I bought a Shimano Stradic 2500 fk brand new and have had it for a year. When I pull line off the spool with the bail down on minimum drag the reel slowly tightens the drag as more line is pulled off the spool until the reel is at max drag. I checked in with Shimano and asked for a warranty claim and found that my reel was too old to make a claim on. I was wondering what I should do to resolve this issue with the reel, would it help if I bought Carbontex drag washers and replace the drag washers already in the reel?

Those reel are very easy to work on..  You can go to Shimanos web site and pull up the schematics on it or your best bet is go to youtube and look up shimano stradic reel cleaning, it's all right there. Take off the nut for adjusting the drag and under there will be a keeper(looks like an opened paper clip) which holds the drag washers, and felt pads in place, take it off and make sure the drag washers and pads aren't all stuck together.  These at the very least will have to be cleaned and or replaced.   The best thing to do is go to Youtube and look at the video for shimano stradic cleaning, Ive refered to it on occasion.  Your other option is to send it to reel shop, depending on which model you have they may or may not have parts, but usually drag washers and such are available.  As I stated they are very easy reels to work on, even a caveman could do it. lol

49 minutes ago, je1946 said:

Those reel are very easy to work on..  You can go to Shimanos web site and pull up the schematics on it or your best bet is go to youtube and look up shimano stradic reel cleaning, it's all right there. Take off the nut for adjusting the drag and under there will be a keeper(looks like an opened paper clip) which holds the drag washers, and felt pads in place, take it off and make sure the drag washers and pads aren't all stuck together.  These at the very least will have to be cleaned and or replaced.   The best thing to do is go to Youtube and look at the video for shimano stradic cleaning, Ive refered to it on occasion.  Your other option is to send it to reel shop, depending on which model you have they may or may not have parts, but usually drag washers and such are available.  As I stated they are very easy reels to work on, even a caveman could do it. lol

Ok thanks I will have to try that.

One thing to be aware of is not to store your reel with the drag tightened down. It will compress the drag washers and sometimes make them sticky and uneven. Drags left tightened down can cause the issue you're having.

7 hours ago, waymont said:

One thing to be aware of is not to store your reel with the drag tightened down. It will compress the drag washers and sometimes make them sticky and uneven. Drags left tightened down can cause the issue you're having.

Ok I always loosened the drag on the reel knowing that if I didn’t the drag washers would become compressed like what you were talking about

On ‎2‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 9:19 AM, waymont said:

One thing to be aware of is not to store your reel with the drag tightened down. It will compress the drag washers and sometimes make them sticky and uneven. Drags left tightened down can cause the issue you're having.

I've never heard this. Thanks.

52 minutes ago, Dadof10 said:

I've never heard this. Thanks.

Yep, definitely a good idea. I always store reels with drags loosened, tension knobs loosened, and reel seats loosened.

 

That is, I do this over winter. Not during fishing months unless I'm aware that I'll be away from fishing for a week or so

A little bit off topic , but my stradic needs the gears replaced. Would you order directly from Shimano or what ?

I love the reel, but I hooked a couple big fish and the handle froze up long enough for me to lose the fish. Its been cleaned this year.

33 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

A little bit off topic , but my stradic needs the gears replaced. Would you order directly from Shimano or what ?

I love the reel, but I hooked a couple big fish and the handle froze up long enough for me to lose the fish. Its been cleaned this year.

Call Shimano 877-577-0600.

2 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

A little bit off topic , but my stradic needs the gears replaced. Would you order directly from Shimano or what ?

I love the reel, but I hooked a couple big fish and the handle froze up long enough for me to lose the fish. Its been cleaned this year.

I don't think gears are your problem. 

Read the list on how to set a drag on a spinning reel for starters.

The spool retainer nut has 2 functions; holds the spool onto the drive shaft and adjust the drag tension. If the nut is too loose the spool isn't engaged with shaft and will up and down the nut will rotate as you pull line off, tighten the nut until you have some resistance when pulling line if the spool, then continue to tighten until you have about 2 to 3 lbs of drag force.

Always loosen your reel drag before storing the reel over night. 

Did you oil the spinning reels drag washers?....don't! The felt washer comes with Shinsmo drag washer grease that last a very long time bass fishing.

Tom

 

3 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

I don't think gears are your problem. 

What do you think it is ?

I think your real is broken and can't be fixed, you should probably send it to me!

15 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

What do you think it is ?

I’d check the rotor friction ring, felt drag washers, oscillator gear in that order. 

To original poster, are you sure you are not experiencing braid digging into itself?  The deeper it goes the higher the resistance?  Probably not, but worth considering.

The reel tightens the drag as line is pulled? That's not right... You might just need to replace the stock felt drag washers with carbontex drag washers. The felt drag washers don't last very long, but they're smoother than the carbon drag washers. 

 

It's very easy to change out, just watch a YT video. 

21 hours ago, MickD said:

To original poster, are you sure you are not experiencing braid digging into itself?  The deeper it goes the higher the resistance?  Probably not, but worth considering.

When I pull line off the spool with the bail down there is no sign of the braid digging in.

I replaced the felt drag washers with carbontex drag washers and it has gotten rid of the issue. Thanks for all of the responses.