Hi all. This one was an easy fix. However, I had to post a couple of pictures of the ''problem'' and the ''fix.
One of my amigos had this 20 international that started jerking as it spooled out line. the first picture is the ''why''.
The fix was simpler than I had anticipated. the epoxy was not deep. I know it was a 2 part epoxy because anything thinner would have penetrated much deeper. I peeled off the cloth drag material with a razor blade and buffed the original drag surface ( which isn't original to this reel). that would be the second picture. Re-installed, serviced the reel and it works great.
the ''why'' will remain a mystery. If I'm not mistaken this is a carbon fiber drag. The reel has double letters starting the serial number so it was manufactured with the old asbestos type drag, which means someone put a lot of money into the upgrade. You have to change the shaft as well as the drag system.
Anyway, just thought I'd share.
Adios
Greg
scraping the surface of this drag washer with an old, slightly dull, knife could "raise the grain" and roughen up the surface a little. with just a coat of drag grease, it should still work fine, though.
Bizarre.
You know what though? The friction material on those discs is actually reversible, if you are careful. I noticed this many years ago, but i don't think i ever mentioned it before. When Penn applied the friction material to those discs, they used the regular two-sided HT-100 material and bonded it to the aluminum disc with an adhesive that weakens somewhat with heat.
So by gently heating the unit, you can gently prise the friction material off, quite cleanly if you are careful and have a little practice. Then you can just flip it over and bond it back. Presto, a brand new drag surface.
You need a pair of decent gloves, a dull scalpel or similar, and gentle but ample heat— an electric iron or maybe boiling water, but that is a little on the cool side.
.
I looked at the photo I downloaded. Either that is the picture i took before sanding or the light is playing tricks. The disc cleaned up nicely.The sandpaper ruffed it up well and after a coat of CAL'S it Looks like new.
These are great suggestions for if my fix isn't good, or, I'll use this knowledge for future repairs.
Greg