VR50 Seals

[Julian.]

Hi everyone im pretty new to the forum,

i joined because i wanted some more info on my vr50.

 

I live in europe austria to be exact and sending in reels for service isnt something i would do i always serviced reels myself which isnt a problem at all im a mechanical and electrical technitian and i know quite a bit about stuff like that i service all my reels mostly high end shimanos like twinpowers and a vanquish, those are not hard to service yourself and Van Staals are even easier.

 

The only problem is that there dont seem to be any self service kits and i wanted to ask if someone knows the seal and bearing dimentions, i could check everything myself once i need it but that means that i have to wait to get all the right bearings and seals before i can put it back together and im really trying not to do that.

 

The other thing is grease, i know van staals use rheolube, type 797, 362HB and maybe NC346 for some reels ? 

I think the lighter one is used for the VR50 gears and the thicker really sticky type for parts like the handle thread, which would not be a problem if the grease at the handle thread is not the original one, atleast as long as it doesnt damage the seals.

 

I have tried a bunch of different grease like most shimano grease types, daiwa grease and quantum hot sauce but i have found that the XR1 penn grease is by far the best, you have to use only a tiny bit on really small reels otherwise there is a bit too much resistance but other than that its perfect for mid sized or bigger reels.

 

The XR1 penn grease could hurt seals a bit in the long run but that should not be a problem if i can get seals for it, but again for that i need to know the seal dimentions.

 

I would not be able to buy the original rheolube since its already way too overpriced as is and with shipping and customs it would be like 100$ or more and thats not something im going to do.

 

The only seals i would need to change are the main shaft seal, line roller unit seals and the handle shaft seal, i already had some orings that fit the housing covers (1x40mm oring), and i probably have the other orings needed for the VR50 they are also the same material as the original orings.

 

I would really apreciate it if someone could help me out with the seal dimentions

[LB]

Get a good magnifying glass and look closely at the sale there should be numbers and even that manufacture the seals are common any good bearing and seal warehouse will have them or could get them for you.

Edited August 2, 2022 by LB

[Mr. Bigdeal]

Rheolube @ Amazon...

[Julian.]

18 hours ago, Mr. Bigdeal said:

Rheolube @ Amazon...

Sadly not available over here in europe, there is some Reholube stuff on amazon but that is completly different grease, im pretty sure Rheolube is a german company and i already looked at some ways to get it but they only sell in bulk, big tubs of the grease types for the van staal reels and it costs a fortune.

Like used car expensive.

 

So smaller tubes and small containers are only available from the US, purefishing directly and if i remember correctly only one or two more sellers also in the US, and shipping+ customs cost would just be way too much, like i said in my original post it would be like 100$ for a tube of grease and thats just too much.

[Mr. Bigdeal]

Reholube 362 @  Amazon....Nye Labs.....would I kid you now.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Mr. Bigdeal

[Julian.]

11 hours ago, Mr. Bigdeal said:

Reholube 362 @  Amazon....Nye Labs.....would I kid you now.

Its not available on amazon where i live like i said, i could order it from the US amazon shop but with shipping and customs it would be over 100$, even more expensive than ordering it from purefishing.

[Mr. Bigdeal]

where you live buddy.........

[Julian.]

In Austria

[Mr. Bigdeal]

Hmmm.....wonder what shipping from NJ is to Austria.....where do you fish mostly.

[Julian.]

I used to fish mountain lakes overe here, i also did some flyfishing in my local river (Möll) which is known for word record brown trouts, one of the previous world record brown trouts was caught here, very athletic looking fish with very little fat not like the current world record.

 

I also went on fishing vacations in croatia every year for two weeks when i was younger to fish in the adriatic sea.

 

Then i had a bad motorcycle crash about 5 years ago and ****ed my back up really bad, i could not work anymore and i was not even able to go fishing, it got pretty bad over like 2 years i had really bad cronic pain problems 24/7 and i was also on strong opioid medication at the time which made everything even worse, i love fishing a lot i have been doing it since i was like 8, me and my younger brother even had some yearly lake records back then.

 

All i wanted was being able to go fishing again, during that time i did some fly tying and i build some rods to keep my sanity which was also a challange since im barely able to sit for like 15min, i build some very nice rods this year, i really like the light action Xzoga taka G blanks and i build a very nice light spinning rod, i only ever fished ultralight spin rods and heavy gear since i just could not find a nice light/medium light spin rod i liked so i build one which was not my first rod i build i already knew how to build rods and i got pretty good at it, so i build it, that japanese blank, fuji titanium torzite guides, and a custom shaped grip, i made everything how i wanted it, its the best rod i have ever owned and i have some pretty nice high end rods, i also balanced it perfectly for size 2500 reels or the compact c3000 shimano reel sizes, its about 30g heavier than it should be because of the ballancing but it feels so light because its prefectly ballanced.

 

Over the last 2 years or i trained every day to get some muscle back to stabalize my spine and reduce the pain and i gained like 45lbs back in a bit over a year which is amazing, my pain went from a 8-9/10 (twice even a 10/10 for a few minutes which i passed out from) to a 6-7/10 which made me so happy, i finaly got a spot in the best specailized pain clinic over here in austria and i was able to start reducing my opioid medication, by now i already reduced my daily dose by 2/3 which is very good.

 

I was even able to go fishing again for a few hours with my brother, and that probably made me the happiest i have been in years, i also tought him how to flyfish.

 

The VR50 was a gift from my brother, for when im able to go on fishing to the adriatic sea again with him, we have some nice reels like two shimano vanquish, three twinpowers and stuff like that but we never wanted to use them in saltwater, i got my first vanquish like 8 years ago because it was better than the stella at that time but it had a magnesium body and i did not want saltwater anywhwere near it, i used some reels in saltwater that where not that expensive like the old 2500 shimano rarenium ci4 which later became the stradic ci4, i still have that rarenium and i recently freshly serviced it, i service all my reels even the high end ones.

 

Back then i had a little incident with a false albacore tuna from the rocks, it was not even big but it almost spooled me on my ultralight gear, since then i dont use backing on my reels, just as much braid as i can get on that reel.

 

We caught a lot of species in croatia, but my favourite ones where leerfish (almost like queenfish) and european seabass, those topwater strikes where insane, saddled bream, horesmakerel, false albacore tuna are also really fun to catch.

 

But those leerfish can get really big, like 20kg+ and they would not even feel ultralight gear, we where never down there when those big leerfish where around in early spring but we plan on doing a trip once im able to do it, i will have to take good care of my injured back for the rest of my life so heavy gear is not an option but a 4000 reel like the vr50 and a medium spinning rod should work, im gonna build another heavier rod with one of the Xzoga taka G blanks because they are very good for back problems, they have a very unique action that starts out very fast and gets more and more parabolic the more load is put on it and as you may know the closer the bend is to your hand the easier it is to pull against that force since the leverage gets smaller.

 

I went on a bit of a rant here, sorry.

 

Shipping and customs from the US to Austria is probably around 60€.

 

I bought a vintage penn 420ss from the US about a year or so ago to restore and keep as a collection piece, i also bought a 430ss for spare parts and i remember the shipping and customs fee was pretty bad.

 

 

 

[LB]

Sounds like your dealing with a lot right now, l have been down that road but not as severe as you l had a Herniated disc in 2000 and the only place l could sleep was in a recliner chair l sleeper there for one year every night, keep a positive mind and your hands busy.

Sound like you have a nice collection of reels and rods and many types of fish to fish for.

l to make my own rods, l usually use Limaglass banks 7ft and up for surf fishing, and l stick with Fuji Alkconite VSL type guide inexpensive and hold up very well to surf fishing.

 

13 hours ago, Julian. said:

I bought a vintage penn 420ss from the US about a year or so ago to restore and keep as a collection piece, i also bought a 430ss for spare parts and i remember the shipping and customs fee was pretty bad.

l'm sure it could get costly to have to pay for shipping l have the same Penn reel but it is the next size up Penn 430SS and a rod l built it balances well on the rod.

 

 

Do you have a VR50 Schematic and parts list?

 

l don't want to get off topic on this thread so l will keep it short, make some more posts a total of 15 or more and you could use private messages should you need help from me or others here on SOL and be able to look into people's profiles and their gallery (pictures) you might enjoy that l have put in my gallery if you like to tinker with reels.

You might want to get into plug making and keep your mind and hands busy these are teasers to motivate you, some l painted with an airbrush and some with rattle cans paint l make everything for the plugs lips but not the hooks, push come to shove l could make them if l had to.

The clips on the leaders l also make l never had one fail

 

 

 

Just in case you need them.

 

 

Get well and stay positive and do Physical therapy. LB

 

l just tried to send you a message no go you need more pots.

Edited November 1, 2022 by LB

[LB]

mistake

Edited November 2, 2022 by LB