Question about Pro Gear cs500 drag

isurus · May 02, 2011, 02:40:07 PM

Hi all... first post on the board.

I just recently picked up a used Pro Gear cs500 and decided to have a look inside after I experienced some drag 'sticking' after its first use. I cleaned things up and reassembled the reel (making sure to use all of the parts!) only to find that now the drag goes from zero to max in about a half (or so) turn of the star. Thus, a very very small adjustment makes a huge difference in the drag pressure and it's very hard to back off on the drag slightly without over loosening it. There is also a large gap present between the star and the handle that was not apparent before I disassembled the reel. The drag spacer and dome washer appear to be assembled properly and everything else in the reel looks and works fine, except the drag.

Any thoughts on this? The drag was definitely not like this when I used the reel this weekend.

Thanks in advance!

Nessie Hunter · May 02, 2011, 05:34:57 PM

Hello Isurus, and Welcome aboard...

With a star drag reel going from 0 to max when you tighten the drag, the very first thing that comes to My feeble mind is the Bellville or Pressure washers under the star....

These act like a spring and allow for slow gradual pressure on the drags as you tighten down the Star.

There is a Schematic here on Alans Site..
http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=1688.0
Note # 40A there are 2 "Dome Washers" (concave in shape - like a bowl)..

I noticed the are 2 Bellville type washers in the 500 series reels.
They need to be set like this ( ) so as you tighten they add pressure slowly (like a spring)...
They may be flattened out and not curved from being stored thigh for a long time. So make sure and check out the curve of them.... If they have no curve then new ones are a must!!

Of course if thats not the problem, I take back all the above!! LOL

.

isurus · May 03, 2011, 12:34:12 AM

Yup, that's the problem! They do look a bit flattened, but I had them positioned like this '((' so that made the problem worse!! I just put them in properly and the drag is back to working fine. I think they're in good enough shape to last this season, but I'll probably end up replacing them (and the whole drag) in the future.

Thanks a lot for the help!!!!

Bryan Young · May 03, 2011, 08:33:09 AM

Glad you got it working again.

alantani · May 04, 2011, 09:05:22 AM

what kind of drags do you have in this reel, carbon fiber or composite?

isurus · May 04, 2011, 09:24:11 PM

I honestly have no idea.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that they're carbon fiber. They look very similar (in appearance) to those pictured in your article about the Albacore special.

alantani · May 05, 2011, 05:39:42 PM

funny, because greased carbon fiber should never stick. make sure yours has a weave. i had understood that all of the classic series reels and the later released albacore specials had greased carbon fiber. if that is the case, you should be good to go. just lube the bearings once in a while! not sure why it would stick, though.