Mitchell 308 pinion assembly... "something ain't right!"

[TheCoachZed]

Picked up a Mitchell 308 today. Disassembled the main body and cleaned it, but it is still binding and grinding. Can't get the rotor off; I believe it should pop right off once the nut and set screw are removed, but that doesn't work.

Suggestions?

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[Sandman]

Zed, to the MRM.

I’ve had that happen a number of times. The pinion is stuck in the body housing. I’ve had to tap the pinion gear with a dowel from the inside of the body. Have to use just the right size dowel and it will be at a bit of an angle, but it has always worked. Never hurts to let sit overnight with some penetrating oil. Taking the axle nut off doesn’t help, as it only frees the rotor housing from the pinion shaft. I would suggest screwing off the rotor before pounding out the pinion. You won’t be able to get the pinion off the rotor without putting back in the body otherwise. It sounds like you may need to take the pinion off the rotor, if the pinion bearing assembly or gearing is bad. Removing the pinion from the rotor can be tricky too, there is a good procedure in a topic for that here.

Sandman

[TheCoachZed]

Thanks, Sandman. I found some of your earlier posts so I might be able to piece together a solution.

I seem to have two problems.

1, the bearings around the pinion gear seem to be grinding.

2, the arm that sticks through the "rotating head" and actuated the bale seems to be binding when I reel it in. That part of the reel rotation, when part 68 is actuated (Trip Lever?, is binding up and making reeling most unpleasant.



3, I guess the third problem is that the head does not want to come reel's main body, and that has to come off to access the other assemblies.

I have it soaking in Seafoam Deep Creep right now. If that doesn't work, will try some ATF/acetone mix.

[Sandman]

Hi Zed…

#1) The bearings could be grinding….I’ve found the most common grinding noise on the 308 is the pinion gear meshing with the main gear. This gear design is not the quietest ever and if someone changed one of the gears along the way, that increases the likely hood of poor meshing. You won’t know until you remove the pinion from the housing and turn it to test for noise or wobble. You can then place the pinion (while still attached to the head) back in the body to remove it from the housing to replace it or rebuild it. I rebuild mine and use Quantum HotSauce for grease. Be careful. There are 34 VERY small ball bearings. Two rows of 17. The other trick to these is placing the pinion back on the body after you’ve rebuilt it. Getting it just the right torque is imperative to smooth operation.

#2) If the trip lever continues to drag when the bail is released, it means your trip lever is out of shape. Commonly, it’s the end where it touches the bail. It doesn’t take much for them to bend and then they’re not in the correct spot/position when the bail is released. Needle nose pliers and a little experimenting and you’ll find the right spot. They usually get bent downward toward the body.

#3) Glad you found my step-by-step for removing the pinion from the head. I learned the hard way.

Stick with it. We’ll get you there.

Sandman