Now a 308 pinion assembly

[don309]

I took a 308 apart to service, before I give it to a friends grandson. I noticed a wobble in the rotor, I took the pinion assembly out. And the ring nut had backed off, and yes some bearings fell out. Sandman explained how to put it back together. In a post I had on a 408. The question is how may bearings are in the 308 assembly?
Don

[toulady6]

Hi Don ,

17 on each side .
It,s better to disassemble the pinion and clean it .
Make sure that the bearings go into the right side .

good luck

regards Dries

[don309]

Dries'
I think Sandman mentioned 17 bearings each side. I kind of figured it out putting them back. Those little buggers started out being a pain n the butt! I finally took a small magnetic screw driver to pick up the bearings, than with my finger behind them put them in place. I put it all together loosely and dipped it in synthetic oil, tightened it up and works like a dream.
Question is why do they have to be in the right side, aren't they all the same?
Don

[toulady6]

Hi Don ,

The answer to your question is that sometimes there is corrosion on the bearings on one side of the pinion .
Mostly the side where the pinion is screwed into the rotor .
Without lubrication the bearings dry up on that side and moist does the rest .
The side of the pinion gear is usually better lubricated so the bearings are in a better condition .
I use a dentist pick to put the bearings in .
Dip the end in grease so you can put the bearings in one by one

regards Dries

[don309]

Oh ok got ya. Thanks for clearing that up for me. The gear I repaired runs so smooth. I think that when I service my reels, I will start removing the pinion something I haven't done in the past. I kept a cup of the synthetic oil, I'll give them a bath before installing.
Don

[allansharkey]

Hi all, I have seen a seller in France has bearings listed on ebay for the 308, and I have a main gear, what I can not see is how to get them out, of the body, help anyone, Allan

[don309]

If your trying to get the main gear out. Remove the oscillation slide lock (pin), remove the axle, cam ring assembly, planamatic gear, if you can't pull the main gear out, push it out (I push it out)

[Sandman]

One additional step needed is to remove the rotating head from the body. This is because the pinion gear will stop the main gear from removal. The pion gear is attached to the rotating head. There is a small slotted screw under the head that locks the head in place. Just remove that screw and the head pull off after removing the items Don mentions above..

Sandman

[don309]

[allansharkey]

Thanks for the replies, I got as far as removing the pinion gear which let me take out the main gear, the two bearing race`s and balls all came out as well, the remaining bearing assembly logically would need to come out to reassemble the two race`s and ball bearings and pinion gear, I cant see a screw on the body that holds the bearing assembly in place, I have 3 x 308 reels and a 408 that seem to have the same bearing they all need the bearing cleaning and greasing if not a bearing replacement as they all seem wobbly, possibly worn. The pictures on ebay from a seller in France are of a complete bearing assembly, so I guess it is removable ???, is it pressed out and the new one pressed in.

[Sandman]

Allan, the pinion gear sleeve threads in and out of the rotating head, but first you have to remove the nut (see photo) on the inside of the rotating head that the axle glides through. Again, removing the axle first is needed, as describe by Don above. But its easier to do all of this if you remove the rotating head from the body by removing the screw that holds the head on (see photo).

The small screw on the body doesn't hold the bearing in place, it holds the head onto the body. the nut inside the head holds the bearing sleeve in place.

I'm not sure what you mean when you state you've removed the pinon gear, but need to remove the remaining bearing assembly. if you've removed the pinion to get the transfer gear out, you've removed the bearings. See photo of pinion assembly and rotating head screw.

Tip: The most critical aspect of reassembly (besides using Quantum Hot Sauce) is getting the proper tightness as you thread the assembly back into the head. Not too tight, not too loose...after you screw it back in to what you think is the correct tightness, when you tighten the nut back on inside the head, it will tend to tighten the bearings too much...always check that you have just a little bit of play in those bearings after complete reassembly..

Sandman

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[allansharkey]

Hi, I was up to the early hours trying to resolve the bearing issue, the screw was not obvious before I cleaned the area now its clear (Senior Moment), thanks for all your help now I am able to dismantle the 308 service and clean one, once again the site proved to be a valuable source of information een though I have been servicing old Mitchell reels for ten years, thanks to you all for your help, appreciated, Allan

[Sandman]

You’re welcome Allan. Glad you got it apart. Sometimes the pinion sleeve male threads get very siezed to the female head threads. There is a trick to share to un-sieze these, as needed.

Sandman

[don309]

Sandman, I'd like to know that trick, before I run into the problem.
Don