Penn 140 Squidder min drag too tight after carbontex drag upgrade

[spoolin01]

A friend asked me to work on his 140 Squidder so in addition to clean and lube, I installed carbon drags.  I can't find the info at the moment but I'm sure I ordered a set from Smooth Drag or similar meant for this reel.  It has the 3-drag setup.

After assembly, I find the minimum drag setting is overly high.  I assume the carbon drags are thicker than the originals.  For now I've got the handle screw backed off a bit.  I'm sure he'll be fine with a little handle wobble for now, but I'd rather find a better solution.  Can I just trim down the sleeve a bit?  Should I look for thinner drags or washers?  I didn't check the thickness of the drags I installed.

[Newell Nut]

Hold the spool and crank the handle a few times. After good compression of the washers it may work better.

[RowdyW]

Don't use it with the handle loose, it will ruin the end of the gear sleeve. Yes, you can trim down the spacer sleeve. Usually .030 to .040" does the trick & leave you with a light drag. Penn also makes them in different lengths.           Rudy

[alantani]

Any chance you left an extra drag washer in the stack?

[spoolin01]

Any chance you left an extra drag washer in the stack?

Oh no, better check that one.  I've worked the drags a bit already, will try some more after checking assembly.

[oc1]

Or just lap the carbontex on a piece of 400 grit emery paper.  Take a little off each side of each washer.  Then tighten down the drag, pull off some line, release the drag and see what you have.  You can also get carbontex that is 0.5 mm or 0.75 mm instead of the usual 1.0 mm.
-steve