Weakened Drag

[TylerT123]

I think I bent parts 5376 on my Curado 200K when I cleaned it, could this weaken the drag on it? I don’t think it is as strong as before but I haven’t tested it. 

[J Francho]

How could you bend drag washers by cleaning?  Make sure they're installed facing each other, like this: ()

[iabass8]

You probably over greased the drag stack or installed the drag washers incorrectly. Unless you took a pliers and intended to bend the drag washers, you didn't do them any harm. 

[TylerT123]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

How could you bend drag washers by cleaning?  Make sure they're installed facing each other, like this: ()

Well, when you install them like this (( or )) and tighten the nut too much it might bend them, they are installed right but I may have bent them.

 

45 minutes ago, iabass8 said:

You probably over greased the drag stack or installed the drag washers incorrectly. Unless you took a pliers and intended to bend the drag washers, you didn't do them any harm. 

Overgreased, maybe.

[iabass8]

27 minutes ago, TylerT123 said:

Well, when you install them like this (( or )) and tighten the nut too much it might bend them, they are installed right but I may have bent them.

 

Overgreased, maybe.

Unless you locked the drag down with a channel lock and left it that way over the winter, you likely didn't do much, if any, bending to the drag washers. They are made to expand and compress. You can bend them back if you really think you did damage to them. You can also add a thin washer on top of the star drags washer to compress it even harder. Drag washers can last a decade without any issues. It's something I very rarely have to replace for myself or for others. If you put any grease on your drag, you put too much on it. 

[TylerT123]

52 minutes ago, iabass8 said:

Unless you locked the drag down with a channel lock and left it that way over the winter, you likely didn't do much, if any, bending to the drag washers. They are made to expand and compress. You can bend them back if you really think you did damage to them. You can also add a thin washer on top of the star drags washer to compress it even harder. Drag washers can last a decade without any issues. It's something I very rarely have to replace for myself or for others. If you put any grease on your drag, you put too much on it. 

Are we talking the felt washers or the two small washers above?

[iabass8]

I'm referring to the beveled washers. These are the washers that sit under the drag star and need to be orientated like so: ( ).

 

When speaking of grease, I'm referring to the felt washer in the main gear under the handle side plate.  

[TylerT123]

1 hour ago, iabass8 said:

I'm referring to the beveled washers. These are the washers that sit under the drag star and need to be orientated like so: ( ).

 

When speaking of grease, I'm referring to the felt washer in the main gear under the handle side plate.  

Thanks!

[OnthePotomac]

Best not to take a wrench to the nut (Part 4863) I always do finger tight.  No need for a wrench.

[MassYak85]

Like others said unless you purposefully took a pair of pliers and bent the washers I doubt you weakened them during cleaning. Greasing your drag stack will lower your max drag slightly with the advantage of smoothness. 

[TylerT123]

4 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

Like others said unless you purposefully took a pair of pliers and bent the washers I doubt you weakened them during cleaning. Greasing your drag stack will lower your max drag slightly with the advantage of smoothness. 

Hm, a ~2 lb bass can tear drag but it’s really smooth, I’ll check it out before winter, thank you.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

You either got grease/oil where it doesn't belong or something is misassembled.