how to fix my screaming baitcaster

ok, i have a Shakespeare agility baitcast from walmart. it worked like new when it was like... new. it works awesome until i tighten the spool tension knob "a bit tighter" thats when its goes "wreeeeeeeeeeeing" its a joke to my fishing buddies and family lol. i feel alot of vibration on the side where the magnetic knob is. i think its a bearing on that side... idk. i got wd40 but have been told not to. it is a $30 reel. but ive only had it for 2 months. any help? btw i dnt have easy access to academy, bass pro shops. ok its easier to just say all we have here is a walmart for our fiahinh needs.

It will cost more to fix it than buying a new one. If you upgrade it you would have something better than new. I would find myself a used Swedish Abu. That is worth upgrading.

Looks like you got what you paid for. Cheap stuff can get really expensive.
I would look on ebay for a used Abu. They can be had pretty cheap and repairs/upgrades don't cost very much, especially if you do it yourself. There's not much to putting parts in them

cheapest thing to do to see if it will help is to lube the washers inside the cast control knob with a drop of reel oil. I would also add a drop in each bearing. Other than that its not worth the time to take it apart unfortunately.

aww sounds like a bit of a bummer. at least i got some practice for when i upgrade this little thing. thanks guys for the replies

Hey Faith, if I may, what's your age?

Did you oil/grease the reel? Possibly, there was something wrong with the bearings.

@cast, im 26.

@oliverbassin, no i havent my husband "lost" the wd40 i was planning on using lol i have some 3 in one oil somewhere just havent looked for it (: ill update on the 3 in 1 when i find it.

i just used lighter fluid to clean my bearings and dded 3 in one oil to them going tomorrow to try it out. it does feel like its smoother though

heres an update to my unorthodox method. i only cleaned the bearing on the spool and one where the handle goes in. i did the degreasing with ronson lighter fluid. waited 20 minutes for it dry then followed up with 3 in 1 all purpose oil. hey, it is a $30 reel afterall (:

after doing this, i finally took it for a test run, and tossed a 3/8 oz spinnerbaiy as far as i could... and no more wrriiiiinnnggg noise! it casts farther than when i first bought it and its really smooth on retrieves. i know its not the right way so i will be doing cleaning every week or so depending how much it is used to minimize gunk build up.

my husbands friend also cleans his baitcaster this way but does not do it to the gears. i will not be messing with those anytime soon.

hope this helps some people in my situation... as i was told, old school ways never go away.

that's great!

Good job Faith! I was hoping you were a kid so I could send you an Abu. Obviously that is not the case. Sounds like you got it going.

thanks bronco

@Cast, its ok lol. thanks for not bashing the method i used though. like i said, it is a $30 reel. plenty more where those came from.. i hope lol. i do plan on buying an abu baitcaster and an ugly stick from walmart around january and keeping my current setup as a backup. (:

the bearings on most reels cost 28 dollars. So you should upgrade to a better reel is you are embarrassed with the screaming... Just my 2 cents worth. Sorry

I've got a New Curado that screams at me when casting. It's a $200 reel, so don't fret about the $30 thing. I have Quantum PT reels that I like much better and they were 1/2 the price!!!