on many boards, this one in particular, you will see discussion about the value of a two speeded 3/0 or 4/0-sized reels. load these reels with spectra and a topshot, and it makes perfect sense. but what if spectra was not available? how much sense would a 4/0 sized two speed reel make? probably none. so in the mid 70's, when shimano introduced the triton beastmaster 4/0 two speed, a tackle shop in san francisco ordered up two of them. and they sat. and they sat. and they sat some more. then finally an employee bought one. who knows where the other is. no one was interested in a small two speed reel. back then, it made no sense.
with the introduction of spectra, this reel makes perfect sense! behold, a 30 year old shimano triton beastmaster 4/0 two speed, introduced 30 years ahead of it's time!
schematics were no where to be found, so we're going to wing it. review the rebuild post for the shimano tld 20/30 two speed. it's close in design, and being familiar with this reel will keep you oriented.
there are two small screws holding the lug on the left side plate. let's back them out, shoot in a small bead of grease and torque them back down again.
remove the lever quadrant. there are only three screws. set everything aside.
pull the clicker lever and set it aside.
back out all of the right side plate screws.
remove the right side plate assembly and set it aside. note that it is similar in design to to the penn internationals.
pull the spool assembly and set it aside.
the left side plate and frame are a single piece of precision cast aluminum. again, note the similarities to the penn international.
here is a view of the left side of the spool assembly. note that the spool cap that holds the drag plate has left hand threads. the wrench for the shimano tld 20/30 two speed reels actually works for this reel.
off comes the spool cap and drag plate, and look at what we find. it's a 30 year old greased carbon fiber drag washer!
here's the spool shaft assembly, removed from the spool and reassembled so that you can see how things are arranged.
the bearings were gummed up with old grease and had surface rust only.
i pried out the shields, cleaned the bearings with carb cleaner and compressed air, and lubed them with corrosion x.
i pulled out the drag washer, cleaned off the old grease and slapped on a coat of new grease.
i cleaned off all the excess grease....
... and it's ready to go!
i cleaned up the right side of the spool and re-installed the spool shaft assembly.
back goes the drag pressure plate.
install the thrust washer.
install the spool cap and torque it down good and tight with a tld 20/30 wrench.
now for the frame. pull the bearing and pack it with grease.
i had an old clamp from a tld 50 LRS two speed and decided to clamp it on.
back out the two screws holding the lug on the right side, add a bead of grease and torque down the screws.
install the spool assembly into the frame.
install the pinion gears.
we need to remove the handle and main gear assembly to get to the right side plate bearing. first, remove the push button shield.
remove the handle bolt plate.
remove the handle bolt.
remove the handle.
hmmmm..... normally the main gear assembly drops right out. it won't budge.
well, here's the reason. remove the c-clip and carefully drop the main gear assembly out as a unit.
pull the bearing and pack it with grease.
install the main gear assembly as a unit. don't let it fall apart.
install the c-clip.
install the handle and handle nut, then the handle nut plate and cover.
install the right side plate assembly, greasing the screw holes first.
install the clicker lever and lever quadrant.
and you're done.
this reel will probably hold 400 yards of 65 pound spectra. this gives you an option of a 30, 40 or 50# topshot. i was not able to check the drag. judging from the amount of pressure on the lever, i'd say 25#'s at strike with good freespool would not be unreasonable.
for me personally, i get a tremendous amount of satisfaction being able to open up a new reel for the first time. this one in particular, was very enjoyable. it's a killer reel. very well engineered and way ahead of it's time. someone put alot of work into this. it must have broken his heart to see it falter in sales and then see it dumped from production.
just a passing thought that some of you may be able to relate to. this beastmaster might be a good example of a reel that an engineer would like to see. this was a man's dream. the ultimate fishing reel. heavy for sure, but very tough.
and this might be a good example of what happens to a reel by the time the guys in marketing are done with it.
Always informative. 
17 or 30 still ahead of it's time with the aluminum frame, what happened?slap:
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