Made my first attempt to clean and lube my 2-year old Abu C3.  Thanks to the tips I got on this forum it went really smooth, no problems at all and no leftover parts.  In fact, it went together without a hitch.

I'm amazed at the difference it made in performance.  The reel is much quieter, smoother and casting distance has improved noticeably.  I can't believe that Abu lets them out of the factory with the lube they have in them.  Feels like they used vaseline.  

I was so inspired that I tried the same trick on my spinning reel (Okuma Inspira).  That didn't go so smooth.  I took the bail one step further than I should have and had a bear getting it back together.  It works ok now but the bail has sure lost its snappiness.  So to resolve the issue I picked up a Shimano Symetre  on sale for $70, end of model close out.  That's a nice reel.  

Where do they come up with these reel names anyway?

If I had to pick a reel for my first time break down it would be a Garcia round reel for sure. Next time try a LP an see how that goes. As far as spinning gear if I had a to pick a reel for the first time break down I wouldn't because their isn't an easy spinning reel to work on.

The lack of solid and fluid motion on your bail is probably some side pressure on the bails pivot points. Takes a lot of practice time on spinning to be able to get them just right..I have 24 years practice and they still bug me worse than the newer BC reels...

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!

tucson is my hometown. go 'cats!

anyway, shimano names all their casting reels with made-up names starting with the letter C. all their spinning reels start with the letter S. they must have a bunch of people sitting around in a room thinking up C and S names by taking bits and parts of two or three existing words and mashing them together.

Pretty sweet job if you ask me.

Keep at it.  Nothing like hooking a hog on the reel your serviced and watch you hard work pay off!

Keep at it. Nothing like hooking a hog on the reel your serviced and watch you hard work pay off!

My luck to hook a hog on a reel I serviced myself and watch the handle fall off.