I had to take my reel apart last night to check some things, and when doing so I noticed something that I seem to always notice, and it bugs me, so maybe someone can answer my question.

 

It seems like that for all the durability a manufacturer states their reels possess, they all have plastic level winds and line guides, aside from the actual drive gear and the hole that the line passes through, the entire thing is plastic and flexes quite a bit and has a bit of play in it. Maybe I'm not correct in my thinking but wouldn't that be a point that at least a LITTLE more metal could benefit the reel, and maybe not flex as much? Or does the level wind/ line guide flexing not affect the performance much?

 

I have looked all over for aftermarket parts to upgrade it, but aside from replacement parts there's nothing to upgrade or tune it.....that I've found at least. 

If you want a metal line guide, you could buy a Conquest but I have never heard of the plastic, or is it nylon, levelwind, being a problem area for baitcasters. The levelwind insert that the line goes through is ceramic or metal in the reels that I have owned.

Tough question, if I were you, I would just buy a new reel.

^^^ I hope that guy is kidding.

OP - you'll be fine. I've never seen one break.

Yea, it's never caused any problems whatsoever, I just figured that with all the micro-improvements they do to reels these days, increasing the quality of materials in a near-constantly moving part would be high on the list.

 

Must not be a high stress component? 

The plastic tube the worm gear sits in acts like a cover to protect it from debris. The line guide itself is just that. A line guide. The paw rides in the grooves of the worm gear moving the guide side to side. It's purpose is to distribute line evenly on the spool. There's not much stress put on those pieces. I've seen people remove the line guide all together. Though it's a pretty dumb idea imo.

Yea, it's never caused any problems whatsoever, I just figured that with all the micro-improvements they do to reels these days, increasing the quality of materials in a near-constantly moving part would be high on the list.

 

Must not be a high stress component? 

 

It's really not a high stress area. If you want to test it, hook you line on something and tighten it up and see if you can still move the line back and forth easily between the first guide and your reel.

"Plastic" has come a long way and isn't the dirty word it used to be. A lot of the new composite materials are tough and light. Excessive play that you may find in a cheap reel will shorten the lifespan of parts to some degree but that can be said for all the tolerances of all the parts. The minimal play in a quality reel's levelwind assembly is no problem. Actually, too tight a fit would not be good for the smoothness everyone covets.  

In 20 years of servicing my reels I've never had a plastic levelwind gear break or even noticeably wear.  So I see this as a non-issue.  I'm not a materials engineer but think that if Shimano, Daiwa, Abu et al use engineered plastics, it's probably because it's the best material for that specific job.  And I agree with DVT about tolerances in the levelwind assembly.  A spec of dirt in the worm gear of a super-tight tolerance levelwind system might bring it to a screeching halt.  Ever cleaned your levelwind and found no dirt and grit in it?  Doubt it.

 

Frankly, I don't understand the "All Metal, All TheTime" attitude.  That thinking is "So Sixties".  I'll take a light, compact reel engineered with a mix of the best materials for the job every time.