On 12/10/2016 at 2:50 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

The AR in spinning reels in general are touchy. Shimano has the best system hands down IMO. But the AR alone doesn't make the reel. 

What makes Shimano better? I've never taken apart a higher end Shimano spinning reel before to know.

Shimano uses an AR assembly with larger rollers contained in a sturdy housing and uses a solid actuating switch. All self contained, no pins falling out, no micro springs taking flight, little to no back play    

12 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Shimano uses an AR assembly with larger rollers contained in a sturdy housing and uses a solid actuating switch. All self contained, no pins falling out, no micro springs taking flight, little to no back play    

Thanks. I can see why people might put a little grease on the pins to secure them in the housing. That pretty tedious trying to get all 8 in the housing before putting the sleeve on. 

Considering the post I’m responding to is from 2016, I’m not sure if STX44 found any resolution to his problem.  As for me, I purchased the STX20 off of eBay and experienced the same issue.  Considering the reel was no longer covered by the factory warranty, I had to try to troubleshoot myself with the help of online discussions and videos.  I found that this issue was not random but rather pretty common with this model reel.  After many attempts to resolve the issue on my own, I decided to try and replace the clutch assembly altogether to see if, perhaps, ABU Garcia redesigned this problematic part.  After receiving the part, I noticed the clutch casing was a little different from the original.  After installation, the issue was resolved.  I’ve used the reel about a dozen times now without issue.  Hopefully this helps anyone with the STX20 who may have shelved it because of a defective clutch design.   

20 minutes ago, Dadeo71 said:

Considering the post I’m responding to is from 2016, I’m not sure if STX44 found any resolution to his problem.  As for me, I purchased the STX20 off of eBay and experienced the same issue.  Considering the reel was no longer covered by the factory warranty, I had to try to troubleshoot myself with the help of online discussions and videos.  I found that this issue was not random but rather pretty common with this model reel.  After many attempts to resolve the issue on my own, I decided to try and replace the clutch assembly altogether to see if, perhaps, ABU Garcia redesigned this problematic part.  After receiving the part, I noticed the clutch casing was a little different from the original.  After installation, the issue was resolved.  I’ve used the reel about a dozen times now without issue.  Hopefully this helps anyone with the STX20 who may have shelved it because of a defective clutch design.   

Welcome to the forums. I'm sure this info will be helpful to someone here. 

On 12/9/2020 at 4:23 PM, Dadeo71 said:

Considering the post I’m responding to is from 2016, I’m not sure if STX44 found any resolution to his problem.  As for me, I purchased the STX20 off of eBay and experienced the same issue.  Considering the reel was no longer covered by the factory warranty, I had to try to troubleshoot myself with the help of online discussions and videos.  I found that this issue was not random but rather pretty common with this model reel.  After many attempts to resolve the issue on my own, I decided to try and replace the clutch assembly altogether to see if, perhaps, ABU Garcia redesigned this problematic part.  After receiving the part, I noticed the clutch casing was a little different from the original.  After installation, the issue was resolved.  I’ve used the reel about a dozen times now without issue.  Hopefully this helps anyone with the STX20 who may have shelved it because of a defective clutch design.   

 

 

Hey, sorry to necro a thread, but I just ordered one of these (before reading up on them of course) and I'm afraid of the same problem.

 

Dadeo71, can you elaborate? What is the new part number? Where did you buy it from? How much? Any further details would be awesome ?

 

Thanks!

On 2/5/2021 at 8:07 AM, Yazman said:

 

 

Hey, sorry to necro a thread, but I just ordered one of these (before reading up on them of course) and I'm afraid of the same problem.

 

Dadeo71, can you elaborate? What is the new part number? Where did you buy it from? How much? Any further details would be awesome ?

 

Thanks!

Sorry about the late response.  I purchased the clutch assembly from

eReplacementparts.com.  Just search for the reel you have and find a blowup diagram for the part #.  The part cost me $11.96.  Good luck!