Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

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wahoowad
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Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by wahoowad » Sun Jan 13, 2019 4:56 am

Most of my spinning reel arsenal is comprised of a mix of Shimano Sahara and Sedona reels, and most are 10 to 12 years old. We're talking 750's and 1500's and an occasional clean and lube has kept them going strong.

The felt drag washer (these only have 1 steel + 1felt washer in them) finally looks compressed so I want to replace them. By the looks of them the 750 and 1500 share the same felt washer, but my main question is whether to oil them or grease them when replacing? What does Shimano recommend when selling them for replacement?

I have some Shimano Star Drag grease and by default would use that in lieu of any Shimano recommendation although I think they oil them in new reels.

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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by ShimanoFan » Sun Jan 13, 2019 5:00 am

Shimano drag grease.
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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by wahoowad » Sun Jan 13, 2019 5:12 am

ShimanoFan wrote:Shimano drag grease.
Is their "Star" drag grease the same as what you mean when you say "Shimano drag grease"??? I did not know if they have different greases for different applications.

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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by ShimanoFan » Sun Jan 13, 2019 5:19 am

The shimano star drag grease is fine. Shimano does have more than one drag grease, but for what you are doing that one will suffice.
Last edited by ShimanoFan on Mon Jan 14, 2019 6:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by wahoowad » Sun Jan 13, 2019 5:48 am

This sucks. Looks like Shimano doesn't offer schematics or parts for my 750FB and 1500FB series reels, and ereplacementparts has the schematics but they don't appear to break out the felt washer as a part I can buy.

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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by ShimanoFan » Sun Jan 13, 2019 6:14 am

You can cross reference other shimano reels of similar size for their drag washers. You can also buy over sized and simply cut them down with scissors or razor blade to fit.

Until you find replacements, just relube and reuse old drag washers temporarily.
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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by wahoowad » Sun Jan 13, 2019 6:56 am

I tried what you suggested about cross-refencing the part number for the washers across different models. It looks to me like Shimano either truly used a different part for similar reels or they went ahead and assigned different part numbers. I am going to go compare the actual size of them between the 750 and 1500 and see if they have the same outer and inner diameter.

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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by uljersey » Sun Jan 13, 2019 7:38 am

Here's a link to Smooth Drags PDF file of available pre made washer sets, or call (760) 949-0271 and ask them directly. You will not find better customer service than Dawn =D>

http://www.smoothdrag.com/price.html

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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by Bantam1 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:25 am

We use ACE 0 for spinning reel felt drag washers. It is essentially an oily version of our regular ACE 2 drag grease. Most of the time the washers do not need to be replaced if there is no physical damage to them. This typically consists of the washers shredding apart which rarely happens on reels used in freshwater, especially in the 750-1500 size reels.

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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by wahoowad » Thu Jan 17, 2019 11:50 am

Thanks @Bantam1. I searched and searched and never found any official maintenance instructions from Shimano regarding felt drag washer maintenance regarding oil vs. grease. I suspect it makes little difference since a bluegill, crappie or bass for that matter isn't going to go on a sizzling 50 yard run on me and heat up the drag.

I still decided that after 10+ years of gentle neglect to replace them in my various Sahara and Sedona 750FB and 1500FB reels. The felt washer was the same size between them but I could not find any parts diagram or part number for them anywhere I looked. I took a shot on some smaller looking Shimano washers from eBay that were Shimano part number RD 3048 (RD3048?) and they fit perfectly. I went ahead and oiled them instead of grease using some SuperLube oil since my existing Shimano Star drag grease seemed a tad too tacky for a clean/dry felt washer (probably fine for an existing oily one). I could see how that ACE 0 you mention being oilier would have been ideal.

Well, since I now have extra felt washers I think I'm set for 20 more years for these little Sahara and Sedona reels :big grin: (now I just need some even smaller ones for my older Pflueger Gold Medalist Pro reel)

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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by ShimanoFan » Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:13 pm

Grease, not oil. Oil can run and get on other stuff.

Oil will work, but grease is what we use.
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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by lifeofRiley » Sun Jan 20, 2019 11:07 pm

I wish these different kinds of grease were for sale in the north american market rather than just the star drag grease. Every time I google it to buy it, links are from either Australia or Asia. Maybe someday in the future.

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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by Texas_bullet » Mon Apr 08, 2019 2:01 pm

I just purchased a small tin of ACE-2 from my local authorized Shimano Repair Station, (Southwestern Parts and Service in Dallas).
The repair guy said he never heard of ACE-0, which Bantam1 posted as what they use for cross-carbon drag washers. Good luck!

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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by lifeofRiley » Mon Apr 08, 2019 9:17 pm

I think you can buy those other kinds of shimano grease on flea bay, from international sellers. Maybe a shimano authorized bike shop would carry some of the lighter greases.

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Re: Does Shimano say to grease or oil replacement felt drags?

Post by Bantam1 » Tue Apr 09, 2019 6:47 am

The service centers have all the grease as we sent it to them. They also have a list of all the grease to use by part type for each series of reels.

You can always call us directly to order any lubricants. 877-577-0600

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