I bought a brand-new Abu Garcia Max X combo from their online store and was excited to fish it. I put Lucas Marine grease on the worm gear beforehand, and after a few casts, I realized how wet my reel was getting. Water droplets were everywhere; every cast would create a fine mist from the spool. I saw that the marine grease I put on the worm gear was diluted and white instead of blue. After this, I realized my drag system was messed up because it practically had zero force and was chattering when I tightened the drag. I thought this was normal for a break-in period, so I fished it more, and it has lost me many fish because of the lack of smooth drag. I eventually came around to opening the reel, and I didn't see any water besides one of the bearings a bit dirty and thin. I wiped grease on all moving parts and replaced it with Lucas marine grease. The drag issue was fixed, but now my retrieve is loud. It sounds like vibrations, maybe it's the gears? I was sure to lubricate everything liberally so I'm at a loss here. Could it be I used the wrong grease? Or maybe my reel is defective? I made sure to put it back together properly, using the schematics to make sure I had everything in there and in the right place. PARTLIST_MAX4 X(1Y0069730) (bigcontent.io) I had the Black Max (Predecessor to this combo) and it ran perfectly. I'm not sure why this one has so many issues.

Warranty should still be up, and return policy as well. It’s my only baitcaster and I don’t want to be without it for 2 weeks, since it’s a send in then replace/return deal.

Brand new reel not running smoothly after first day

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May 23, 20242 yr

Super User

I have never had a spin or casting reel with drag problems right out of the box. And that is a lot of reels without drag problems.

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May 25, 20242 yr

On 5/22/2024 at 6:59 PM, ardeact said:

Okay folks I did some research and apparently a sticky, chattering drag is common on baitcasters. I’m not sure if manufacturers do this but people usually put drag washer specific grease like Cal’s or Shimano. There was nothing wrong with my Max X reel from the factory.

I’ve never had an issue with a new baitcasting reel with a “sticky, chattering drag”

you should not need to

do anything on a new reel to make it work right

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May 25, 20242 yr

Author

I week ago I put the lightest film of grease on the drag washers and that solved my issue.

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Brand new reel not running smoothly after first day

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