I bought a used Curado 200E7. The condition was horrible, but I kept it.

 

Anyhow, the reel had some sort of after market drag in it and the material was flaking everywhere inside.

 

Questions: I never had after market drags on any of my reels. Do they always flake out? Or is this sign of bad quality? Do they have shorter life span from original and expected to be replaced after a while?

Why do you believe they are aftermarket drag washers and not he original dartanium drag washers that are factory installed by Shimano?  The dartanium drag washers are known to deteriorate and come apart if not properly maintained.

Carbontex are what most guys use for upgrades. I have never heard of a flaking issue.

The Shimano drags are pretty good from the factory but there are better drags available. All my reels I replace with Carbonex drags from Smooth drag, I have never had what you are explaining. There are some on auction sights selling what is supposed to be the same thing, so maybe this is a cheap imitation but without pics hard to tell. It is possible this is some cheaper alternative that somebody saved money on, like some of the 10 dollar abec9 bearings we hear about. I would post some pics and maybe we could make an educated guess as to what is going on???  

Why do you believe they are aftermarket drag washers and not he original dartanium drag washers that are factory installed by Shimano?  The dartanium drag washers are known to deteriorate and come apart if not properly maintained.

 

You're right actually I don't. I just assumed the OEM won't deteriorate. I had no idea this was a known issue. I heard some after market drag problems in other sites. So when I was just looking at this problem, I jumped to the conclusion too quick.

Thanks guys, I'll just replace with Carbonex and be done with it. No need to figure what had happen as it was obviously not maintained by previous owner.

Odd that the drag washers fell apart.  If they have turned into what looks like dissolved cardboard, my guess is the reel took a long bath in a lake.  If that is the case, there is probably more going on with the reel than just the drag.

Odd that the drag washers fell apart.  If they have turned into what looks like dissolved cardboard, my guess is the reel took a long bath in a lake.  If that is the case, there is probably more going on with the reel than just the drag.

 

It didn't look like dissolved cardboard yet. The washers themselves still shaped like washers. I just saw bunch of small bits everywhere in the reel. I don't have a pic and I've already taken all apart and did the total clean up of the reel and luckily everything else is fine. My take away from this is...next time I wouldn't take this kind of chance if something 'feels' wrong with used reel.

Shimano uses a wet drag system which takes a special drag grease on the disc. If the seller removed the grease and ran it dry, it could eat away at the washer. Had this happen on a reel I purchased. I could see black flakes and it felt gritty when rubbed in between my fingers.

That Dartanium material works well enough but I've seen it deteriorate and/or harden and stick. The Carbontex drags are the real deal.

Shimano uses a wet drag system which takes a special drag grease on the disc. If the seller removed the grease and ran it dry, it could eat away at the washer. Had this happen on a reel I purchased. I could see black flakes and it felt gritty when rubbed in between my fingers.

 

The washers weren't dry but flakes were gritty as you described.