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I have a Citica that pretty much out of the box never casted smoothly. Just noisy and rough.
Any spool tension at all and it's awful, and if I slack it off then the spool slops around and thats no good either.
I've opened it up and pulled out the spool, nothing appears out of sorts....
So what are my options to get this thing usable? Too much time has passed to bring it back where I bought it.
This ever happen to anyone else?
Is just a bearing upgrade enough? What else might I be lookin' at?
My crusty old Revo S casts like a dream compared to this!
P.S
If anyone knows where I can find decent bearings without me feeling like I took a trip to the proctologist, I'd apprecitate the info.

SeaMonster,

It's hard to assess the proper mechanical issue that might be causing your Citica to be "noisy" and "grindy".
Given the fact that you've previously opened it up and that everything looked fine, I would opt for a bearing swap.

Considering there's only two bearing to swap, this is an easy accomplishment that will enhance your Citica's performance.

First bearing (non-handle side plate)



Second bearing (under the tension knob)



I would suggest the Boca Bearings, either ABEC 5 (#FR-008C-Y LD) or ABEC 7 (#FR-008C-OS LD) ceramic bearings, fast and reliable delivery.
http://www.bocabearings.com/search.aspx ... %20(SPOOL)

I should mention that ceramic bearings are usually ran dry and will be louder than stainless bearings packed with grease or lube.
You can always go with ABEC 5 Stainless ball bearings if you prefer.
Or you can always try and flush the stock bearings and re-Lube\re-grease.

Then again, maybe it's not the bearings....worm gear? Drive gear? Pinion gear? looking forward to more replies.

SeaMonster wrote: P.S
If anyone knows where I can find decent bearings without me feeling like I took a trip to the proctologist, I'd apprecitate the info.

Boca bearing is a good place to start for bearings.
If you hurry, they are having a %35 discount (promo code is: 35THANKSGIVING2013

Here is the link to Boca Bearing

http://www.bocabearings.com/?utm_source ... otion+2013

If it's new contact Shimano! I have 3 Citicas and they are all very smooth. A bit noisy if I have braid on it but 2 of them I have mono and they cast very smoothly. Depending on where you bought it they might exchange it for you.

Walleyeboss is right. It might just need a cleaning. A tiny bit of grit will make the reel perform poorly. If you call me at Paddletales I can give you the address for Shimano or bring it out to the store and I will send it in for you.

The number at the store is 613 774 2277 or 888 886 8815

Ed

toobinator wrote:Walleyeboss is right. It might just need a cleaning. A tiny bit of grit will make the reel perform poorly. If you call me at Paddletales I can give you the address for Shimano or bring it out to the store and I will send it in for you.

The number at the store is 613 774 2277 or 888 886 8815

Ed

Wallyboss wrote:If it's new contact Shimano! I have 3 Citicas and they are all very smooth. A bit noisy if I have braid on it but 2 of them I have mono and they cast very smoothly. Depending on where you bought it they might exchange it for you.

I agree, I doubt the bearings would be the issue, your best bet would be getting it cleaned up.
Owned lot’s of Shimano reels, never got a Lemon….dirt and grime is a more probable cause.

I bought it last winter, and only started to use it in the spring. After a few uses and the problems, I just set it aside for the season....
It's less crunchy and more friction-like.
It's got braid on it, I can accept the noise, but I really do have to wing it hard to get any casting distance, and pitching is a disaster, so something really not right.
Just to satisfy my curiosity, if I remove the bearings, can I test them just by holding the inner races in my finger and rolling the outer races to see it rolls smooth? It should be fairly obvious?
I'd like to try to clean it myself, just because I have other reels I'd like to do as well (that work fine but can't hurt), but if I can't get anywhere I'll have it serviced since I'd like it to be in the main lineup.

I serviced a few of my reels last year and it is not as hard as you might think. The hardest part is making sure no parts go flying (It happens quite often and they are a pain to find)

Spinning the bearings freely won't really tell you much as there could be a little sand mixed in with the grease. Best advice would be to flush them out and re lube with some oil.

My buddy has two Citica E's and is able to pitch with no problems so there is definitely something wrong. If you do decide to send it to Shimano, it WILL come back working properly and you won't have to guess or trouble shoot the problem.

Adam

lape0019 wrote:I serviced a few of my reels last year and it is not as hard as you might think. The hardest part is making sure no parts go flying (It happens quite often and they are a pain to find)

Spinning the bearings freely won't really tell you much as there could be a little sand mixed in with the grease. Best advice would be to flush them out and re lube with some oil.

My buddy has two Citica E's and is able to pitch with no problems so there is definitely something wrong. If you do decide to send it to Shimano, it WILL come back working properly and you won't have to guess or trouble shoot the problem.

Adam

X2 ... If you decide to send it to Shimano, do so through Ed.

lape0019 wrote:If you do decide to send it to Shimano, it WILL come back working properly and you won't have to guess or trouble shoot the problem.

^^ True

You’ll probably even spend more by trouble shooting then you would by sending it in.

I’d still upgrade the bearings if you’re planning on keeping this reel in your main arsenal.
It’s well worth the mod considering the Citica’s bearings are probably average.

If you want to try clean it and get rid of the original grease and oil, just Google it ! Here are a few links that I use, but there is a lot more video's on Youtube


Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLpO74dWuoE

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFxdapDGOOY