Hello

 

I had a bearing go bad on my MGL 150, so I ordered a pair of ceramic/steel hybrid bearings.

They are smooth, but are noisy. I can hear them well even when I just retrieving baits, and pretty loud when casting.

I have read that this is normal. A drop of oil in each quieted them down a little.

 

Also, there isn't a slot for the small rubber seal to fit so I just left it off. Could this be adding to the noise. Not keeping them in perfect position?

Thanks!

1 minute ago, waymont said:

Also, there isn't a slot for the small rubber seal to fit so I just left it off. Could this be adding to the noise. Not keeping them in perfect position?

The seal has nothing to do with position of balls or cages.  I leave them off on my reels now.  I even leave them off my skateboards too, lol.  

I used to use orange shield ceramic bearing. I removed one shield and add drop of oil to reduce some noise. It help just a little end up not using them anymore. To be honest I don’t really see it help in casting distance for regular bass lure.
If you still have to set brake or spool tension to cast, you don’t really need super free spin bearing.
 

The noise will quiet down with use.

The sound of ceramics that bothers so many is no worse to me than the DC whine that’s often enjoyed. Anyway, what did you experience that leads you to believe a bearing went bad? Shimano are among the best stock bearings. 

You could leave the orange seal ring off, but it will make the noise more pronounced (without oil). The bearing will rotate more freely that way at the beginning, but it'll be more subject to contaminations like grease, debris, and dirt/sand, which would affect its rotation (the grease would make it less noisy).  Then you'll need to clean it more often. 

Update:

two trips out frogging with this reel, and the bearings quieted down about 70%.

the reels back to its normal excellence.

I absolutely want a quiet reel, I use abec7 rated bearings. As far as casting distance goes, didn’t  notice much between 5 or 7 rated bearings.  I sure did hear the  difference though.