Reel Service Help Please

[BayWolf]

I have two Penn 321gTi (lefties) that I need to have gone over. I want to use them for our first ever Halibut trip in May.  The reels are in good shape with the exception of a missing spool tension assembly.

Can anyone recommend a good local shop or person that can give these a good cleaning and repair the one?

Thanks.

Perry

[croaker stroker]

Alan Tani

Not in your area, but you could mail them.


bryan young, 408-364-6256 or hawaiianfishinboy@yahoo.com or

[BayWolf]

Alan Tani

Not in your area, but you could mail them.


bryan young, 408-364-6256 or hawaiianfishinboy@yahoo.com or

Thanks Croaker.. Are Alan Tani and bryan young one and the same? Or is Alan Tani a member here?
I'd like local, so I could drop them off if possible.

Are Penn 321GTi's even worth putting money into? 

[HemiGTX]

Can't help on a local repair guy, but those are very straightforward reels that you can easily service yourself with a screwdriver, the wrench that they ship with, and some Penn grease.  I strongly recommend calling Smoothdrags.com to order new carbontex drag washer sets.  Scott's reel repair (penn parts.com) has the missing spool tensioner/bearing.

If you're really gun shy about tearing into them, buy the parts and bring them to the boatshow.  I could either ship them to you or give them back to you at the lead pour.

Bottom line is that paying someone to service those reels is like paying someone to check the air in your car tires.

[croaker stroker]

Alan Tani

Not in your area, but you could mail them.


bryan young, 408-364-6256 or hawaiianfishinboy@yahoo.com or

Thanks Croaker.. Are Alan Tani and bryan young one and the same? Or is Alan Tani a member here?
I'd like local, so I could drop them off if possible.

Are Penn 321GTi's even worth putting money into?

Alan Tani is a very respected reel repair "Guru".  (Alantani.com)

Brian is one of the techs who work for him.

I suggest calling or emailing him and he will answer your questions.

[GregE]

For my local service I use  George in Olympia.

Georges Rod & Reel Repair

Address: 3928 21st Ave SE Unit 61, Lacey, WA 98503
Phone: (360) 491-8398


I sent my two speed Tuna Daiwa to Alan Tani-  quick work, good job and reasonable rate

[wedocq]

Perry,
There is a guy in Tacoma that does real good work on Penn reels. Give me a day or two and I will get his number for you. My buddies have been using him for years. I am sure he would be able to tell you if they are worth servicing. I do know if these reels are not the Chinese built versions they are definitely worth servicing.
-Shawn

[Threeweight]

If you do decide to tackle them yourself, you can buy parts for pretty much any Penn reel ever made here:

http://store.scottsbt.com/PennParts/Home.aspx?gclid=CNj8irSstcoCFQqtaQodsigP5Q

I rebuilt 2 Penn 330's and a Penn 345 a few weeks ago (bigger versions of your reel).  With a clean work space, good lighting, and attention to detail it takes 1/2 an hour to break one down, clean and grease it, then reassemble.  The main thing with these reels is occasionally lubing the drag washers (with drag specific grease), occasionally oiling the levelwind, and keeping a light coat of grease on the interior metal parts to prevent corrosion.

Make sure you are running skinny braid on those 320/321... for deep drop halibut fishing their line capacity may be challenging if you have to break off once or twice.  I like 65# on my hali reels, but 50# will work to.

[BayWolf]

Thanks guys for the input and recommendations. I appreciate the offer Hemi. May take you up on it if a local guy doesn't pan out.  I hate paying for something I can do myself, but a bad experience with me working on a reel awhile ago and I think with these I'd like someone with some experience to tear into them.  I'd prefer local. So Shawn, if you can find that guys number I'd appreciate it.  I got a number to a guy from SportCo, but he never answered the phone and never returned my calls...


Can't wait to get the first ever Butt!!

[Crackerbox]

I have always had fast (1 week or so) great work by http://www.thereeltech.com/.  He has done a few reels for me and they have worked great and very reasonably priced.  I live in Allyn, and the service is still fast.

Joe

[BayWolf]

OK, so yesterday I sat in the shop starting at these reels sitting on the bench and said to myself. "Self, you have the skill to do this, don't let intimidation get the better of you. You've faced down tougher and survived!"

So, I took the handle, drag star, selector lever and end cap off...ok...no problem so far...  The cranking gears and drag washer assembly are all held in place by four additional screws holding it in the end cap.  I loosened the four screws and the whole system of gears and levers and such immediately started shifting counter clockwise under spring tension!!!  So much for valor!       LOL! I carefully moved everything back in place and tightened it all back down.

Back to ground zero.  The reels function fine..just sluggish from old grease...

[croaker stroker]

There are tutorials on Alantani.com.

[HemiGTX]

Lol!!

Croaker speaks the truth.  Alan Tani has excellent tutorials on his website.  The penn GTs are very similar to other Penns (senators, Etc).   If you decide to go with larger Penns for halibut, you'll be able to service them in the same way.

If you find yourself on the Olympic peninsula, stop by and we can knock those reels out in an hour.  Or drop them off with me at the boat show. 

I'd prefer to show you how to service them (teach a man to service his reels, feed him for a lifetime, so to speak).  Those are nice reels and will give you a lifetime of service,  but if you buy new drags/parts and pay someone to service them, you're into them more than they're worth.

[BayWolf]

Thanks guys.  I'll check out the tutorial and try tearing into them again. I have to order a new spool tension cap and spring. Is it really worth pouring money into the drag washers? They've only been used maybe 4 times.
Also,  I gotta get some Penn grease.

[Threeweight]

Everything you need to know is here:

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=10.0

[HemiGTX]

Regarding the drags:  i guess it just depends.  I smoked the drag on my 340 on five halibut last year.  By the fifth day I had the drag maxed out just to keep line from peeling out while fishing.  The drag on Nicole's reel didn't fade like mine. 

[BayWolf]

Regarding the drags:  i guess it just depends.  I smoked the drag on my 340 on five halibut last year.  By the fifth day I had the drag maxed out just to keep line from peeling out while fishing.  The drag on Nicole's reel didn't fade like mine. 

Since it's our first every buttfest, guess I'll just service the drags and a good solid cleaning and lube and go from there.

Everything you need to know is here:

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=10.0

Thanks.  Man,  if my reel looked like that I'd throw it away.  A little preventative care goes a long way!

[Threeweight]

If you have later model Penn reels, they should have carbon fiber drag washers.  They typically just need an annual cleaning and re-greasing, using a specialized drag grease (Cal's Drag Grease, Shimano grease, etc...).

Those Penn 310, 320, 330, 340, 345, etc... reels are not the highest tech devices in the world, but they are pretty darn tough and reliable.  Short of running over them with a truck, they are pretty easy to service and repair.

[wedocq]

Perry,
I still haven't heard from my buddy on the guy they use in Tacoma. I don't know if buttfest is quite the term I would use. I was thinking more like buttpalooza.  :biggrin: For what it's worth, I fished a Penn 340 for 15 years and never had it serviced, with no problems, until an un-named rookie dropped it over the side.
-Shawn

[finfinn]

Johns Sporting Goods in Everett used to have a top notch reel repair and service operation going. Also blow up pictures of most reels I have ever seen. Might be worth checking them out.

[Zarn]

Alan is your best bet on getting it right... every time. Now, beyond getting your GT's repaired, if you are interested in speaking to Alan in person it was reported on IFISH just recently... he will have a demo area setup at the 2016 Saltwater Sportsmen's Show at the Oregon State Fairgrounds, Salem Oregon, February 27th and 28th.

I personally have given up and sold all my Chinese made GT series reels (321 (2), 330, 345) and a small... but spendy bag of GT series repair parts. For the past five years it was the same story every year... Tear them down clean figure out why each failed then replace some major component that failed either during halibut and tuna or both.

I have two Penn 321gTi (lefties) that I need to have gone over. I want to use them for our first ever Halibut trip in May.  The reels are in good shape with the exception of a missing spool tension assembly.

Can anyone recommend a good local shop or person that can give these a good cleaning and repair the one?

Thanks.

Perry

[StreamFixer]

Sad to hear Penn reels bad mouthed, but then again, certainly not surprized...  Chinese built stuff often looks pretty but the internal quality just isn't there...  Corporate bottom line looks better though, until their stock drops because there are more reliable places to put your investments.

Our off-shoring corporations sure seem to be short sighted...  Makes the present CEO parachute golden though...

StreamFixer

[BayWolf]

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful tips and information. Looks like I got things under control and am a step closer to trying for a Halibut.  Both my reels are American made, so at least I got that going for me.

[Zarn]

Make no mistake, every reel, Jigmaster conventional or international, I own is Penn except for a few Shimano's like curado the 200 and 400. I just felt it necessary to give up on the GT series because they're always failing in some way. After losing several large halibut and many tuna to the GT series failures it was time to move on. The offering was my personal experience with this particular series of reels.

[Threeweight]

Watch Ebay, there are still American-made Penn GT reels on the market.

I personally have not had the same experience with the Chinese-made GT2's.  We've landed hundreds of Tuna!, halibut, and salmon on 321's and 330's, no failures other than service related stuff (drags needing cleaning and lubing.)

However, for a few years Penn did offer a Chinese-made GTO 220 that was a complete and utter piece of feces.  It looked great, all stainless frame and such, but the tolerances were just awful.