A few years back I bought,(sight unseen,a used Okuma surf reel, cant remember the designation but it was their top of the line model at the time. Reel was very "growly" in the bearings and when I pulled it apart found serious wear throughout the reel caused by the ingress of sand.OK the reel had been abused, but I havent had this problem with other reels since I started surfcasting in 1960 with old school reels like Penn, Mitchell and Zangi.
I sold the Okuma for bugger all, for parts

Just check out how well sealed the reel is for wind-blown sand and water ingress
Just a thought
cheers