I've heard of people getting a new baitcaster and they go to cast them and they squeal. They come dry from the manufacturer and need to be greased. 

 

Well, I just had my first one... It's a Daiwa Tatula Elite. I'd like to at least attempt to lube it because I need it this weekend- rather than send back in an exchange. 

 

Problem is I've never serviced my own reels and don't know where to start. Can anyone recommend the right lube to use and offer any kind of instructions and/or schematic where to apply?  TIA -Fry

You can find decent videos on YouTube tearing down a reel. In your case it would be pretty simple. You just need to make sure it goes back on the same way it comes off. 
 

Take the side plate off and add grease to main gear and oil the bearings. If you are in a rush just go to Academy or Bass pro and get the Lucas or Abu products (or something similar). Any of them will be better than nothing. You just need a thin bead of grease around the main gear pushed into the cracks and wipe off the excess. And a drop or two of oil on bearings. Also add a few drops to the worm gear. 
 

Im not a pro but this is what I’ve done for several years now. Fwiw my Tatulas need more maintenance than any other reel I own. Every one of them wants to be lubed several times a year for some reason. 

1 hour ago, FryDog62 said:

I've heard of people getting a new baitcaster and they go to cast them and they squeal. They come dry from the manufacturer and need to be greased. 

Once you've depressed the thumb bar the gears are out of the equation leaving only the spool bearings as the culprit. No need to do a deep dive.

 

Tatulas don't have an easily accessible spool bearing found mounted on the spool's shaft. One's contained inside the handle-side side plate. The other in the palm side plate.

 

Rotate the handle and drag star to allow clearance to rotate off the spool tension cap which will expose the inner spool bearing. Depress the thumbar. With a finger, rotate the spool to see if the inner race is turning along with the spool's axle shaft. If it's hard to tell, pull the spool. Cut the tip off a Q-tip then insert that end into the inner race of the bearing. Rotate it to check if it turns freely. Should be fine but I've seen two of these frozen in '17 Tat SVs over the years. If it is, replace it. If it rotates, then add a drop or two of oil in between the outside of the bearing's inner race and its shield then rotate it. Take your time aligning the threads on the spool tension cap when you reinstall it. A tad tricky but doable with the handle installed. Oil the bearing found in the palming-side sideplate. This will wet the balls and should quiet things down nicely assuming the bearings are OK. Normally they are.

 

The first pic is an oversized bearing shown for illustration purposes to show where to drop the oil into.

 

 

What phish said for access and bearings to hit. My zillion is similar. You’ll want a needle applicator. If you dont have one, this is a quick and easy shout. Also useful for door hinges when they squeak. 
 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KW7NA8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Any light oil is fine for spool bearings. Remoil, 3in1, air tool oil or even sewing machine oil will work. One small drop on the side of the bearing is all it takes. One inside the palm plate one under the cast control cap. 

Not that I purchase a lot of new reels, but I never heard of a new reel being dry.

Is that something the big three are doing now, or it it just a hit and miss thing?

30 minutes ago, papajoe222 said:

Not that I purchase a lot of new reels, but I never heard of a new reel being dry.

Is that something the big three are doing now, or it it just a hit and miss thing?

Have heard quite a few people experience this. Best thing is if you notice it right away is to return/exchange.  But everyone says it’s an easy fix I just haven’t done it before.. 

Since oiling the spool bearings is something I'd consider normal maintenance, I wouldn't go through the trouble of returning it.  Pretty good instructions given above.  I'd do that about every quarter I was using the reel, and before I put it up for the winter.

1 hour ago, papajoe222 said:

Not that I purchase a lot of new reels, but I never heard of a new reel being dry.

Is that something the big three are doing now, or it it just a hit and miss thing?

Quality control issue. Hit & miss thing.

It wasn’t long ago that the internet was filled with complaints of “over greased “ reels that need immediate cleaning out when new. A reel not being visibly slathered in grease is not a problem. Like Jfranco said oiling bearings is S.O.P. 

Most bearings come from the bearing manufacturer oiled. This is a case where they might have missed a batch or something and the reel assemblers either didn't notice or care. In a post Covid world where you can't get your Big Mac made correctly, I'm not totally surprised 

46 minutes ago, J Francho said:

In a post Covid world where you can't get your Big Mac made correctly, I'm not totally surprised 

The struggle is real

John Crews goes over some quick maintenance that you can do and the oil he uses in this video:

 

if it were me I'd probably start w/ this and see how it goes...