Curado DC slightly rough reeling and sounds geary

[mossie3]

I'm so glad I only bought one of these with the problems I've had with it. Anyways,...

This reel is my jerkbait reel that I use a lot so it does get a hard workout. I've replaced both of the 12mm bearings, one on the drive shaft, and the one on the pinion gear. It casts great (as long as the line doesn't catch around the thumbar guide- that's another problem altogether ). But, it doesn't feel very smooth reeling under load, and it feels and makes a noticeable geary sound.

I've eliminated the brake side plate assembly as a source by taking it off completely and holding the spool shaft in with my thumb while reeling it. I'm going to take it apart for a complete cleaning and regreasing, and reoiling, before giving up on it and throwing it in a box. I plan on checking it to a schematic to verify all the parts are there.

What do I need to be looking for?

Thanks.

[reelex]

Very solid platform have seen NO issues in these so far. Has it been in extremely hard or tidal water?

[mossie3]

Just fresh water when fishing jerkbaits. It was smooth when new. I never had the reel apart, but I did send it to Shimano under warranty, for the problem with the line catching and getting caught in behind the thumb bar guide on the reel handle side. They said they adjusted the thumb bar, whatever that means, but that didn't fix that problem either. There have been several here reporting that problem. I don't recall the roughness when getting it back from shimano. I think that has just developed lately.

[reelex]

Yeah I have to see or hear....I'm not saying its not so, just never seen or had a customer comment. Could be gears but I doubt it....and I am not aware of any thumbar adjustment....straight up fix if done correctly....can only be one of a couple things. Dan

[Real L]

I also have a Curado DC that I use for jerkbaits. I've had it since they came out and no problems at all. Very smooth, very reliable reel. Thumbar is fine.

[pabasshawk]

I have never had an issue with my DCs

[Fishin is life]

I have a bunch of curado dc’s and havent had any major issues. One that gets the most workout is now making the whining noise when under load. If im reeling a worm or something in it wont do it, but when reeling a big jig or spoon in it whines really bad. Same thing when theres a fish on. It almost sounds a lot the same as the dc braking system. Not sure what the deal is but it doesnt have any effect on anything so im not too worried about it

[Coleman79]

I've got a curado dc that has this exact problem very geary when reeling under pressure or not. Its had an easy life. I'm a shimano fan and this is terrible when a man has multiple pro qualifiers that have twice the use and is still twice as smooth as a $250 reel very sad. I hate when a reel has this gritty geary feeling drives me nuts. I've yet in my life heard someone pinpoint why reels do this all I can figure is it's a tolerance problem in main gear an pinion gear. What's worse is my $279 Chronarch is starting it now.

[NumberOne]

I have had the thumb bar issue but other than that its been good.

[stepup]

I have 8 of them and love them. The only time I don't really care for them is casting C-Rigs. They seem to make the computer go screwy. Curado Dc's an Curado K's are all I have in Casting with the exception of 2 Daiwa's and I really don't think they compare to the Curado's.

[DrewFlu33]

I've got a curado dc that has this exact problem very geary when reeling under pressure or not. Its had an easy life. I'm a shimano fan and this is terrible when a man has multiple pro qualifiers that have twice the use and is still twice as smooth as a $250 reel very sad. I hate when a reel has this gritty geary feeling drives me nuts. I've yet in my life heard someone pinpoint why reels do this all I can figure is it's a tolerance problem in main gear an pinion gear. What's worse is my $279 Chronarch is starting it now.

Wait until you try to get it covered under warranty and they tell you it's a wear part then proceed to compare it with windshield wipers and tires not being covered by a car warranty....

Sorry, probably not fair or helpful. I'm salty over the way they treated me with 3 Symetres that were all bound up at 6 months old. Even though they make some phenomenal reels and nowadays some awesome rods too, I unloaded all my Shimano reels and completely swore them off after that.

[Bassin Bob71]

Ever lube the level wind?

[mossie3]

Just noticed the thread was still going.

Update:
I completely disassembled the reel, cleaned, and lubed and all is well now. I also took the thumb bar off and carefully bent the side out to tighten the tolerance between the thumb bar and reel housing to try to keep the line from catching in behind it. So far I haven't had the line catch in behind the thumb bar again.

[CFDoc]

Wait until you try to get it covered under warranty and they tell you it's a wear part then proceed to compare it with windshield wipers and tires not being covered by a car warranty....

About 12 or so years ago, I had the same issue with an entire lot worth of Chronarchs and Curados. I had so many problems with the braking system pieces all sliding from inner to outer positions causing casting distance to basically go to nothing. I had drag star loosening problems. Line guide and worm gear problems. Thumb bar not releasing when reeling problems. Just awful, awful experience and Shimano customer service was no better.

12 years later I decided to give Shimano another chance and bought 2020 Mets. So far so good. But I still have my biases against any mid to lower level Shimano.

[dragon1]

Wait until you try to get it covered under warranty and they tell you it's a wear part then proceed to compare it with windshield wipers and tires not being covered by a car warranty....

Sorry, probably not fair or helpful. I'm salty over the way they treated me with 3 Symetres that were all bound up at 6 months old. Even though they make some phenomenal reels and nowadays some awesome rods too, I unloaded all my Shimano reels and completely swore them off after that.

On your "binding Suymetres"...it is likely a plastic bushing that tends to swell around moisture, and this was a commonly known issue with Shimano spinners brought to light well over a decade and a half ago, especially when fished in the rain. The answer then was the same denial of design flaw and usually the factory warranty response was "user error, lack of maintenance, worn part(s), etc...all things aside the bushing design flaw.

Shimano MM gear design, and material used in the manufacture...still has issues to be resolved. While the brass MM may last longer than the alloy MM, they will still wear out and showcase whining at a faster pace than the OG HEG Brass ever did. I had a mint 2014 CQ 200 4.8:1 JDM that I used literally, less than any reel in my arsenal, maintained more than all the others, and did not throw baits of more than 1 oz on it. I purchased my Gen II CQ 200 4.8:1 new, and although it was absolutely beautiful aesthetically and had superb fit and finish, and excellent performance - the MM gear design/material/application is NOT yet up to Shimano OG HEG brass standards, IMO.

I traded my Gen II CQ 200 4.8:1 for a 10 year old USDM Zillion 100 HSA and cash back to me, and moved on...it's a bitter pill to swallow for Shimano fans, but it is what it is.

Food for thought on the matter of gear size, step/tooth engagement depth, cut, material, intended application, etc., from peeps that understand what "ROBUST" gearing should be all about:

https://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=73582

[reelex]

binding Symetre and Saros issues are not caused by the friction ring swelling. That is what most who do not specialize in spinning reels will tell you. While a friction ring can swell, not typically in these reels. The tight reeling when wet is an entirely different issue and has to do with fitment of the main gear and special lubricant. Dan

[reelex]

test

[dragon1]

I have experienced this myself with the last Stradic I owned, the pearl white model with wooden T knob from the late 1990s. When fishing in the rain, it would bind, when I let it dry for a day, it rotated just fine when dry and on warmer days. I disagree with you assessment as being the only possible scenario, as it has happened on these older Shimano spinners and many fishermen have experienced it firsthand. I also owned both a Stella 2500 FD and 2500 FE, but never fished them in cold/rainy days, same as a Gen I Vanquish 2500 HGS, and none of these higher end Shimano threadlines ever showcased this issue..however again, I did not fish my higher end Shimano spinners in wet weather.

There are other possibilities as well, including perhaps a damaged/nicked line roller?

http://www.tackletour.net/viewtopic.php?t=33895

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=28461.0

It's unfortunate that one of the OG Crashes on TT killed this link:http://www.tackletour.net/TTForums/v...g+reel+binding

[reelex]

Once a friction ring swells it does not then shrink back, dry or not.....Dan

[dragon1]

Once a friction ring swells it does not then shrink back, dry or not.....Dan

This has been ongoing for well over a decade...regardless of your singular assessment that dismisses many other users' experience...copied from my inbox from a while back:

[QUOTE=dragon1]

I have a couple of Shimano Saros reels that continue to exhibit binding after enough use that they get wet; so much that you can't turn the handle. Let them sit for 30-minutes and the handle turns like nothing is wrong. I have cleaned, re-greased, replaced various parts as an attempt to identify the root cause. I read a thread that you posted stating that a plastic bushing is the culprit for binding when it gets wet. Can you point me in the direction of where you found this information? Or do you know off-hand which bushing is the problem? I would love to correct this issue with my reels.

Thanks,
Member name removed