Pete and Alan.... I have four sx's...the one below is the oldest and loses drag by the end of the season...I get it serviced and the drag is back...any idea what causes the drag loss and on the older SX especially...thanks!
i don't have an answer that fit's exactly, but there are three common problems that i see with "not enough" drag.
first thing is to make sure that he does not have spectra that is slipping in the spool. i get 3-4 dozen e-mails a week, and there is always at least one guy a week with that problem. first time i spool on some spectra, i did exactly the same thing. rookie mistake? yes. but we were all rookies once.
second is that the drag can get sticky, but that is not exactly "losing" drag. overtime, the drags get glazed and they just don't work as well. salt water crystals can also accumulate everywhere if there is alot of water intrusion. again, it would be stick, not lost per se.
the last problem is actually unique to the smaller avets. i have seen a problem where i believe that the preset knob "slips" back one set of threads under a load. a half dozen guys locally have noted that they will suddenly lose drag while fighing a fish. i think what happens is that the threads on the spool shaft are cut to a minimum and the threads on the preset knob are cut to the maximum. that meands that the preset knob is pretty loose. now THAT i have seen for sure. to check your's, just back off the preset knob and then give a "tilt one way, then tilt the other way" type of wiggle. if the threads are tight, it won't wiggle at all. if the threads are loose, it will.
to fix that, i have used a thin piece of copper from you local hobby shop. maybe your kid has some left over from a grade school science project. cut the copper into a strip as wide and as deep as the screw hole in the preset knob, add some grease (you have dissimilar metals) and see if you can get the threads to "catch." if not, cut a thinner strip until it threads in and holds tight. you can use aluminum from a beer can because the aluminum is too soft. ideally, a helicoil would be best, but i never took the time to find one. if someone does find a helicoil that works, please let me know. you can't beat a helicoil, but the copper seems to have worked so far. good luck! alan
