Ok, just installed the latest bearings I received from Boca in an LX 6/3 I had bought from a BD'er. The reel was in excellant condition, but it just didn't freespool as well as - well - even my TLD II 20 with stock bearings. I had taken the LX apart a couple of times to make sure everything was installed correctly. Flushed the stock bearings and lubed with high tech oil. Still not great freespool, could have gotten by, but freespool is part of why you have an Avet, yes?
Ordered replacement bearings from Boca, over the phone, incredibly helpful as usual. Ordered last Thursday, received them today, free shipping, no California ass tax. As I noted above, the left side spool bearing, the big one, is non standard size, so no upgrade available. So I ordered the standard bearing they had, with assurances that it was still a very good bearing (only $7.95, so what the hay).
The two right side bearings in the LX, and most other Avets, are the same size, and they had a variety of upgrades in that size. I toyed with getting ceramic hybrids, but at twice the cost of stainless, went with the stainless Abec 7s, for $7.95 each. I tear my reels down after most trips, so the the ceramics don't provide a benefit for corrosion resistance, and they don't spin any better than Abec 7s.
Received them today. Removed the shields on the Abec 7s, flushed them with brake cleaner, then lubed them with Boca's high tech lube. Reinstalled the shields. The right side, larger, Boca bearing had a non replaceable shield, so I pried one side shield off and flushed the grease out with brake cleaner. The stock bearing is open on one side as well, so you install the open side in towards the inside of the spool. Lubed the large bearing with Boca lube, reinstalled. Put the reel back together and gave it a spin. Like night and day, I think it's still spinning out there on my bench.
Boca's the best. They even included a Boca mouse pad and some decals for nada.
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