alantani
10-01-2005, 08:26 PM
i've got a carbon fiber drag upgrade for the shimano tld 15 to replace the white canvas drag that shimano uses, and you can do this at home. if 5 years of reliable service with star drag reels is enough of a track record to say that a carbon fiber drag with teflon grease will last a lifetime, then i say it's time to start calling these drag washers "lifetime drag washers." i'm using a 2 inch diameter drag washer found in the penn old penn 25gls and 225ld that is just slightly smaller than the stock washer from the shimano tld 15. figuring this out has taken months, but now that it's done, the upgrade takes only 20 minutes.
here's the proceedure....
1. crank the lever back to free (this is important!), remove the preset knob (#9), the cam (#10 and 11) and the drag lever itself (#12).
2. remove the three quadrant screws (#19,20 and 21) and the gold quadrant.
3. remove the 5 side plate screws (#24) and set the side plate (#65) aside.
4. remove the spool, unscrew the cooling shield (#186) by turning clockwise (it has reverse threads), remove the drag plate (#216, 31, 67 and 199).
5. remove the white canvas drag washer. brush a moderate amount of shimano drag grease onto the penn #6-25 carbon fiber washer, rub in with fingers, wipe off the excess off of the pressure plate side with a clean cloth, leave excess grease on the spool side, and install.
6. reverse steps #1-4 above.
7. set drag to 10#'s at strike with 30# mono, check for smooth cranking and good free spool.
8. pat yourself on the back and have a beer.
all you need is a small phillips screw driver, drag grease and the #6-25 washer. here's more info....
shimano drag grease - $5 plus shipping, shimano. if needed, you can order a new handle and quadrant while you're at it.
penn ht-100 drag washer (part #6-25) - available from your local tackle shop or pennparts.com. the drag washer is $6, handling $3, priority mail $3.85 for a total of $12.85. these washers can not be mailed with a 35 cent stamp because the post office sorting machines will break the washer.
here's the proceedure....
1. crank the lever back to free (this is important!), remove the preset knob (#9), the cam (#10 and 11) and the drag lever itself (#12).
2. remove the three quadrant screws (#19,20 and 21) and the gold quadrant.
3. remove the 5 side plate screws (#24) and set the side plate (#65) aside.
4. remove the spool, unscrew the cooling shield (#186) by turning clockwise (it has reverse threads), remove the drag plate (#216, 31, 67 and 199).
5. remove the white canvas drag washer. brush a moderate amount of shimano drag grease onto the penn #6-25 carbon fiber washer, rub in with fingers, wipe off the excess off of the pressure plate side with a clean cloth, leave excess grease on the spool side, and install.
6. reverse steps #1-4 above.
7. set drag to 10#'s at strike with 30# mono, check for smooth cranking and good free spool.
8. pat yourself on the back and have a beer.
all you need is a small phillips screw driver, drag grease and the #6-25 washer. here's more info....
shimano drag grease - $5 plus shipping, shimano. if needed, you can order a new handle and quadrant while you're at it.
penn ht-100 drag washer (part #6-25) - available from your local tackle shop or pennparts.com. the drag washer is $6, handling $3, priority mail $3.85 for a total of $12.85. these washers can not be mailed with a 35 cent stamp because the post office sorting machines will break the washer.