New Stealth casette reels (Switch??)

[Andre]

Solution... toss the TFO and get a decent rod.

I am trying to balance a TFO Pro 10ft 6wt, not some modern toothpick :-)

[BenzoV]

Dont buy the Greys, the quality is terrible. I bought a set of the ones with the interchangeable spools, and the spools are plastic and really badly moulded. After a while they warped and wobbled. The cage has a one way bearing drag, and my son cooked it on a yellowfish in the Richtersveld. The bering simply gave up, and never worked again, so we had an awesome looking Greys reel, with three plastic spools, that was useless. We decided to remove all the lines, and give it to one of the Nama heardsmen, who was really gratefull. I wont ever buyanother Greys reel ever again... I think that they are rubbish.

So it seems my Gx500 went the same route as Andre's. After a short session at EK today the bearing/drag seems to be smoked. When winding there's a bit of a knocking sound, and the drag would kick in while winding up. Any ideas?
I would really hate if I need to chuck this reel, its little used and I have 4 loaded spools for the thing. Rand weakness isn't in my favour for buying a new system right now.

[GGY]

So it seems my Gx500 went the same route as Andre's. After a short session at EK today the bearing/drag seems to be smoked. When winding there's a bit of a knocking sound, and the drag would kick in while winding up. Any ideas?
I would really hate if I need to chuck this reel, its little used and I have 4 loaded spools for the thing. Rand weakness isn't in my favour for buying a new system right now.

Unfortunately the Gx500 series are cast reels, and do not handle knocks on rocks - the spool outer rim bends. You can identify this, and use a punch/screwdriver + hammer to fix the bend.
The Gx700 series are a lot better, being machined reels, they are stronger (and have a little more metal) - they do not suffer the same problem.

[BenzoV]

Unfortunately the Gx500 series are cast reels, and do not handle knocks on rocks - the spool outer rim bends. You can identify this, and use a punch/screwdriver + hammer to fix the bend.
The Gx700 series are a lot better, being machined reels, they are stronger (and have a little more metal) - they do not suffer the same problem.

It's not a bent spool or frame, but problem solved, thanks.

For someone who has the same problem in future, try the following: Remove the spool unit (the part where the cassette goes). On the inside of the spool unit next to where the spindle would go in there are two little nipples/nibs. They need a drop of oil once in a while, especially once the reel got a soaking in water. That's it. Problem solved.
Doesn't seem like the most reliable system out there. I wouldn't really know, but those nipples seem fragile and a lot seems to hinge on them working properly.