Shimano torium 14hga drag problem

[oc1]

With a marking pen put a dot on the spool flange.  Tighten the drag all the way and watch the dot you made while pulling drag to make sure the spool is turning and it is not slippage.  You can wind the line on another reel and look for the tell-tale signs that the line has slipped.  Alan has pictures of what to look for.

New carbon fiber drag washers will grab better than old washers that have become smooth.

I think you should be able to lock the drag down if you turn the star hard enough.

[pitchinwedge]

Based on the responses it doesn't seem a "fix" has been determined yet. 

Similar to the Toriums, my  Trini 14a maxes out at 12lbs.  Seems to decline a bit to 10lbs after the drags warm up.  Line is definitely not slipping on the spool.  Cranked down the star to the point my fingers hurt and I can't move the star at all.  At this point, the star isn't touching anything and there's still space between the star and the frame sideplate. The handle cranks freely. 

I'll try add some more "bearing thrust washers" to see if anything changes.  Otherwise, does Carbontex add any improvement over the stock Shimano Cross Carbon washers? 

[oc1]

I don't know.  From the schematic, it has four drag washers and they are reasonably large owing to the high speed main gear.

https://www.mikesreelrepair.com/content/schematics/Shimano_Torium_TOR14_Schematic.pdf

It sure sounds like the star is bottoming out against something.  Could be the clicker (no. 295) or the end of the threads on the drive shaft (sleeve) (no. 1123).

What are the chances that the star is designed to bottom out against something to limit the amount of drag and prevent gears from stripping?

[Cor]

I ll make a controversial contribution.

For shore based Yellowtail fishing I am a great fan of tightening my drag till it locks solid, that's probably above 20 lb.    Very few of the modern star drag reels allow a drag to be tightened to that point.

So I started to experiment with dry drag washers again.     Smoothdrag sold what they called "Smoothies" which are drag washers that you must use dry.     I found those to be excellent, smooth and quickly lock up as well.    Grinding the steel washers flat also seems to add a pound or so to drag output.    I still use these washers and as far as I know they are still available.

I also tried using dry Carbontex, this also works acceptably well but does not seem as durable and the Smoothies were cheaper.

Perhaps something worth a try.

[pitchinwedge]

As oc1 stated, I think the star was bottoming out on something.  My guess is the underside of the star against the stack?

In short, I added another Belleville washer (no. 92) to my Trini 14a.  There are now a total of three Belleville's in the ()) configuration.  Re-assembled the reel and cranked down the star to the point my fingers hurt and I can't move the star at all.  Tested with two pulls on the spring scale...

1st pull: 16lbs
2nd pull: 15.5lbs

Backed off the drag and reset the star to what I felt was "reasonable tension" to my fingers.  A straight pull on the spring scale showed a smidge over 9lbs.  Quite satisfied with the results now.  Comfortable 9lbs with 15+lbs max. 

FWIW, I think this reel can produce the advertised 17lbs max drag.  Just takes some work to get it there!

[alantani]

thanks for the follow up.  it's nice to know that they can deliver on their promises. 

[Donnyboat]

If it is possible to place a 35 th, delrin washer, inside the star, it would make it easier to turn, now some pic of the fish thanks, cheers Don.

[boon]

I ll make a controversial contribution.

For shore based Yellowtail fishing I am a great fan of tightening my drag till it locks solid, that's probably above 20 lb.    Very few of the modern star drag reels allow a drag to be tightened to that point.

So I started to experiment with dry drag washers again.     Smoothdrag sold what they called "Smoothies" which are drag washers that you must use dry.     I found those to be excellent, smooth and quickly lock up as well.    Grinding the steel washers flat also seems to add a pound or so to drag output.    I still use these washers and as far as I know they are still available.

I also tried using dry Carbontex, this also works acceptably well but does not seem as durable and the Smoothies were cheaper.

Perhaps something worth a try.

Have you considered just pinning the drag assembly together, if a locked-up reel is the goal? Or someone could presumably make a washer that was both keyed and eared to lock the sleeve to the drive gear?

[Cor]

I ll make a controversial contribution.

For shore based Yellowtail fishing I am a great fan of tightening my drag till it locks solid, that's probably above 20 lb.    Very few of the modern star drag reels allow a drag to be tightened to that point.

So I started to experiment with dry drag washers again.     Smoothdrag sold what they called "Smoothies" which are drag washers that you must use dry.     I found those to be excellent, smooth and quickly lock up as well.    Grinding the steel washers flat also seems to add a pound or so to drag output.    I still use these washers and as far as I know they are still available.

I also tried using dry Carbontex, this also works acceptably well but does not seem as durable and the Smoothies were cheaper.

Perhaps something worth a try.

Have you considered just pinning the drag assembly together, if a locked-up reel is the goal? Or someone could presumably make a washer that was both keyed and eared to lock the sleeve to the drive gear?

No that has never crossed my mind.     Would be a too drastic a step to do that I guess as as there are situations where a drag would be required.   Could hook a Tuna from shore or I would take a reel on a boat which is a totally different way of fishing and definitively requires a drag.

Many years back guys here used plyers to set their drags.

The reason for this is the foul conditions of the terrain we fish in with kelp being the main problem.    If the Yellowtail gets his head around to pointing away from you and heads for the kelp you lose the fight in most cases.  With a solid drag and strong 50lb line you can often keep him away from the structure.

Another issue which has become very relevant to me, is that we often fish from high ledges and a fish may well pull the angler off his feet, so as a precaution we do need to be able to adjust the drag.

[borchcl]

I serviced one of these for a charter last winter. Three of the drag washers were much smaller than the metal washers. I replaced them with washers from a larger series Torium, don't recall which one. Probably a 16 size. you could check with Dawn at Smooth Drag, she might have some to fit as well. Coat them with Cal's grease, and you should have plenty of drag.
Regards,
Charlie