# daiwa saltist rebuild



## alantani

i'll admit it. it's never as easy as you see in the posts. sometimes i have to take a reel apart 3 or 4 times before i get it right. the problem i always have is the height difference between the stock drags that i'm throwing away versus the carbon fiber drag washers that i'm installing. the height of the drag stack always has to taken into account. case in point is the daiwa saltiga/saltist 30T/40/50 line. i used to install penn ht-100 drag washers, but the ht's were so thick that i could only used three drag washers inside the gear instead of the 5 drag washers that come stock. 

enter carbontex (thank you hara-san!). these woven carbon fiber drag washers are just as thin as the stock drag washers. i mention these specifically, because they are that good....










i cracked open this saltist 40 yesterday. i opened it up, switched out the drag washers, and bolted it back together on the first try. total time was 30 minutes. it was a nice change of pace to nail one on the first try! the schematcs are not available anywhere online. i had to call daiwa and they e-mailed one to me. i hope you saved the one that came with the box. here's the link for the saltiga schematics, which are fairly close.

http://mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/schematic.php?url=Daiwa/Daiwa Saltiga 30T, 40, 50.pdf

here's the reel.



















first, let's zip out the left side plate screws (key #21), open up the left side plate, lube the bearings and grease the screw holes. then back together it goes. 










off come the handle and star.










carefully line up all the pieces in order, including the handle nut screw (key #58), the handle nut (key #57), the handle assembly (key #56), the spacing sleeve (key #55), the star drag (key #54), the bearing washer and click spring assembly (keys # 53 and 66), two drag spring washers (key #52) oriented in a "()" position and bearing washer (key #51). 










back out all of right side plate screws (key #49). don't forget the one hiding under the lever! 










the right side plate lifts off cleanly and easily. set it aside. 










remove and line up the main gear (key #34) and all the drag washers. 










leave the anti-reverse ratchet (key #31) and the anti-reverse pawl (key #32) in place. if they come off when you remove the main gear, make sure the pawl "grabs" the ratchet and does not just sit underneath it. 










here is the carbontex washer on the left, and the stock saltist washer on the right. funny, the stock washer has the look and feel of paper. it also tears like paper. 










so i slopped on some shimano grease....










and put the drag stack back together exactly the way it came apart. i was amazed at how easily the stock drag washers tore. just like paper. 










the right side plate dropped into place easily and i greased the screw holes.










in replacing the spring washers, note that the orientation is "()". 










a little grease around the star.










now for the handle. yes, about that handle. here's a close up of the rivet that holds the spindle on. 










i ground it down with a bench grinder and punched out the spindle. this separated the arm from the spindle and grip.










i bolted on one of my own grips....










bolted the handle assembly back onto the reel and i was done. total elapsed time was 30 minutes. in and out and done in 30 minutes!










i took it down to the local shop and had it loaded with 350 yards of 65 pound power pro. and like a dummy, i forgot to check on the maximum drag. the carbontex upgrade for the last torium 16 that i did had maxed out at 24 pounds. this one should easily exceed that. i will get the max drag later this evening. 

so with a stack of saltiga/saltist "5+1" drags versus the trinidad/toriums "3+1" drag stack, the saltist should hit 25 pounds easily, maybe even more. so does this make the saltiga/saltist reel better than the trinidad/torium line? not really. who would use more than 15#'s of drag anyway? i'd say the carbontex washers pretty much level the playing field. to me, that's what greased carbon fiber is all about.


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## basstardo

:beer:Thanks Alan! That was fast!


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## CrawFish

Grease? Do you grease all of the carbontex washers? I upgraded a couple of abu's that I have and I didn't put any grease on the washers. Hmm.. I might have to reinstall them. Where did you get the washers for daiwa reels?

Thanks


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## basstardo

I'm not sure where Alan got them, but I know if you call Smooth Drag they have great customer service. I've replaced the drags in several Abu and Penn reels, and they've been able to identify which parts I needed through a quick phone call.


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## AtlantaKing

Alan gets his washers mostly from Smooth Drag as well. His Penn stuff come from Pennparts; he's their biggest non-commercial customer! Teo, I grease my carbon fiber washers at Alan's recommendation; I've got the Cal's grease for that purpose if you need. We can meet up next time you're up here and slap some on!


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## saltandsand

A superb instruction manual. Ought to copyright the material.


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## Sandcrab

*Reel upgrade - Saltist 30H*

Alan,

Great article! My Carbontex washers are in the mail as we speak for my Saltist 30H along with some of Cal's grease and other stuff. SD people were great and took my order over the phone.

Sandcrab


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## basstardo

I think you'll like the Cal's grease. I got some on Alan's recommendation a while back and it's great stuff. All my drags have been greased up and they are super smooth that way. Helps stop water intrusion as well.


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## dirtyhandslopez

Once again, excellent. Bible it please Sand Flea.


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## eric

question. alan i got both 20h and 30h saltist.

is this drag upgrade good for both?
they should have the same internals right?


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## Fishman

Defiantly bible material. One question why are you greasing the drag washers?


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## alantani

check with smoothdrag.com. the drag washers should be the same. the 30T is different. 

the combination of teflon drag grease (shimano's or cal's) with a carbon fiber drag washer (penn ht-100 or carbontex) gives you a drag that will last a lifetime. it will also extend your funtional drag range. 25#'s of drag on a 4/0 sized penn 113h is a piece of cake. been doing this for the last 10 years, and i'm now up past 1000 reels a year. never had a reel come back because the drags failed.


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## eric

hmm is greasing carbontex neccessary?
ive heard its optional.


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## alantani

you should try it sometime. works great!


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## eric

ill guess ill give smooth call. try the carbontex with and without grease.


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## Jesse Lockowitz

Fishman said:


> Defiantly bible material. One question why are you greasing the drag washers?


yep, i second that



Jesse


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## Sandcrab

*Geasing Carbontex drag washers*

Alan,

For the Saltist 30H, do I grease all 6 washers including the one under the main gear which is smaller?

Thanks

Sandcrab


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## dirtyhandslopez

When I build clutches for the scoots I work on, I soak the cork plates in oil for at least 24 hours before installashion, otherwise the clutches are jerky as a jerky thing. Front wheels in the air and jumpy drags are the same thing, the plates fully engaging real quickly instead of slowy coming together and giving the desired effect.


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## Sandcrab

Sandcrab said:


> Alan,
> 
> For the Saltist 30H, do I grease all 6 washers including the one under the main gear which is smaller?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Sandcrab


Alan,

No need to respond. I see that on the Trinadad 30 rebuild the lower drag washer was geased so that's what I'm going to do...

Sandcrab


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## Sea2aeS

another lil tip for those doing drag rebuilds. if your reel is taken apart & you need to get it out of the way for a short time. to keep the washers in order put them on a twist tie in the order they came out so you dont get them mixed up.


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## AL_N_VB

Checked out Smoothiedrag.com...and per Dawn's reply regarding the 20H and 30H Smoothie drag replacements:

"_don't have them yet for the 20H and 30H. I'm trying to find out if they are the same size as any of the other Daiwa drag washers, but I haven't found anybody who has worked on them yet_". 

Alan, 

Got yer PM....something I don't know?


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## Sandcrab

Nserch4Drum said:


> Checked out Smoothiedrag.com...and per Dawn's reply regarding the 20H and 30H Smoothie drag replacements:
> 
> "_don't have them yet for the 20H and 30H. I'm trying to find out if they are the same size as any of the other Daiwa drag washers, but I haven't found anybody who has worked on them yet_".
> 
> Alan,
> 
> Got yer PM....something I don't know?


They have the Carbontex drag washers for the Saltist series though... I got mine last week...

Sandcrab


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## AL_N_VB

Sandcrab said:


> They have the Carbontex drag washers for the Saltist series though... I got mine last week...
> 
> Sandcrab


so the Saltists drags fit? Are those the $22.00 set?




> Daiwa Saltist
> Set of 6
> $22.00


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## Newsjeff

Nserch4Drum said:


> so the Saltists drags fit? Are those the $22.00 set?


Yep. Carbontex is $22.00 per set for the 30H.


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## eric

Newsjeff said:


> Yep. Carbontex is $22.00 per set for the 30H.


are the 20h drags the same as 30h?

i have both reels.. just never opened them yet.


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## Newsjeff

ooeric said:


> are the 20h drags the same as 30h?
> 
> i have both reels.. just never opened them yet.


Send an email to Dawn at Smoothie. She can tell you for sure.

[email protected]


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## eric

i did already but they say its not compatible with each other.

so im kinda puzzled.


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## AtlantaKing

Am I missing something? If the Saltist drags are as good as they say, why would you want to replace a _brand new set_? But to see if the drags from a 20H will fit a 30H (not 30TH), check the schematics. If they are the same (and I suspect they are), then they will have the same parts number. Dawn probably told you that the current set for the 30/40/50 will not fit a 20H, which is true. Give her a bit of time...the 20H and 30H has only been out for what, like two weeks? 

ooeric, if you have both the 20H and the 30H, pull the schematics and see what part numbers are for the drag washers.


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## basstardo

AtlantaKing said:


> If the Saltist drags are as good as they say, why would you want to replace a _brand new set_?


That was kind of my thought. I heard the drag on these reels was the bees knees. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.


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## mud

well he did rip the stock drags like paper!!!


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## basstardo

I don't see where that would be an issue though. You're not putting any force against the washer that even cloesly resembles what it takes to rip one. I do like the Carbontex drag washers, especially in Abu's compared to the stock washers because I hate jerky drags, but I just don't see the merit in this case.


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## eric

well the only bad thing about the STT is to reach tighter or lockdown drags, it takes quite a couple of turns on the star.

i believe id benefit from an upgrade, just because i dont need to turn the knob that many times to reach 10-15lb drag, outta the 25, the norm for carbontex


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## basstardo

The washers from Smoothdrag are sometimes a little thicker, at least for the Abu washers, and it did just what you said. Made it a shorter spin to tighten the drag down.


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## Cutbait Bob

The Saltist 30H I got for Christmas (Thanks Lee... thanks Wheat) *already has greased CarbonTex drag washers installed*. I know... I ordered new drags for it. *Do'h.* 

And... they're a little smaller than the Carbontex washers made for the 30T, 30TH, 40, 40H, 50, 50H. Anyone need a set of carbontex washers?


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## Tarzan

*Scematics for the 20h-30h*

www.daiwa.com/PartsDiagram/PartsDiagram/STT20h-30h.pdf


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## 9 rock

why do you rebuild the drag I just got my 30 in the fall my other three reels penn 535 
penn squider and avet are stock also should I rebuild , they all seem to work ok is this a upgrade or a repair


9 rock


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## sprtsracer

9 rock said:


> why do you rebuild the drag I just got my 30 in the fall my other three reels penn 535
> penn squider and avet are stock also should I rebuild , they all seem to work ok is this a upgrade or a repair
> 
> 
> 9 rock


It's just a matter of personal preference. ALL drags will work, but some types work better than others. The Carbontex are supposed to be stronger and longer lasting. The two main enemies of drag washers are heat build-up and water intrusion. Carbontex are less susceptible to heat build-up. Greasing them (as well as greasing the HT100's) takes care of the water intrusion. It also smooths the drags out so that you don't get that "slipping, herkey/jerky" thing going on and extends their life.

After use, tighten the drag all the way, rinse the reels in fresh water, and then *store the reels with the drag loosened all the way*.


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## jlentz

sprtsracer said:


> After use, tighten the drag all the way, rinse the reels in fresh water, and then *store the reels with the drag loosened all the way*.


That is very good advice that I know a lot of people probably do not know. With the drag tightened during rinsing it makes it more difficult for water to find its way into the drag washers. Make sure it the water is a light spray or almost a drizzle to not force salt inside the reel. Also the loosening during storage helps the washers to last longer by not compressing them, probably not to much of a problem with newer drag material but it was a problem with older washers such as those made of leather. I have found that the Carbontex washers are not as smooth or start up as easily ungreased. Cals drag grease is awesome stuff! I use it all of my reels.

John


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## AL_N_VB

Cutbait Bob said:


> The Saltist 30H I got for Christmas (Thanks Lee... thanks Wheat) *already has greased CarbonTex drag washers installed*. I know... I ordered new drags for it. *Do'h.*
> 
> And... they're a little smaller than the Carbontex washers made for the 30T, 30TH, 40, 40H, 50, 50H. Anyone need a set of carbontex washers?


Will they fit a 20H?


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## Orest

*Am I the only one getting*

red X for the pic's?


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## sprtsracer

Orest said:


> red X for the pic's?


That happens to me occasionally, too. Not sure what causes it, but I can come back the next day and the pics are there.


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## Orest

*I will have to try it at home*



sprtsracer said:


> That happens to me occasionally, too. Not sure what causes it, but I can come back the next day and the pics are there.


Even if I copy/paste link of pic on the address bar I get an error "account suppended".


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## Stevie Wonder

Orest said:


> red X for the pic's?


Same Here. I have tried for days... Red X's in little boxes. Not blocked from my security program. Using PC-Cillin & called tech support. Says it is from the site?Others are seeing the pics, true? If you want to see similar work with photos, go to his new web site. Stevie


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## Cdog

Stevie Wonder said:


> Same Here. I have tried for days... Red X's in little boxes. Not blocked from my security program. Using PC-Cillin & called tech support. Says it is from the site?Others are seeing the pics, true? If you want to see similar work with photos, go to his new web site. Stevie


I don't see the pics either, prolly means he removed them from the account he posted them from, the thread is over a year old after all.


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## Rocks&Reds

same here no pics!


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## SmoothLures

I bookmarked this a week or so ago and they were working, but nothing now.


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