I have two fo these reels; one 6.4:1 and one 7.1:1. Both were noisy during the cast, and during a high speed retrieve.

One of the reels was a gift, and one was bought from the flea market, and was new in box.

Others had reported that these reels tended to make some noise during the cast, but that it didn't seem to affect performance. That was my experience, but I still did not care for the sound.

So, I started by experimenting with different lubes. I also got out the trusty, old Dremel, and polished up all the high speed contact points. I tried Shimano oil, Daiwa oil, Yellow Rocket Fuel, Reel Butter oil, and the el cheapo Zebco oil. The Zebco oil is the only one that had a positive affect on the noise, and that was only temporary. About 20 casts later, the noise was back.

So I did what I would normally do to a reel making this type of sound, and replaced the spool bearings. I remembered that I had two pairs of spool bearings for Energy PT reels. The bearings were the same size, so I cleaned, lubed and installed them.

Problem solved. Both reels are smoother, quieter, and cast better.

I'm not bashing Abu, or Revo's, but what are the odds that I would get two reels, new, with bad bearings?

And, since others have reported similar symptoms, how many reels did they sell with flaky bearings?

I too have an STX 7.1:1 that makes a whsitling/whining noise on the cast.  I tried various lubes as you had.  I started loosening the cast control knob until there was just a smidge side-to-side play in the spool, and cranking up the brakes.

This stopped the noise and didn't really affect the performance.

Ever notice that people who notice the whining in some Revos says it doesn't affect casting performance? That's because the whine is a characterisitc of the type of bearing used, not a problem.

Revos use two different types of bearings, depending on when they were made.

Early STXs had open HPCR bearings. Early SXs and Ss had closed stainless bearings. The open HPCR bearings were noisy, and the closed stainless ones were not. This led people to complain the STX had bad bearings. It didn't. They were just different bearings and noisier than the cheaper stainless bearings.

The Abu switched to closed stainless bearings on there STX. The noise went away. People said Abu fixed the problem.

Then Abu introduced the Premier with open HPCR bearings. They made noise. Leading people to complain the Premier was defective.

Now, Abu uses open HPCR bearings on all Revos. Newer ones are noiser than older ones with closed stainless bearings.

I've owned 11 Revos. Every one with open HPCR bearings whined when casting. Every one with closed stainless bearings were quieter. Without fail.

To determine which ones you reel uses (assuming it still has factory bearings), take the spool tnesion knob off. If you see the little balls in the bearing under that knod, it uses open HPCR bearings. If you can't, it's closed stainless bearings.

There isn't a lick of performance difference between these two types of bearings.

Thanks Micro, for clearing that up. I knew I wasn't completely nuts.

I really like my STX's now that they are quiet. It seems to me that they cast better. But, that just may very well be a perception issue. The noise bugged the spit out of me, and now that the reels are quiet, they just seem to work better.

Very interesting post about the sound the bearings made.  I for one, actually like the low and soft whir/hum I hear from some of my casting reels. I guess what is music to one's ears can be noise to anothers.

When it is really dark and I can't see, I actually use the sound of the whir/hum to know when my cast is near its end to stop the spool from spinning.