#1 Replacing the stock bearing and bushing in the spool assembly

Difficulty: easy

Tools required:            -slot head screw driver

                                    -2 new ball bearings, size 4x10x4, ABEC 7 preferable

                                    (future link: bearing maintenance)

Info:

The current stock Record reels contain bearings that are ABEC 3 precision quality.  The performance and smoothness of most Abu Garcia Reels(C3/C4) rely heavily on the bearings within the spool.  However for the Abu Record, this reel relies more on a set of bearings attached by the ends of the shafts outside the spool(3x10x4, an upgrade for the future.  We will concentrate on the spool bearings for now).

Within the spool there is actually only one bearing, and one metal bushing.  This may come to people’s surprise as there are normally two bearings in the spool for C3s and C4s.  However there is a reason…

These bearings are only allowed to rotate during the retrieve direction as rotation is prevented in the casting direction by a infinite anti reverse(IAR) bearing which I was surprised to discover(more explanation on this in the next upgrade).  By upgrading these to ABEC 7 bearings, you will only feel a slight to very little improvement.  With no improvement in casting distance, and very minor improvement in the retrieve direction.  This upgrade is only worth while if you attempt to do the IAR modification which is a difficult modification not intended for the light hearted. 

Instructions:

1. Unscrew the 3 screws located on the handle side of the reel

2. Gently remove the handle side of the reel, and carefully remove the spool assembly

3. After taking apart the spool assembly, simply replace the stock bearing and bushing with you new bearings(future link: bearing maintenance)

4. Re-assemble the spool assembly, place back into the frame, and re-assemble.  Voila!