This is a detailed instruction on the removal of the ball bearings in a Bob James centrepin reel and has been kindly compiled by Geoff Parmenter. Thanks Geoff.
The bearings are just a push fit into the bearing housing and no heat or extraction tools will be required.
1. Remove spool from reel
2. Remove circlip ‘A’ using circlip pliars or thin nosed pliars
3. Pull off the gear ‘B’ easing it over the small locating pin
4. Remove the thin ‘O’ ring ‘C’
5. Unscrew and remove the locking collar ‘D’ by inserting a small screwdriver blade in the gap in the collar and pushing in an anti-clockwise direction until it is fully unscrewed.
6. The outside bearing ‘F’ should then just come out with a few taps on the palm of your hand and the spacing bush ‘G’ will probably come with it.
7. Unscrew and remove the small brass end float screw ‘E’ from the opposite end of the spool.
8. To remove the inner bearing ‘H’, insert a narrow probe (I found a small Allen key was ideal) into the hole exposed by the removal of the end float screw and gently push the edges of the bearing until it is far enough up the bearing housing to allow it to be tapped out as for the outer bearing.
Note: the probe/allen key needs to be narrow enough to be angled in the hole towards the outside of the bearing before pushing commences otherwise you may damage the bearing shields which may cause the bearing to bind. Push at various points around the circumference of the bearing to ensure the bearing is removed evenly. If the outer bearing and spacing bush did not come out easily, you should be able to push all three out at the same time using this method. Some penetrating fluid may help if they are particularly stubborn but none was needed in my case.
Replacement order is the reverse of the above. When replacing the bearings, use the spacing bush to push the inner bearing to the end of the housing and then insert the outer bearing.
Hi Nathan,
Just saw the post. Thank you so much. I will give it a try this weekend. I had emailed JW Young and received this response:
“However he says if you wish to remove the bottom bearing yourself, this is held in place with a hub locking nut that is glued in place. This can be difficult to remove but once removed we could send you a bearing (our part code YC2025) for you to fit yourself and re-glue. The top bearing however you would not be able to remove yourself due to the construction of the reel.”
Did your friend have to deal with the glue issue?
Thanks,
Ryan
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Hi Ryan, I’m hoping that Geoff is going to respond to your comments soon. I thought it best if he passed on his comments than me trying to do it second hand, so to speak.
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Hi Ryan,
I’m struggling to understand quite what JW Young are talking about as I didn’t encounter any ‘glue’ problem. There is also some confusion I think as to which is the top bearing and which is the bottom bearing. In my description I refer to the bearing you first see after removing the gear as ‘the outer bearing’. If after removing the gear ‘B’ you can see collar ‘D’ (I assume this the ‘hub locking nut’ referred to by J W Young) then proceed as I have described. It is possible that, at manufacture, some thread locking liquid may have been smeared on the thread of this locking collar although I couldn’t see any evidence of this. You could do the same as an extra security measure but I don’t think it is necessary. If you cannot see collar ‘D’ when you have removed the gear then you may have a different version of the reel, or one with a later modification. If this is the case then I’m afraid I cannot help without seeing the reel. Best of luck
Geoff
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Hi Geoff,
Thanks again for helping with “dissecting” this reel. I think I need to get some circlip pliers before I attempt it. I too don’t understand what glue they are talking about. I can actually see collar ‘D’ without removing the gear, is that normal? Will give it a try this weekend when I pickup the circlip pliers.
Thanks,
Ryan
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Nice.. Looks easy!
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Hi Geoff,
One last question. Have you replaced the bearings before? I got JW Young to send me a new set of bearings. Do they need to be soaked in isopropyl alcohol before installation?
Thanks,
Ryan
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Hi Ryan,
I’ve given the reel back to Nathan so can’t see it currently but ,yes, you probably can see the collar before the gear is removed but you will have to remove the gear in order to remove the collar. The new bearings may be packed with some form of grease. I usually wash out the grease with WD40 (can you get that in Canada?) and then lubricate the bearings with a very light machine oil e.g. sewing machine oil.
Geoff
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Hi Geoff,
Thanks for the help again. I gave it a try this weekend, but couldn’t get the second bearing out! Do you have to disengage the clip (that you use to pop the spool off in the first place) while you are pushing the bearing with the allen key? I ended up just cleaning the first bearing and reassembling.
Ryan
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Again Ryan, I haven’t got the reel anymore but I don’t remember having to disengage the quick release catch in order to remove the second bearing. If you look down inside the bearing housing with the top bearing removed you should be able to see the catch and establish which side of the bearing it engages into the spindle. Did the second bearing move at all when you tried to push it out? As I said in my first post, you may need to wet the housing and bearing with a little penetrating fluid to persuade it to move. Perhaps I was just lucky!
Geoff
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Hi
Anyone know how to get the bearing out of a John Wilson Heritage Centerpin
It looks to be almost the same as above but the ring D is not present.
Is it possible to get the bearings out.
Mine has been noisy from new, but it was bought from a ebay seller how will not do anything about it.
Thanks for any tips on how to get the bearings out, if its possible.
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Hi Paul. Thanks for looking in. I’ll get my mate Geoff to take a look and post on here soon.
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Thanks, I appreciate your help
Paul
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Managed to make a blind bearing remover and got the bearing out, notice I said bearing, according to Youngs it should have two but this one definitely only had one.
So either Youngs have changed the design and a skimping on the bearings or there are some counterfeit Youngs reels hitting the market.
I have asked youngs to confirm how many bearings there should be.
Will post back when or if I get a reply.
Paul
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you only need to unscrew the brass screw item D , pull the bearing out , the spacer .the blind bearing in the bottom will then need to be removed, which is not easy , all the sizes are imperial, not metric , 1/4 x1/2 x3/16 bearing size is need R188 ZZ hybrid,
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