Pixzilla Parts List

[D.R.]

Mhood and I have been swamped with questions about the Pixy upgrade I did on his reel. The following is a parts and price list. If is not that hard to do. If you have never worked on a reel before, this is not the place to start.

To start with you need to fabricate a .2 to .3 MM thick, 9 mm ID, 12 to 13 mm OD replacement washer/spacer to replace the drive shaft washer. If you use the stock washer the drag stack will hit the handle side plate/cover. The washer must me 9mm plus or it will not fit over the shoulder on the drive shaft.

Daiwa parts (Sol and TD-Z parts) 1-800-736-4653 ext 8

Line guide G01-0401 $21.20 1ea

Drag
Eared washer F79-6101 $0.80 (pixy has 1 you need 2) 1ea
Key washer F79-6301 $0.80 1ea
Key washer B36-0303 $0.85 1ea

Worm drive
Ball bearing (part 39) F05-5601 $8.00 give or take.
Worm shaft Collar G01-0701 $3.00 give or take (Daiwa has them in stock know)


Smooth Drag 1-888-206-4656
Daiwa carbontex #1 $8.00

Ceramic spool bearings. (I use Boca 1-800-332-3256)
$20 to $35 a set, depending on what brand you use.

I would replace the stock handle with TD-Z F83-7201 $40.00, or with any custom handle on the market.

All pricing above does not include shipping and frustation.

All the pricing I mentioned is if you are going to do the job. Pricing of reel repair and tuning shops will vary.

You folks have a good week with out me. I am leaving for the mountains .

My thanks to Chucke and Ctanno for the time they put in to allow tinker nuts like me to play with their ideas and their work. (Thank you Gentalmen)
D.R.

[Fishingboy]

D.R,

thank for sharing. Do you mind posting some pictures on how the modified drag washer looks like, please. Thank!

[mhood]

Thought I'd make this pic of my Pixy that D.R. sent me available as a reference. Again, D.R. put a Boca SiC (can't the bocas and the zpis just get along?) in my stock spool because I didn't want to risk the ZPI CPO301 Mg Spool on 20# Power Pro and the F7 7-11.

[lmartinez]

is there a way just to beef up the drag and how much would this run me ??? just looking to upgrade the drag only please let me know how much it would cost me thanks len

[Cal]

is there a way just to beef up the drag and how much would this run me ??? just looking to upgrade the drag only please let me know how much it would cost me thanks len

Mod #1:

DR/mhood,
I spent some more time this morning on the Pixy carbontex drag upgrade. I was able to come up with a configuration that would work. After the upgrade, the maximum drag was increased from about 3# to approximately 5-1/2# and it operates from 0 - 5-1/2 # quite well. Adjustment range is not restricted at all, and pull seems very smooth (until you get just above 5# or so, and then a very-very slight amount of erratic drag starts to appear).

To get the upgrade completed without affecting the top ear washer, how the outer drive shaft ball bearing seat in it's socket, etc. I ended up using some parts from the TD-Z105HL along with Pixy components. The metal drag washers of the TD-Z105HL are titanium plated, and are the correct thickness when put together as described below.

In the order of the drive gear up, here are the components I used:

- Pixy Drive Gear
- TD-Z eared washer (Key No: 78, Part No.: F79-6102)
- 2 Carbontex Washers with larger id (made for Daiwa Reel #1)
- TD-Z key washer (Key No: 80, Part No.: F79-6303)
- Original Pixy top key washer
- TD-Z spacing washer (Key No: 82, Part No.: E42-5401)

Total drag stack thickness after putting this combination of parts together came out to be 10.2 mm (without compression), which is very close to the original thickness of the Pixy drag stack.

Putting the two carbontex washers next to each other seems to allow the drag to work much beter than putting each carbontex at a different location.

I'm taking the upgraded Pixy to Canada in a couple of weeks, we'll see how it does after catching smallies for 2-1/2 weeks or so.

Chuck

Mod #2:

The latest upgrade, uses the full drag set (metal washers) from the Sol on the Pixy drive gear. Although the metal washers aren't titanium, like they are on the TD-Z (and the first mod I did), they still held up extremely well with the complete set of 3 Carbontex washers. However, in order to do this mod I also had to change a couple of other things:

1. I had to machine the length of the drive shaft collar that runs inside the roller bearing down to ~9.7 mm, to increase the available shaft length inside the Pixy for the additional thickness of the upgraded drag set. (If you don't do this, the outside shaft roller bearing will also not set in it's bearing socket properly.) I used a collar from a TD-X, but any collar from a Sol, TD-Viento, TD-Z, Alphas, will work (and you won't have to permanently modify the Pixy collar so you can remove the mod later). [I suggest initially making the shaft a little longer, and then custom fitting it for your Pixy, since I observed about .3 mm difference between a mica Pixy's and a Red Pixy's available shaft length when the making the drag mods (manufacturing tolerance?).

2. I had to change the thickness of the phonelic washer that goes between the A/R Ratchet and the Level Wind Worm Shaft Gear that sits on the drive shaft. This was necessary to drop the drag stack about .5mm, so the top of the stack does not contact the handle plate near the roller bearing. [There is still about .5 mm clearance from the top of the level wind gear and the main Drive Gear after doing this.] I used a scrap piece of .5mm thick nylon to cut the new washer. The old washer was .9 mm thick and the difference between it and the new washer is partially used by the thicker drag stack.

So, to make this latest mod, you'll need a set of the 4 metal washers from the Sol: (2 eared washers [part no. F79-6101], the center drag washer [Key Washer A part no F79-6301], and the top drag washer [Key Washer B part no B36-0303]). You'll also need a gear shaft collar from a Sol (or other Daiwa that is larger than a Pixy) [example Sol part no. G01-1401], a piece of .5mm poly (or SS) shim stock to cut a new washer, and of course a set of Carbontex washers for "Daiwa Reel #1" from smoothiedrag.com. I also coat my Carbontex washers with Cal's Reel Grease.

The nice thing about this upgrade is that you can also completely reverse it if you ever want to sell the reel, if you keep the original Pixy parts that are replaced.

[Itchy]

Hiya guys, a lil confused on the fabricated washer in the parts list. I see in other posts about the pixy drag upgrade the TD-Z washer should be used.


Is this fabricated washer the same one as the TD-Z part ? If it is why make a part when you could just buy one? Or was there a problem with using the TD-Z part that was later found? Very confused please help..

Thanks in advance!

[D.R.]

Itchy,

The fabricated washer is .3 mm thick. The stock washer is .7 MM thick. If you use the stock washer the drag stack sits to high and hits (rubs) on the R/S Plt (handle cover).

D.R.

[ChuckE]

Itchy,
There are two different Pixy drag upgrades. The one that is covered in this post uses metal Sol friction washers, and requires fabrication of a new washer that goes between the level wind drive gear and the A/R Ratchet.

The other upgrade uses some washers from the TD-Z, and that is the one you were thinking of.

Chuck

[Itchy]

Thanks for clearing that up guys.

Any recomendation as to which is the better upgrade or the differences? Also if I went with fabricating the part any particular material it should be made from?

[ChuckE]

Itchy,
There are really 3 different drag upgrades for the Pixy. The one that is covered in this post (Sol washers) is the best operating one in my opinion. The other two aren't bad, they just don't operate as smoothly as this one -- breakaway drag pull is not as close to running drag pull, and pull is not as repeatable from pull to pull.

The Sol washer upgrade is a bit more work, but having the drag friction distributed across 3 sets of metal washers (vs. the one set on the other two mods) is why I think it performs better. I've done a lot of testing amongst the 3 mods, and even spent time testing them on the water, and the extra effort for installing the Sol mod is worth it.

If you don't want to put much time or effort into a Pixy drag upgrade, the other two would be the way to go.

I've made new spacer washers from a piece of nylon, poly or 440 stainless steel shim stock -- the material is not critical as long as it will not compress. The thickness, inside diameter and outside diameter are what are critical.

Chuck

[Itchy]

Thanks ChuckE, That totally clears everything up. Now to mod my two pixys.

[Itchy]

Hi again,

I found this company here that sells shim washers. They have something that could be used in place of fabricating a washer best of all they are made from Stainless steel. Not sure yet if they allow small orders from the looks of thier order page you dont need to order in bulk.

https://www.washersusa.com/ordersf.html

One of these sizes should do it with a tiny bit of work to them.

.313 .500 .008 Z9808
.313 .500 .010 Z9810
.313 .500 .012 Z9812

One last thing. Is the thickness of .2-.3 mm for the fabricated washer correct? This is very thin like a couple of human hairs. Seems to thin to do anything then again I havent even looked inside my pixys. Thanks!

[ChuckE]

Itchy,
The purpose of the washer is to reduce the distance between the A/R Ratchet and the level wind gear, so that the drag stack doesn't rub on the handle plate of the reel near the roller clutch bearing. The drag stack is a little thicker after adding the Carbontex washers and Sol washers, and will rub on the handle plate if you use the stock washer that is already there.

The problem with eliminating the stock washer, is that the level wind gear will rub against the drive gear. So in essence you need to leave enough washer to keep the two seperated so they don't rub. The original washer thickness is not reduced by much--just enough to prevent both problems from occuring.

Bear in mind that there is a .1mm to .2mm difference in the manufacturing tolerances of the different versions of the Pixies. I've had some pixies where I made the new washer .5mm, and others where I've made it .4 mm. (I think DR found that .3mm was the correct size for the few that he upgraded, don't know for sure.) However, if you get the washers that you identified in your post, you may be able to stack two on top of each other if needed.

I cut my new washers out of poly, nylon or SS shim material, and then turned the inside and outsides round with a dremel tool to get them so they fit and center on the drive shaft correctly. It really isn't that hard to make your own, I even think that DR punched his out with a couple leather punch tools. The material isn't that critical, it just needs to be strong enough so that it won't compact under drag tension put on the drive shaft and will not break. I've even thought of making some out of clear plastic, like what is used to package some products -- that is .4mm thick, but never did since I had other material.

Chuck

[Itchy]

Thanks ChuckE, I did read your post on the different tolerences in pixys in another thread. I just threw that up there incase someone wanted to order them. I will most likly make mine I should have the tools and skills to do it.

[Fishingboy]

I'm thinking of upgrading my pixy as well, but does anybody know where to get all those parts form the mentioned upgrade ? Does anybody sell those upgrades in one whole package?