Free ABU Drag Upgrade....

[Railroader]

We all know that Abu reels leave the factory with jerky drags, thus fueling an industry selling upgraded drags....

But here's a tip that came from a guy who sells reels for a living, that will cost you NOTHING. There is nothing wrong with the stock washers, except that they leave the factory with oil and grease on them in most cases.

Your stock washers can be smoothed up considerably by giving them a bath...and ensuring that NO oil gets back in them. I used 409 spray, and then wiped 'em down with rubbing alcohol and paper towels....Also clean the inside of the main gear where the washers ride.

NEVER put oil down the shaft under the handle nut....it will go straight to your freshly cleaned drag washers, causing a notchy, jerky, drag.

I'm not saying that aftermarket drags are not worthwhile, they may be. I AM saying that you can make noticeable improvement on what you already own, for FREE, and that's always good.:cool:

[chris storrs]

also i clean out all my drag washers (old style)with lighter fuel and after drying one time i decided to put hot sauce grese on em(2 dabs on each side of the not metal washers...it was in my playing reel so the drag doestn really matter...but it did seem to make the reel not jerky at all(just pulling out line) at all settings....so i did it to my 5600ws and it does seem smoother...i dont know if its a good or bad idea yet...havent tested it on a hard running fish..seems good tho....

[Railroader]

I would tend to agree with a little lube on the washers....But the way it was explained to me was that you would end up with uneven resistance and heating, and that is what causes the "jerkyness".

When I finally got the guts to disassemble the drag stacks, I did find uneven amounts of "lube" on each washer. I did four reels, and they were all similar.

At least now they are uniformly clean....

Who knows what right....It's just something to talk about until the fish start biting again..:D

[Drumdum]

RR,ain't arguing here,sayin right up front that this is souly,JMHO... :)

I've owned MANY abus,and ALL of the reels I bought fresh from the box. Even with up to six months use were fine,nice smooth drag.. Well after the "breakin period" was where I have a problem with abus..

Granted the 7000s I was using for the boat,caught thier share of big fish,were used hard,and not maintained the way they should be..
The diawas I use now are over 7yrs old. Yes I had them rebuilt yr before last.They still had smooth drags,and only reason for the rebuild was an issue I had with one of them not engaging into gear.. The drags in them have lasted more than twice as long and don't have jerky drag systems,even with the abuse I give them constantly..

RR,I give all tackle a fair shake,and I used abus for many yrs,just got tired of tear it down and fix all the time..

AGAIN,jmho.. :)