I bought a shimano chronach back in early may fished it for springers,summer runs,winter runs,silvers and chums,i've caught over 150 fish on it since i bought it,latley when i've hooked a fish on it,it feels like the drags slipping,the drag works for a second and then it pulses,i've kept the reel clean and mantained it,does anyone know whats wrong with it and what I can do to fix it? you would think for $230 it would last a little longer.Thanks for any help.


FISH ON!!!

It just needs a new drag washer. It is a very cheap (like $.30)and easy fix and it is a problem very very common with Shimano's.

People who fish very very hard go through about a half dozen drag washers a year.

Yeah, that's what I thought I needed when my Chronarch's "drag" started to get sticky. Sent it back to Shimano and had all the bearings replaced, as well as the drag.

Sure, start off by doing some in-house surgery and replace the drag washer. If that fails, don't hesitate to send it back to Shimano for repair.

I've got the same problem with mine also.

Fishhead5

Do you think it's going to rain????

i was kinda thinking it was the drag washer,but now my question is how do i get to the drag washer,i opened the reel removed the spool,then there's two small silver screws i removed,and i couldn't get the reel to come apart,what am i doing wrong?


FISH ON!!!

Although I don't pay retail for my chronarch's I still pay too much to work on them myself.
Take it to someone who knows what they are doing.
$20 is nothing to pay for knowledge...

I have six chronarch's and change the drag washers every six months...
I also have all my reels cleaned and serviced at the end of every winter season... and Calcutta 400's at the end of every salmon season.. cheap insurance consdiering the $$$$$ we invest in reels.

well beside the problem you have had with it do you like it. i got one for x-mas and the drag is soooo smooth. you fished for springers with it? what line capicty is it.
tyler

i love it's a great reel,fished 15# perfection on it for springers on the nf lewis,capacity with that heavy of line not much,but you never need more than a hundred yards anyway.

Curt --- After 150 salmon and steelhead you are surprised that your drag washers need attention??? Sheesh.....

Curt, the drag washers in Shimano reels require Shimano Drag Grease. If your drag is "chugging", most likely you just need to re-grease it. As long as you are there, you might as well replace the drag washers with as many fish as you have on them. They are very inexpensive as mentioned above. Right now I believe they are on back order from Shimano though.
You can buy the Shimano Drag Grease for about $5.00 at Ollie Damon's in Portland. In Washington, a Shimano authorized warranty store should sell it. It alone will most likely cure your problem.
The link below will take you through the maintenance steps. For the bearings I use Boeshield which is a lubricant made for Boeing aircraft. It is awesome at preventing water damage and dries to a non dripping form. For the gears, I use grease called Phill Woods Bicycle grease. It too is water proof. Both can be purchased at bicycle shops. Tri-Flow is the next choice if you can't find Boeshield.
http://www.shimanofishing.com/service/lowtips.htm

[ 01-07-2002: Message edited by: Spooled ]

[ 01-07-2002: Message edited by: Spooled ]

thumper,the only reason i was suprised was that i've caught a lot more fish on my ambassaduer 5501 and never had a problem with the drag,and you would figure with the price tag on the chronarch the drag would outlast the ambassaduer,but now that i know it's just a drag washer it's no big deal,now the only problem is finding one i checked both sportco and auburn sports and marine,they both don't carry them,both said to try the antique angler in sumner.thanks


FISH ON!!!

[ 01-07-2002: Message edited by: curt ]

It's a real common thing curt. I've been through 3 chronarchs that Shimano has just replaced for me over the last 6-7 years. Shimano seems to be real good about making things right, especially if you send it to Shimano it's self.
Have also had the same problem your talking about with my Calais. They're the smoothest when you get them but after 100 fish or so they do start to get a little catchy.
Keith