So I overlook the fact that most of em are kinda ugly (except the Morrum, she's pretty), and decide to give them a try. How unfortunate. Its been nothing but hassles. Drags are sticky right out of the box. Worm gears stop working and stack my line on one side of my reel. Clutch wont engage after its been put into freespool. What the hell is going on?

Anybody have any ideas on the worn out worm gear? All I ask is that the levelwind actually move when I reel. I was growing use to that reel (C3 6500). I don't expect it to be as smooth as a Calcutta TE, but am I expecting too much?

Yes, I break my reels down and clean them out when they've been exposed to some sand. I try and keep them off the beach and not dunk them.
Sometimes I take them to dinner and talk sweetly to them. I lie and tell them they are all pretty. AND STILL THEY WON'T PUT OUT. Ahhh. No more Abu Garcia for me.


vince

Vinny,

They're all I use...and pretty much all I've used since 1979...always worked fine for me.

I have eleven of 'em, and take them all apart about 6 months at a time, and clean them down to the screws...no problems at this end.

Fish on...

Todd

I changed all mine out to Shimano Curado's and Castaic... glad I did.

Ambassadeurs are also all I use never had any problems beyond normal wear one reel I have is needing to be sent to Ollie Damons for a rebuild but I have used the shiat out of it for around 25 years

Any suggestions on an abu repair man?

Ollie Damon in Portland or John's in Everett for most standard reels. If you have an old one or an unusual model, you can send it to the factory shop in Spirit Lake, Iowa. They can repair almost any Abu reel as they have a backlog of parts. They even built a 5000D (the old direct-drive model) for me out of parts...

Keith

If you don't like yours, you should toss it.....(my way).

Abu's are great reels. I would skip the repair man and just do it yourself. They are easy to break down and put back together. Nothing to it really. I keep the old ones for spare parts. Abu's won't last forever if you fish the salt, but they are inexpensive and easy to repair!
Neal

You ought to see the Japanese market Abu's...very sweet!

Vhawk they do take a little more adjustment and "feel" to set them right in comparison to other BC reels regarding casting. Also if you have a neww reel it will loosen up requiring some additional adjustment.

They are a good real with a wonderful history and reputation. Get out and practice with it using a rubber or plastic casting plug.

I'll tell ya another good value performer is the new Quantum line of BC reels. WOWEE they ae sweet.

Take it to the Antique Fisherman. He has parts and also does repairs. The worm gear went out on mine and it turned out to be the little metal piece that feeds the line guide to the worm gear. I went to antique fisher man, across the street from buned out KC's Cabbose. The man had the parts on hand for 3 bucks, so I bought 3 more for back up on my other reels. Very cool Old guy, But said he is about ready to give it up. Highly recomended.
GOODLUCK.........

Todd its good that you've foud a line of reels that work for you. I found a line of reels that have done nothing but disappoint me. Statistically, out of a thousand anglers someone is going to get 2 lemons in a row. Lucky me.

Talljeeper, casting plugs? I should whip you with a wet noodle. Your killing me. I can cast the Abu's just fine. Its the drag, the clutch, and the worm gear that are giving me problems on a couple of them.

Some people find casting plugs very useful. Some people also find buttplugs useful. At this moment in my life I can live comfortably without either. Honestly though, thanks for the advice. I'm just joking with ya.

I'll see about repairing the worm gear myself. The contacts y'all gave will help.

AuntyM, I'm with you. Even the lower end Shimano's have performed very reliably. I've got Ebay bids out on some Calcutta's. Fingers are crossed.


Vince

I agree Abu's suck. I couldnt get one to last one fall nook season. My cheap Shimano corsair has caught 50+ nooks and still smooth as glass.

I too have a problem with the casting button sticking. I sent in my 6500 C3 to Outdoor Emporium for repair and it came back fine with a hefty bill and not long after I started using it again I was utterly disappointed to find out that the problem had not been resolved at all. Anyone know what to do about it?

I have 4 ambassaduers and love them. I purchased a new one about a year ago and have replaced the worm gear twice and just last week it was starting to wad line on one side....i added some iol and its fine for now. That worm gear thing is starting to piss me off

I've shifted to Shimanos over the years except I still use Ambassadeurs for salmon fishing......river and salt. My partner and I have talked often about quality control on the newer ambassadeurs (we've fished together over 25 years) and agree they are NOT like the older ones, both in parts and longevity.

That's not to say the newer ones don't work. I have a C3 6501 going on 7 years of hard saltwater use (with normal maintenance) but then my partner has a couple newer C3 5501's bought for river salmon that were both lemons right out of the box. Needless to say, they are permanently shelved.

So it's a crap shoot with the newer ones. By comparison, I have an "old version" 5001C that works as good as the day I bought it in 1982, though, it is semi-retired as a plug rod reel now.

At the least, if your that disgusted, take the reel back for a refund.

I have been using Ambassedeur all my fishing life, back to the mid 60s. 2500c, 5000c, 6500c.
What you have to do is tear them down and put them together with very little oil and put powdered teflon on the drag washers and they will work great. I use the teflon on all my reel drags and it keeps the drag as smooth as it can be.

Ambassedeur reels are awesome. I love my curado, for throwing 1/4 inch pieces of lead. The ambassedeur reels have a much stonger drag, and it has never seemed very jerkey. Todd has it down though. It helps to clean them every 6 months. They are great reels, and they will last a lifetime if you take care of them. Give them a chance.

I've been using Ambassadeur reels for years without major problems. Have been basically bullet-proof for me. Clean them periodically and wash them down each day after a trip on the saltchuck.

Eeeks I thought I was the only one that still owned one of these!

Nothing like a good knuckle smackin' on a cold winter's morning!

It wasn't until I cleaned my ambassador that I ran into problems. That crumby little plastic trigger wore out. I think its an easy fix but if I took it to outdoor emporium they would probably charge me $50 for a one dollar part and a 15minutes of labor. I will head north. It was a good real and I didn't clean it once in three years but you all with your boats and downriggers probably use yours much more.