first, the disclaimer.
lots of people put 40, 50 or 60 pound mono on these single speed tld's, and use drag settings of 10, 12, or 15 pounds of drag at strike. i am not aware of a single case of frame failure in these single speed tld reels. i am aware of frame failures in tld 30 two speeds....
and if it can happen here, it can happen anywhere. personally, i consider 15#'s of drag at strike for a single speed tld 25 to be safe, but i'm a pharmacist, not an engineer. remember that shimano originally designed this reel for 700 yards of 25# test mono and 8#'s of drag at strike. with the modifications shown here, you can dramatically increase the drag range and freespool. you do so at your own risk.
so, guys, we're all ok with this, right? good! here goes.
first, get a schematic ....
http://fish.shimano.com/catalog/fish...=1131320276600
now order a preload spring B (part #TLD 0096, aka #TT 0040A) and the drag washer from the tld 20/30 two speed (part # TT 0246). make sure you have a drag cap wrench (part # TLD 0230). order one of these also if you do not have one already. shimano can be reached toll free at 877-577-0600.
he's an old, clunky, battle worn tld 25 with a max of 11 #'s of drag at strike before loosing freespool. and the maximum freespool time, even with the drags backed off, is only 5 seconds.
push the drag control lever (key #83) to the free position and remove the pre-progran dial (key #9), the dial spring (key #82), the lever shaft body and "o" seal (key #'s 11 and 10), and the drag control lever (key #83).
remove the lever quadrant (key #192) and screws (key #'s 21, 19 and 86)
remove all seven side plate bolts (key #24) and set the side plate (key #165) aside.
remove the spool assembly and take this time to replace the old metal rod clamp with a newer graphite clamp, if desired.
remove the pinion gear (key #168). unscrew the cooling shield (key #89) and remove the drag plate assembly (key #'s 31, 91, 60, and 196), the two right spool bearings (key #170), pressure release spring (key #202) and titanium drag washer (key #93).
remove cross pin B (key #50), the two click gear screws (key #99), and the click gear (key #98).
pull the main shaft assembly as a unit.
remove cross pin A (key #46) and spread out all the components in order.
clean the bearings. note that at this point in time (11/16/05), my current recommendation is to leave spool bearings open. shields that are held in by a retaining ring may be cleaned by removing the retaining ring with the point of a small fishing hook, then pry out the shield with the point of a small knife. shields that are pressed in must be pried out, will be mangled in the process and must be discarded. these now "open" bearings may be cleaned with carb cleaner and compressed air, then lubed with corrosion x.
we are now going to change the order of washers on the left side of the spool shaft. the original order, from inside to out, was bearing (key #42), preload washer A (key #72) four preload spring A's (key # 96) in the order "(())", preload body (key#97), cross pin A (key #46), spacer A (key #47) and spacer B (key #58).
to rebuild the left spool shaft, remove preload washer A (key #72) and spacer B (key #58). add a fifth preload washer A (key #72) so that the configuration is now "((())" going from the inside out. install the click gear (key #98), the two click gear screws (key #99).
now take the carbon fiber drag washer from the two speed tld 20/30 (part #TT 0246) that you received from shimano, and grind down the outer diameter until it matches the outer diameter of the stock tld 20/25 titanium drag washer exactly. do not worry about matching the four "keys" or "notches" along the outer edge of the tld 20/25 drag washer. apply a generous coat of shimano drag grease to both sides of the carbon fiber drag washer, install the grease drag washer into the spool, and wipe off the excess grease with a clean towel.
find the drag plate assembly (key #'s 31, 91, 60, and 196). note that there is a great deal of "play" in the assembly. pry out the seal lock (key #31) and separate the drag plate assembly into four pieces. clean the back of the drag plate (key #91) and apply four layers of 2 inch masking tape to the back. carefully cut out the center hole with a sharp knife.
reassemble the drag plate assembly. to install the seal lock (key #31), place the seal lock over the pinion guard (key #196) and push down. now push the seal lock into the four corners of the pinion guard with the point of a flat screwdriver until the seal lock ring is locked in.
now flip the drag plate assembly over, use a sharp knife and cut away the excess.
install the right side plate bearings (key #170), the pressure release spring (key #202), the drag plate assembly.
install the cooling shield (key #89) using the wrench (key #230) provided.
install cross pin B (key #50)
install the spool into the frame. make sure the spool slides freely in and out of the frame, all the way in and all the way out. if it does not, then rotate the spool shaft 180 degrees and try again. if the spool still does not travel freely, contact me via e-mail.
almost done!
remove the handle nut screw (key #75), the handle nut (key #76) and the handle (key #208). use the wrench (key #230) provided.
remove the main gear (key #166) and the right side plate bearing (key #167). use the point of a small hook to remove the retaining ring for the bearing shield, then the point of a sharp knife to remove the shield.
pack the bearing with heavy grease. reinstall the shield and retaining ring. reinstall the bearing.
note that the dog (key #26) is out of place. return the dog to it's proper orientation and place the dog spring (key #25) back over the notch of the dog.
install the main gear (key #166). with the point of a small screw driver, rotate the dog outward until the main gear drops down into position. now turn the main gear. you should hear an audible click.
you now have a choice of handles. i recommend an upgrade.
install the gear shaft thrust washer (key #79), the gear shaft shield (key #78), the new handle, the handle nut (key #76) and the handle nut screw (key #75).
install the pinion gear (key #168), the right side plate and the seven right side plate screws (key #24).
install the quadrant and the drag lever and you're done! congratulations!
with this particular reel, i was able to get 18 pounds of drag at strike before i lost freespool. and at that setting, i had 30 seconds of freespool. the spool was loaded with straight 50 pound mono, so i reset the drag to 15 pounds at strike, or 30% of the line weight.
Linear Mode
