Downrigger ?

[adam bomb]

Hey guys, i have Walker downriggers. This weekend as i was raising the ball up the rigger suddenly freespooled. I quickly put my hand on the spool to brake the decent and clicked the switch off. I checked the spool nut and it was tight, so that wasnt the problem. Began raising it again and freespooled again, but this time the shaft came out of the drive gear/brearing. Just as i grabbed the spool and shaft assembly the counter spring popped off and into the lake...No biggy there, but i was wondering about the shaft. Are those just pressed into the drive gear/bearing? The reason i say that, is because i took apart one of my other riggers and the best i can tell, theyre just pressed in.

So, after inspecting the shaft i didnt see any damage, but noticed the shaft looked to be tapered. So, I measured the groved end of the shaft with my calipers where it would go into the bearing and its definitely tapered. After further inspection and cleaning the grease off i noticed theres a red, im assuming permanent lok-tite or other adhesived, inside the small grooves in the bearing and on the grooves of the shaft where the two would fit together. So, I cleaned everything with degreaser, let it dry, cleaned it with some lacquer thinner and let that evaporate. I then sprayed some Lok-tite primer on the shaft and the hole in the center of the bearing. I let it dry the recommended 3-5 minutes, then put my red lok-tite on, pushed the shaft on as far as i could manually, then seated the shaft fully with my soft tipped hammer, so as not to damage the threaded end. It seems solid as a rock. I repacked the bearing, bearing housing and lightly greased the bushing where the shaft goes through the bushing in the housing and put everything back together. I hooked it up with a 10# ball here at the house and lifted it up and down several times. Its smooth as can be, no wobble or noise...nothing...all seems well.

So, i was wondering if anyone had any insight on how it goes together for sure, as i couldnt find a schematic? I tried the Alegan service center, but Neil's on vacation.

Thanks...Adam

[fishwitch44]

By your description it sounds to me like you should go in the rigger repair business..:fish: good job

[thunderduck2]

thats y i switched to big jons i had three walkers do the same thing

[Priority1]

I had a Cannon free spool out on me last year. It was an older electric similiar in shape to the Digittroll. The clutch shaft went through a gear and was welded on one side. The side with out the weld has a square shoulder so it couldn't be welded on both sides. Any way the weld broke. It looked like a poor job from the get go. It was machine welded. A friend TIG welded that one and later the remaining 3 as a precaution. I had a King on that hit on that rigger and when I hit the up switch it started spooling out. I had to call a friend off the helm, who wrapped the rigger cable around a rod holder, as I fought the King. We got the King and then I had to palm the spool up, to the tune of about 150 ft of cable. I thought stuff like that only happened to me.:)

[adam bomb]

Thanks guys. I posted this on a few sites and came up with the right answer, which was what i had actually derived myself.:yikes::lol: The shaft is just pressed in on a walker.

As far as the big jons are concerned, im not a big fan of them because the boom has allot of bounce to it...at least to me. When i get new riggers, ill get cannons. We used them on the charter boat and theyre a fantastic rigger IMO, not that big jons arent, i just dont care for the bounce.

Thanks for all the suggestions gentleman, i truely appreciate it. Good luck fishing.

...Oh yeah Frank, believe me, your not the only guys stuff like that happens too!!!:rolleyes::dizzy::lol:...Good luck when you head over bud.;)