My daughter used the reel on the Kenai river spooled with 20# Fireline. She hooked into a large King on a spinner, bank fishing. At the initial drag setting the King took line easily, so a well meaning Alaskan next to her tightned the grag which then seized and the estimated 50# King broke off. Shimano wouldn't tell me the type of grease I should use; would Cal's drag grease work?
That's odd that Shimano would not recommend their own drag grease...but then again, the reel probably does not have carbon fiber drag washers. I would recommend changing the drag washers to carbon fiber then greasing with Cals' or Shimano. I think Shimano drag grease is a little better for light-medium duty spinning reel appliation because it's thinner and lighter. I havent' tried Cal's light drag grease yet.
The MLZ has an unusual drag. There is a large plastic(?) disk on the shaft that the spool rests on. There are no drag washers. The drag knob puts pressure on the top of the spool.
Sample schematic here: http://www.reelschematic.com/schematics/Shimano/Shimano/SHIMANO%20MLZ-60(1981).pdf (http://www.reelschematic.com/schematics/Shimano/Shimano/SHIMANO%20MLZ-60(1981).pdf)
Full MLZ range here: http://reelschematic.com/schematics/shimano.php (http://reelschematic.com/schematics/shimano.php)
Two drag disks - one above and one below the spool.
The lower may be Teflon, which I wouldn't grease.
I find some older spinners are a bit jerky under load, no matter what you do (ie upgrade to carbon fiber and grease etc).
It may be the case here.
There may also have been a tiny bit of wear somewhere on the braid, compromising its integrity. A touch more drag may have been a touch too much...
Not sure if that's of any assistance, though!
Justin
Thanks for the info.