A little stiff after upgrading to carbontex drags on trinidad 50

[reefmonsta]

Got my cals grease this past saturday as well as some carbontex drags and spent the weekend upgrading.  Installed some carbontex drags in my ci4 2500, one of my stradic 8000fi, two torium 30s and two trinidad 50s.  Everything seemed to go in without a hitch, but it seems like the trinidads seem a bit stiff or maybe tight is a better way to describe it.  I didnt over do it on the grease and if anything, maybe I didnt put enough.  It was simply a very light coat which seemed to be soaked up very quickly by the carbontex washer.

After putting the reel back together, when I back off the drag completely, I crank the handle, and it still wants to turn the spool over.  I have a few other trinidad 50's that werent upgraded and although they do this, its only after a couple clicks of the star drag.  I was very meticulous about building the drag stacks back correctly and even went back and rebuilt the stack a couple times with the same results.  Is this normal when upgrading to carbontex?  TIA.

[Clem]

Hi Reefmonsta,

Just be aware that replacement washers can be just a little bit thicker than originals...My friend had a problem with replacement washers on his Saragosa and that was the reason. Its not an issue on a spinner, you just need to remember when you start to tighten the drag... A conventional is different as it can place additional pressure and engage the spool..even when in "freespool" - usually not a problem unless you are casting..

[Keta]

If you still have freespool then things are ok, like Clem posted sometimes the washers are not the same thickness.  Most Smooth drag washers are 3mm-4mm thick, the HT-100 washers I just measured run closer to 5mm.  

I set up my personal reels to just touch the washers when the star is backed out all of the way, sometimes they end up a bit tight and so far I haven't seen signs of compression on the fiber drag washers.  I still back the star off for storage.

[alantani]

that last time that happened to me, i had left an extra washer in the stack. 

[Bryan Young]

To fix this, you need to remove one of the spring washers under the star or go with thinner spring washers.  That' fixes it.

The carbon test is a tad thicker than that straight carbon disks that Shimano installs.  When taking it apart, I'm sure you notice that those things stick well to the metal washers.  it's a vaccum effect between the surfaces, and that is why they are sticky.

Good luck.

Bryan

[reefmonsta]

Thanks guys for your thoughts, input.  Funny how the toriums didnt seem to be affected by the thicker drags but the trinidads did.  I even put in the thicker ht 100 drag washer under the main gear on my toriums and they still operate the same. 

I actually cleaned each metal washer before putting the new drags in so I know I didnt leave any of the old ones on.   I'll try and remove one of the spring washers under the drag to see if it helps any.  Thanks again guys!

PS.

Clem I am a big fan of your carbon fiber handles, will they fit on toriums/trinidads?