2021 Curado BFS XD Tough Brake Dial

[The Tuna]

I have two of these reels and both have brake adjustment dials that are really tough. I took a peek inside and think I found the issue. The dial is pressured by a rubber gasket of some type. It seems too tight! May take a lot of adjustment just to get it to loosen up. I hesitate to remove the brake control assy. because it's probably clocked to the dial and the two springs on each side are tiny. I wonder how big of a hassle it would be to get back together. One guy on reddit said to loosen spool tension to adjust the brake dial. What? A BFS reel is probably adjusted more than any other baitcaster due to the light lines and baits.

I called Shimano and they said they do not offer tech support, so if I want it fixed, I'd have to ship to them for an evaluation and if they determine the reel is within specs, I get it back in the same condition.

I've read that many Shimano baitcast reels with this type of dial have the same problem. Anyone have a solution?

[MarkT]

I'd expect a tight gasket or o-ring. Just live with it. You shouldn't be adjusting it all that often.

[oc1]

On my 70XG the dial is all gouged-up from trying to move it with a knife blade while out on the water.  That's not a solution.

[jurelometer]

It looks to me that Shimano levelwinds with this mechanism are fairly common.  I would go to the local Fishing Megastore or tackle shop and play with some new ones to see if they are all this tough.  Preferably a Curado BFS, but the mechanism is probably similar in all.  If yours is much stiffer, than you have a warranty claim if the reel is new enough.

If you want to dive in:

The o-ring is only going to compress in one direction.  If it is equally tight turning the knob in either direction, it is not going to be the o-ring compressing.   

That pretty much also goes for any spring that might be providing resistance in this assembly,  springs only add temnsion in one direction.

Looking at the schematic for a Shimano Curado BFS, there is a thread-like  ramp on the parts that move when you tun the knob.  I would not be surprised if this is where the friction is occurring. Or you could get lucky and it is just a matter of loosening the screw that holds the dial in place.

You have to take it apart and take a look.  If you can pop out the mechanism in one piece, you should be able to see the source of the friction, and if there is something that can be safely loosened a little to relieve it a bit.

I have an old very different Shimano with a mag cast control dial that uses a ramp like this.  The friction comes from the ramping parts rubbing). It  very stiff as part of the design (it helps hold the magnet in tight alignment close to the spool.  The parts are well cast without any burrs, so the best that I could do was to put a little grade  2 grease on the ramping spots.

Here is a video with a guy removing the Curado BFS cast control assembly and replacing the dial screw. Looks like it comes out in one piece.

Let us know what you find out!

-J

[nelz]

How about adding some light oil to it? Should be one that's safe for o-rings, like a silicone oil.

[oc1]

I took mine apart one time and decided that the only fix was to grind down and then polish some plastic parts.  I put it off, never went back to it and have forgotten the particulars now.

I'm wondering if the plastic they used would swell from exposure to solvents, oil or water.  Some plastic will do that; like Pann Bakelite.  It has something to do with the crosslinking in the material.

[mikeysm]

A little silicone oil should do the trick.