I just cleaned up a couple of my Revo S's, and I had some observations...

Much like 5500C3's, these reels can a good bit of noise without it affecting the actual smoothness (reel it wearing earplugs to see what I'm talking about). I cleaned 2 of them and had one professionally done. The noise started AFTER they were cleaned and relubed, and I can't put my finger on what's causing it.

The little metal piece that the "sawblade" gear hits to engage the reel is made of too soft of metal. It's worn somewhat on all 3 of reels (had them all for just over a year), and I can imagine it will fail and need to be replaced in a few years.

The levelwinds have a tendency to create a whistling noise on the retrieve. I have a new Revo Inshore that does this as well.

All 3 reels still work as good as new minus the small amount of noise, and I did not mean this post as a bash of Revos. Just noting some observations and seeing if other folks had similar experiences.

I would say that most reels have something similar that deteriorates with use, abuse or neglect (not that I've neglected or abused these in particular).

I just cleaned 4 STXs and didn't notice any wear on the gears after 14 months. The STXs are noisy on the cast but not nearly like when they were new. It got really exciting when a bunch of small parts flew out but they went back together okay with only a few leftovers .

The noise you are hearing is probably bearing noise. Most reels come from the factory with grease on the bearings rather than oil. As soon as that old grease is cleaned out and fresh oil is added to the bearings, you may hear noise at first. But it should subside pretty quickly. As soon as all the balls in the bearing are coated with the oil, the noise should go away and the reel should perform better than ever. Of course you need to use a good quality oil.

great post, I bought a revo s a month ago and will be watching for these observations of yours to keep my reel in check.

So from what I can tell from what I see in the rod & reel section, Revos are noisy when you cast them and also fly apart mid cast scattering parts into the water...

Is there anything else to recommend about this reel? LOL!!

I have 4 Revo STX-HS reels. In two years I haven't had any
problems and I DON'T take care of them properly. Don't know
if problems are only with S models, my STX are as good as new
after two years.

I concur on the bearings making the noise if i back off on the tension nut all the way and the noise goes away I know its the bearings. I try and submerge mine in a good oil and spin them while submerged to allow the oil to penatrate into the races well then allow them to soak while I clean the other parts. I have several tapered "sticks" to preform this with for each size bore on different reels. I add a tad of grease on the outside of the bearing after wiping it off to help seal in the oil and make it stay in the bearing races.