Tim Parratt Ambassadeur 5000 User Manual

Ambassadeur 5000 (four screw) service

This four screw Ambassadeur 5000 seemed really rough when cranking. The bent handle was obvious but closer
inspection showed that the spool didn’t quite fit. This was really odd as the spool seemed to be slightly too wide
for the frame. Initially I thought that the frame was bent as I also noticed a gap between the left side plate and
frame. The colours of the two sideplates on the frame were different so I thought maybe the frame had been
repaired at some stage and had been made too narrow by mistake.

The reel foot looks to have been deliberately bent, possibly to fit a reel seat on a rod? Time to look inside to see
what the problem is.

When I removed the right side plate the centrifugal brake pins looked bizarre-like they had been forced upwards.

I decided to strip the line off the spool to see if I could find any clues as to what was happening….then I found
this. I have never seen anything like it. It looks as if the spool has been forced apart in the middle.

It must have been a huge amount of force to cause the spool to separate and bend the brake pins (judging by the
force required to get them back together). I have no idea what could have caused it.

First thing is to rejoin the spool halves-this looks much better but the pins still need to be straightened.

Pins all straightened. The spool is now a perfect fit in the frame and the centrifugal brakes work as they should.
On with the rest of the service now that the spool has been fixed.

Remove the four pillar screws holding on the left side plate. Remove the idler gear screw and remove the idler
gear. Turn the plate over and remove the spool cap.

Remove the circlips and the bushing. The felt can be pried out of the spool cap with a tooth pick and the copper
shims can be removed. Clean the felt washer by soaking in lighter fuel. Undo the handle nut and remove the
screw.