail. The only problem you may have with removing them is the bail slamming shut on a hard cast. The newer shimano reels have a friction ring with slots in them that the bail trip rod fits in between.

I've had lot's of shimanos that still bind with the friction ring removed. It happens when the get wet. clean and relube the reel and it goes away until they get wet again. I think the problem is where the bottom of the pinion gear fits into the frame of the reel. The fit is so tight that water mixed with grease causes the gear to stick where it spins in the frame. The new reels have a bearing on the bottom of the pinion gear now and I haven't had any binding issues at all with any of my stradic fj's or ci4+'s. And they've been wet numerous times.