Hi! What was your screen name on the "other" site? Because I don't recall ever seeing this new one.
Anyway, there were a few different versions of your reel in that time frame, because Abu was about ready to transition to the "C3" family, and was putting some intermediate type of internals in the late 80's/early 90's reels.
What your reel needs is a full tear-down, a thorough clean up of the components and subsequent inspection for possibly worn, old or upgrade-able parts. There were two sizes of bearings used around 1990, the old 10x4x3mm size and the newer 10x4x4mm size. If your reel has the bearings inside the spool, then its got the larger inner race bearings. If the bearings are in the side plates, then the smaller bearings are used.
In any case the bearings need to be pulled, washed out in acetone, Ronco lighter fluid, or my preference, automotive brake cleaner, dried and relubed with an appropriate bearing oil. In order of preference I go with TSI 321 (or 320), then Reel-X, or if they'll be under heavy load, 3-In-One oil in the black bottle. No need to "upgrade" the bearings in a non-hot rod Abu, as you will not gain much with the more expensive bearings - because its the level-wind mechanism's creation of parasitic drag that will slow down such a reel, not the quality of the bearings.
The pre-C3 reels were subject to fairly severe internal corrosion, because Abu never envisioned the use of these earlier reels in SW. And so the gear plate, free spool fingers, springs and all of the drag tension washers were made of rust-able steel.
The C3's were greatly improved in this regard. While they still can suffer from corrosion, its an order of magnitude less likely, IF all corrode-able surfaces are properly prepped with a very light coating of a suitable
heavy grease. After using every grease on the market - and I mean EVERY one, I've settled on Yamaha's green marine grease as having the best combination of properties for most all of our reels. If you want something reel-specific (is there REALLY such a thing? LOL!), then Penn's blue lube is a very close second to the Yamaha product.
And yes, a set of CarbonTex washers from SmoothDrag will make a world of difference in your reels drag performance.
If You wish, you can send the reel to me and I'll go thru it for you, as there's actually more that needs be done to ensure a problem-free season than I can put to words here - depending on what's found during the reel's break down and inspection. If you do want me to go thru it, then you can reach me thru this site's PM system. I don't charge for my time, just for whatever parts might be required to bring your reel to as good a condition as possible.
This is my way of saying "thank you" to anyone that participates on my board. I really don't care to get into heavily rusted or damaged reels, because it can become more a case of reel triage, rather than a return to as-new condition. But you indicate that your's has been a "box queen" for most of its life, so that sounds like a positive.
If you prefer to bring your reel to a proper tackle shop, I HIGHLY recommend Trophy Tackle in Babylon - ask for Greg, who is as good a reel tech as ever walked Long Island soil. Additionally, I find that any visit to TT will require great spending discipline, lest you leave there with your wallet considerably lighter than it was prior. Say "Hi" for me to John the owner, he is a GREAT guy and as you will see, runs a super-comprehensive, fully stocked shop.
If you are feeling adventurously self-reliant - that's GREAT! That's how I learned. To assist with the rather steep learning curve, there are a bunch of really good vids on YouTube that can guide you thru the entire process. Just find the vid that correctly displays your specific reel.
Lep
