So do you grease the 2 plastic gears in the reel? The worm gear one and the one on the handle shaft. They say u can run the plastic ones dry, which I have but between that and cleaning the grease Shimano packs under that handle shaft were the bearing sits down in has made the reel feel not as smooth. I went with not packing grease back under shaft because I plan on cleaning them frequently because I fish a lot and it makes cleaning easier. I think they do it for corrosion as its the lowest part of reel and water will collect. I stripped my Mentaniums and Aldebarans down to bare frame and cleaned everything the only grease I used was on main and pinion gear, no where else, none on the clutch the yoke posts no where. I did think about putting very light grease on the back of the clutch plate as it sees so much wear but on the Shimanos it rides on what they call a clutch plate which is like a Delrin piece it rides on that can be replaced its real slick so I left it dry like everywhere else. Yea did the Carbontex thing light Shimano drag grease same that is used on the main and pinion gears. Your thoughts, opinions, advice? No need for bearing talk, please lol.

All gears get lightly greased except the worm gear gets light oil. Been working great for many years but in freshwater only.

Yes I'm freshwater only and I'm doin the same on worm gear, 2 needle drops of TSI 321. What about clutch plate and do u re pack the hole under main shaft w grease again?

Try a bath in 80-140 gear oil for frame bearings and a film of it on sliding parts and worm gear. I use it on nylon gears as well. 

DVT seems to be the one to listen to on these inquiries.  I've always put a dab of grease on the plastic gears and worm gears and have never had issues.  I dont fish in a lot of nasty waters so that may make a difference.  I'm sure theres a better way but this has worked for me.

On 5/27/2019 at 10:56 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Try a bath in 80-140 gear oil for frame bearings and a film of it on sliding parts and worm gear. I use it on nylon gears as well. 

So do you wipe off the excess on the worm gear (or I guess the other ones too), or just let them sort of drip dry?  I had been using grease on metal worm gears and oil on plastic ones, and it looks like I was wrong on both counts.

Just brush a light coat on. Make sure it gets in the groove, that’s where the contact is. Anything is better that nothing in most cases but grease collects too much contamination. It can actually end up as more of an abrasive paste.