Hey,

 

My bantam mgl was really giving me a hard time when I was trying to install the star drag and get it to seat over the spring properly. Does the drive shaft have to enter the star drag plastic clicker plate so that both oblong shapes are together, or can it be offset from each other? If I install it offset the fine threads on the drive shaft get stuck and dig in to the plastic plate edges and it feels like you cant push everything down to seat it properly. It really gets frustrating..

There is a trick. Square the click plate to the recess in the star, tighten the drag nut square to the shaft. Things should line up and fall into place with a little effort. Just don’t force anything. 

12 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

There is a trick. Square the click plate to the recess in the star, tighten the drag nut square to the shaft. Things should line up and fall into place with a little effort. Just don’t force anything. 

I was trying several times, it was really giving me trouble. I just ended up installing it off center and figured when I turned the drag star it would align it automatically eventually. If that plastic piece gets chewed up from the drive shaft teeth will it eventually cause an issue? 

Possibly, take it apart and do it right. It won’t fix itself. 

Using two wrenches, hold the shaft and tighten the nut ( don’t over do it). This creates the space for the assembly to seat properly. 

1 hour ago, BassSteve said:

Hey,

 

My bantam mgl was really giving me a hard time when I was trying to install the star drag and get it to seat over the spring properly. Does the drive shaft have to enter the star drag plastic clicker plate so that both oblong shapes are together, or can it be offset from each other? If I install it offset the fine threads on the drive shaft get stuck and dig in to the plastic plate edges and it feels like you cant push everything down to seat it properly. It really gets frustrating..

I made a little video on how to do it or how I usually do it without doing any damage to parts, but the video file is kind of too large to upload. 

14 minutes ago, T2DM said:

I made a little video on how to do it or how I usually do it without doing any damage to parts, but the video file is kind of too large to upload. 

I just installed it again, I left the "clicker" plate stuck to the handle with some oil. The star drag without the plate just has a circular hole in the middle, so I just slid it over the drive shaft. Then I just carefully slid the handle with the clicker plate piece stuck to it over the drive shaft and pushed down quickly and got it. I will have to do it that way for now on. My other baitcasting reels are not nearly as finicky like the bantam when it comes to reinstalling this part and I have no idea why lol. My bantam always makes me work harder..

53 minutes ago, BassSteve said:

I just installed it again, I left the "clicker" plate stuck to the handle with some oil. The star drag without the plate just has a circular hole in the middle, so I just slid it over the drive shaft. Then I just carefully slid the handle with the clicker plate piece stuck to it over the drive shaft and pushed down quickly and got it. I will have to do it that way for now on. My other baitcasting reels are not nearly as finicky like the bantam when it comes to reinstalling this part and I have no idea why lol. My bantam always makes me work harder..

Cool! The key is to tighten the square nut as much as you can as if you are increasing the drag pressure using the star drag itself or with a wrench while holding the handle shaft with the handle assembly if that makes any sense, it should relieve any pressure to get everything lined back up, the culprit on this design has always been that drag spring IMO.

 

Same idea as @Delaware Valley Tackle.

 

Metaniums are the exact same thing.😤

2 minutes ago, T2DM said:

Cool! The key is to tighten the square nut as much as you can as if you are increasing the drag pressure using the star drag itself or with a wrench while holding the handle shaft with the handle assembly if that makes any sense, the culprit on this design is always been that drag spring IMO.

 

Metaniums are the exact same thing.😤

Yes that dang spring never wants to stay seated on the nut. It's a very short spring and seems like it would barely provide any "spring" action at all lol but it's a tough little thing 

7 minutes ago, BassSteve said:

Yes that dang spring never wants to stay seated on the nut. It's a very short spring and seems like it would barely provide any "spring" action at all lol but it's a tough little thing 

That spring is what makes the drag star feels tight against the handle (which I like very much) unlike any other Shimano reels like from Chronarch and below where the drag star is kind of "loose". 

 

24 minutes ago, T2DM said:

That spring is what makes the drag star feels tight against the handle (which I like very much) unlike any other Shimano reels like from Chronarch and below where the drag star is kind of "loose". 

 

Yeah it's a flat metal spring, not like a typical round metal coil type you see in other models...it's very strong I tried to compress it with my fingers it took a lot of force

41 minutes ago, T2DM said:

Cool! The key is to tighten the square nut as much as you can as if you are increasing the drag pressure using the star drag itself or with a wrench while holding the handle shaft with the handle assembly if that makes any sense, it should relieve any pressure to get everything lined back up, the culprit on this design has always been that drag spring IMO.

 

YES!!!

this is relevant to the experience I had with my tatula CT...the spring behind the star drag stopped me up for a minute. I had the square nut on backwards, spring seat facing in and didn't realize it. doing something for the first time in a hurry is less than ideal for my success. Gonna file this away for when I do my curado DC

I managed to upload the video, hopefully it helps.