5000D was my very first reel, back in 77, just retired it the last few years. Love direct drive!

VHawk,

I bought 4 ABU 6500's about three years ago. Within a month one of them quit reeling, just all bound up, sent it in for repair. Within the next year two others the worm gear quit on. I repaired them at ollie and within a year both had quit again. I sent them in again, they were fixed and within a year both were broke again. I sent them to the parent company and asked for an exchange, one reel that worked for all three of the broken ones...they told me "too bad". I only have one ABU now that was given to me as a gift. While salmon fishing last week both of the little rubber handles came off while fighting fish. The point being...ABUs Suck!

You might take a look at Tica, as I understand it many of the musky fisherman are going to this reel and they really abuse their equipment.

I am done with ABU.

RM

I was a loyal Abu customer. Loved the reels and the price. Then about 4-5 years ago, that changed. I dont know if they are just trying to cut costs and corners but the reels arnt what they use to be. I still have my older abu's and they work just fine, but I wont buy anymore. Most of my reels have all been switched over to Shimano.....Curado, Calcutta, Cardiff ......Love them all!!!

I've had one for 18 years and another for 16. Both still going strong.

Hmmm, I have a 1970 5000C that seems to work as good as new. I didn't think about maybe the quality has decreased in recent years when I bought a 6500 C4 last year for salmon fishing. It could be that I don't use them enough to reveal any defects.

It seems odd that a major brand as well known as the Ambassaduers would still be selling if they weren't any good.

If it wasn't for the awesome reputation I would never have picked up an Ambassadeur. But I think that reputation was built on reels made more then 5 years ago. Once my confidence in a brand is lost, its hard to spend good money on their products.

TICA is ok. Have some experience with the Caimen. Its probably worth the money.

Okuma reels are eagerly invited to go have intercourse with the engineers who design them. Even at discount prices I wouldn't touch them again.

Lastly, just because I don't like Abu's reels doesn't mean I think any less of the people who use them. I gave them a 2 year trial because I many of the anglers who I watched catching all the fish were using that brand.

Tight lines
vince

It does seem that the ABU's of yesterday were built much better than those today. I don't really/reely understand why companies start to shortcut on things that cost them their reputation. I am guessing that most anglers would be willing to pay the extra 5 or 10 dollars for a reel that had all metal parts for example rather than plastic. Car companies do the same thing tho, who knows.

RM

Thats why I only use Islanders (LX) !

i think you guys must suck at taking care of them. i've been using them for years(new ones no less) and never had a problem. there isn't a whole lot to screw up inside of one. of course, they're not for the modern day rich elitist angler who has $600 to blow on a shimano stella.

here's a hint: if you're paying $60 for a bare bones C3 or something like that, you're overpaying. for the most part(excluding some of the fancier/odd reels with mag controls, 2 speed retrieve, synchro drag etc) the reels are ALL THE SAME with the exception of how many bearings are inside of them. a 5000 with bushings is not different mechanically from a 5600C4 except that the C4 has 4 bearings and the 5000 does not. doesn't mean you can't retrofit them, though

Vhawk-
It is probably the pall that runs trough the worm gear. They wear out easily, It may be that you can shim and file the pall to regain the bite in the worm gear. The pall is located in the level wind guide unscrew the bottom of the levelwind and you will find a little forked looking piece that fits into the worm gear.

cheers,
matt

>"Clean them periodically and wash them down each day after a trip on the saltchuck"

Right. I've used Ambassedeur reels for years with no problems except the one time I dropped my old 5600c into lower river tide water and forgot to wash it out afterwards. The main gear (I think it was aluminum back then) dissolved in a matter of days.

i've had my morrum for over 3 years now, best casting reel i've ever used and i've tested out most everything out there; not saying that i didn't like the others, matter of fact a couple of the shimanos were very sweet, i just find my ambassadeur morrum to be my favorite of all...i do routine maintenance on the reel, pretty much every time i respool(which has been quite often these last few weeks) but for major repairs i go with ollie damons in portland...following this winter, she's going in for a complete tune-up...with routine cleaning and maintenance, and an occasional professional overhaul, i plan on many many more years of faithful service from my morrum...as for the regular ambassadeurs, they're like a box of chocolates- most are good but some are bound to go tits up sooner or later...later, pac

Some abu tips...

When tearing down, cleaning, and reassembling, use very little lubricant. Use a thin bead of grease on the gear teeth, and on the levelwind worm and pawl (the thing that rides in the worm groove). A small drip of lube on the bearings is fine. If reusing the factory abu drag washers, degrease them before reassembling. a gentle wipe with a brake-cleaner soaked rag/papertowel is fine. Be sure to sniff the fumes.

If you want good drag performance, order some Smoooooooth drag washers (google smoooth with a couple extra o's). They work well.

Back off the drag when you're done for the day. This will help trememdously.

Find a reel repair shop down that way, and stock up on abu pawls. They're cheap.

When the reel won't re-engage after a cast, it's time for teardown.

Again, take it easy on the internal lube. I wipe the parts not mentioned above lightly with a lube-stained paper towel, if only to keep corrosion away.

another note, on the typical reels with the side mounted push button release(aka not a thumbar), i put a little bit of grease on the reel plate where the mechanism rubs against it. keeps the things from hanging up.

I'm still using two 5000D's I bought probably 30 years ago. They were $22 each at Ed's Surplus in Lynnwood. I had them rebuilt at John's in Everett a couple of years ago and they work fine, although they are a little noisy casting.

Taking them apart and cleaning regularly helps. I use an egg carton to place the parts in so I can re-assemble them correctly.

I prefer to clean rather than wash out as I used them in the salt over the years and washing them with fresh water may only drive some salt residue inside the reel.

My old 7000 is seldom used, but works well after 30 years .

I have a new 7000 that went bad after one trip to the South Pacific so think that the quality is not what it use to be. That may be the case with several brands. The Shimano CS300 A I bought a couple of years ago has been a real disappointment.

I've had good luck with my Daiwa Millionaires from the early 1980s but they are getting tired and I burned the drag out of one during a real good chum season a couple of years back.

If you have an old ambassador that is sitting around, I'd try getting it tuned up at John's in Everett. It might be a better investment than a new one.

Has anyone followd up omn my suggestions?

I have 4, 6500 C3's that I've been running for the last 5-6 years for kings. It seems like every year at least one or two of them just bind up or the drags really got to shiat!

Yes, I know how to clean them...not rocket science. My local sporting good store just gives me a new one whenever one goes to hell. I know I've had at least 10 of them to still keep my inventory of 4 reels.

I'm about done with them. Also the super smoothies are a waste of money IMO, I "upgraded" lat year and I ended up putting new stock washer back in at the end of the year.

My shimano steelhead reels hardly EVER need cleaning and I'm probably going to change over after this season to all shimano reels.

Anybody want to buy a couple 6500 C3 and C4's? I have two of each. I've been using them as my downrigger reels for the last two years and would like something to hold more line. One of them (C4, I think) is getting a sticky drag. Make me an offer as I have my eye on some Shimano Tekota 600's.....

I have lots of abus. Probably 20 or more. I have had problems with .........1. Went to the store down in Sumner. Put in a new worm gear and pawl. No more problem. I have 3000s, 4000s, 4500s, 4600s, 6000s, 6500s, 7000s, a 9000, and a f.i.v.e. The f.i.v.e. was the one that gave me problems and I was told it is kind of the bottom of the line.

They are easy to take appart, easy to clean, easy to lube (don't over lube) and easy to find parts for.

Just one more vote for the Abu's.

Steve

worm gears and pawls need to be replaced fairly frequenty on ambassaduers( about once ever year for me, because my 7 abu's get extensive use) but that is the only problem I have had with them. But they do need to be cleaned after salt water use, long dips in any water, or sand contact. I have a Calcutta( only 3 months old) that I like better already. I have really been getting sick of replacing pawls and worm gears on the ambassaduers. I have noticed that the worm gears and pawls wear out much faster on the wider 6500 reels than on the 5500/5600/4600 series reels.

Curtis