drag issue Okuma baitcaster

[BassSteve]

hey,

 

so I bought a fairly inexpensive reel to play around with by Okuma. I took it apart to add my grease/oil to the proper parts and put a thin coat of grease on the two drag washers. I noticed even with the drag tightened all the way down, I can still pull line out by hand pretty easily. I made sure to cinch down the knot tight to the spool and put a piece of tape over the knot as I always do, so I'm confident the line is not slipping around the spool. I also made sure the drag spring washers are facing the proper direction ( ).

 

I tried to land a fish with the drag tightened and when I went to set the hook with a side swipe motion, the drag slipped and of course the fish threw the hook and got away..

 

I noticed the drag washers are not of the carbon type, they feel very smooth like almost rubbery, and they are blue in color....is it possible the drag is slipping because this type of drag washer is not supposed to have any grease on it? please if you have any other ideas what might be wrong let me know. thanks 

 

 

[bulldog1935]

Blue drag washers may be resin-bonded alumina abrasive, which is definitely intended to run Dry.  My surf Ambassadeurs get these, sold by Valleyhill as B-Trap drag washers.  When properly used dry, they double the drag capacity over carbontex.  (Easy way to get big drag numbers on paper)

 

Carbontex should get drag grease, but a whole lot less than most consider.  The main thing is to get grease on the thin I.D. and O.D. edges, but you generally want to remove everything you can - all you need is the thinnest tenacious film.  

 

From where you're at, may want to find a Carbontex vendor who can match your reel.  But I would consider the grease-soaked blue abrasive drag washers shot now.  

If you go back for OEM parts, take an alcohol q-tip to the main gear and metal surfaces exposed to the drag grease.  

[BassSteve]

15 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Blue drag washers may be silicon-carbide abrasive, which is definitely intended to run Dry.  

My surf Ambassadeurs use these, sold by Valleyhill as B-Trap drag washers.  

When properly used dry, they double the drag capacity over carbontex.  

 

Carbontex should get drag grease, but a whole lot less than most consider.  The main thing is to get grease on the thin I.D. and O.D. edges, but you generally want to remove everything you can - all you need is the thinnest tenacious film.  

 

From where you're at, may want to find a Carbontex vendor who can match your reel.  

But I would consider the blue SiC drag washers shot now.  

the washers are smooth on the outside and in between the layers it looks like an inner layer of felt or something. so even if I remove them and try to wipe them down of the grease there is no way to "restore" them?

[bulldog1935]

no, you need to replace them - either swap for carbontex or replace with OEM and take an alcohol q-tip to the mating metal surfaces.  

 

@BassSteve ps - the composition is used in abrasive cut-off wheels.  

The mat layer you're describing sounds like they punched the washers from fiber-reinforced cut-off wheel.  The blue B-trap washers are the same abrasive compound, but punched from resin-bonded cut-off wheel.  

[BassSteve]

7 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

no, you need to replace them - either swap for carbontex or replace with OEM and take an alcohol q-tip to the mating metal surfaces.  

 

@BassSteve ps - the composition is used in abrasive cut-off wheels.  

The mat layer you're describing sounds they punched the washers from fiber-reinforced cut-off wheel.  The blue B-trap washers are the same abrasive composition, but punched from resin-bonded cut-off wheel.  

so by me adding a thin later of grease I basically ruined any good gripping power....that's just great. lol the reel just arrived 2 days ago and already i ruined the drag

[bulldog1935]

Before you chase replacement drag washers, one thing to try.  

Soak the greased OEM washers in alcohol for an hour, and let them dry completely.  

[BassSteve]

53 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Before you chase replacement drag washers, one thing to try.  

Soak the greased OEM washers in alcohol for an hour, and let them dry completely.  

is rubbing alcohol ok? or nail polish remover?

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

Before you chase replacement drag washers, one thing to try.  

Soak the greased OEM washers in alcohol for an hour, and let them dry completely.  

Here is what they look like 

[bulldog1935]

Nail polish remover can have higher-order solvents, including MEK, which dissolves polar organics.  

I'd go with the rubbing alcohol, which will only dissolve paraffins.  

Other light solvents are hexane and ethanol.  

[BassSteve]

Just now, bulldog1935 said:

Nail polish remover can have higher-order solvents, including MEK, which dissolves polar organics.  

I'd go with the rubbing alcohol, which will only dissolve paraffins.  

Other light solvents are hexane and ethanol.  

I'm using 50% isopropyl  alcohol rubbing alcohol is this ok?

[bulldog1935]

The other 50% is water - higher content, like 94% would be better.  

If you can hold out for a hardware store, you can get denatured alcohol (iso-ethanol) or hexane.  

[BassSteve]

Just now, bulldog1935 said:

The other 50% is water - higher content, like 94% would be better.  

If you can hold out for a hardware store, you can get denatured alcohol (iso-ethanol) or hexane.  

would mineral spirits or paint thinner be too harsh?

[bulldog1935]

Mineral spirits "clean deeper" and don't flash away as quickly.  If you use either, you will always smell a residue - that's what I use for bicycle chains.  

Denatured alcohol is really good to have around for cleaning reel parts.  

[BassSteve]

1 minute ago, bulldog1935 said:

Mineral spirits "clean deeper" and don't flash away as quickly.  If you use either, you will always smell a residue - that's what I use for bicycle chains.  

Denatured alcohol is really good to have around for cleaning reel parts.  

ok i understand thanks a lot for your help. even if the washers can't be saved completely, do you think soaking them in alcohol will make them perform a little bit better for now?

[bulldog1935]

you're simply trying to get rid of the grease, which is a paraffin.  

DA is the best choice.  

[BassSteve]

2 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

you're simply trying to get rid of the grease, which is a paraffin.  

DA is the best choice.  

ok thanks again 

[BassSteve]

8 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

you're simply trying to get rid of the grease, which is a paraffin.  

DA is the best choice.  

hey just FYI the drag does seem better than before, not tight tight but pretty good. I may just order carbon ones for good measure anyway. thanks again for your help

[BassSteve]

On 10/27/2024 at 8:01 AM, bulldog1935 said:

Before you chase replacement drag washers, one thing to try.  

Soak the greased OEM washers in alcohol for an hour, and let them dry completely.  

hey just an update...I installed new carbontex drag washers and was hoping for the best. even with the drag tightened down I can still pull out line without much effort 😐 the spool has 12lb mono on it, and i know it's not slipping around the spool. the two tension washers behind the drag star are installed in the correct orientation ( ). unless there might be something else going on the reel might be defective in some way or missing something

I just realized the reel is missing one of these E5 washers! Would that cause the issue not allowing the right amount of pressure to tighten the drag properly if this washer was missing? 

This one is missing 

[bulldog1935]

Yes, there should be a pancake there of abrasive (or carbontex), metal washer, carbontex, metal washer, etc.  

Missing one both reduces total drag power and even the missing thickness in the drag stack may run out of star washer thread travel.  

I often add brass washer above drag stack on Ambassadeur for a shim to need less crank on the star washer to get the same drag result.  

[BassSteve]

10 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Yes, there should be a pancake there of abrasive (or carbontex), metal washer, carbontex, metal washer, etc.  

Missing one both reduces total drag power and even the missing thickness in the drag stack may run out of star washer thread travel.  

I often add brass washer above drag stack on Ambassadeur for a shim to need less crank on the star washer to get the same drag result.  

my particular reel only has two drag washers, the one that sits inside the gear and the smaller one below the gear. it does not have a stack of several metal and carbon washers. even my shimano baitcasters only have two carbon drag washers. do you think I should try and find a metal washer that will work or just buy a new reel and not go through the trouble. it's a cool reel but it was only $80...

[bulldog1935]

Carbontex may give you less drag than the blue alumina abrasive (likely)

You can always try adding a 0.5-mm or 1.0-mm brass washer just below the star drag for a shim.  

[BassSteve]

52 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Carbontex may give you less drag than the blue alumina abrasive (likely)

You can always try adding a 0.5-mm or 1.0-mm brass washer just below the star drag for a shim.  

I dont know where to even find a correct washer for it, I just went ahead and purchased the reel again. I will use the other one for spare parts i guess. Hopefully I won't get another dud from the factory 

[J Francho]

You can try to get the part from Okuma:

 

https://www.okumafishing.com/en/page/Customer-care/Customer-care.html

[BassSteve]

21 minutes ago, J Francho said:

You can try to get the part from Okuma:

 

https://www.okumafishing.com/en/page/Customer-care/Customer-care.html

yeah I appreciate it but I just went ahead and bought another reel. very unlikely the reel will be defective or missing parts a second time in a row 

[VolFan]

Did you try it before you took it apart? 

[BassSteve]

Just now, VolFan said:

Did you try it before you took it apart? 

yes that's how I noticed the drag was very weak. once I took it apart I saw the drag spring washers were not in the correct orientation, they were like this (( instead of ( ) or )(.   even after correcting that and purchasing carbon drag washers, the drag still remains weak. the reel is defective in some way so I just purchased another one no big deal