daiwa saltist 40 - the easiest drag upgrade ever

i'll admit it.  it's never as easy as you see in the posts.  sometimes i have to take a reel apart 3 or 4 times before i get it right.  the problem i always have is the height difference between the stock drags that i'm throwing away versus the carbon fiber drag washers that i'm installing.  the height of the drag stack always has to taken into account.  case in point is the daiwa saltiga/saltist 30T/40/50 line.  i used to install penn ht-100 drag washers, but the ht's were so thick that i could only used three drag washers inside the gear instead of the 5 drag washers that come stock.

enter carbontex (thank you hara-san!).  these woven carbon fiber drag washers are just as thin as the stock drag washers.  i mention these specifically, because they are that good....



i cracked open this saltist 40 yesterday.  i opened it up, switched out the drag washers, and bolted it back together on the first try.  total time was 30 minutes.   it was a nice change of pace to nail one on the first try!   the schematcs are not available anywhere online. i had to call daiwa and they e-mailed one to me.  i hope you saved the one that came with the box.  here's the link for the saltiga schematics, which are fairly close.

http://mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/schematic.php?url=Daiwa/Daiwa%20Saltiga%2030T,%2040,%2050.pdf

here's the reel.





first, let's zip out the left side plate screws (key #21), open up the left side plate, lube the bearings and grease the screw holes.  then back together it goes. 



off come the handle and star.



carefully line up all the pieces in order, including the handle nut screw (key #58), the handle nut (key #57), the handle assembly (key #56), the spacing sleeve (key #55), the star drag (key #54), the bearing washer and click spring assembly (keys # 53 and 66), two drag spring washers (key #52) oriented in a "()" position and bearing washer (key #51). 



back out all of right side plate screws (key #49).  don't forget the one hiding under the lever! 



the right side plate lifts off cleanly and easily.  set it aside. 



remove and line up the main gear (key #34) and all the drag washers. 



leave the anti-reverse ratchet (key #31) and the anti-reverse pawl (key #32) in place.  if they come off when you remove the main gear, make sure the pawl "grabs" the ratchet and does not just sit underneath it. 



here is the carbontex washer on the left, and the stock saltist washer on the right.  funny, the stock washer has the look and feel of paper.  it also tears like paper. 



so i slopped on some shimano grease....



and put the drag stack back together exactly the way it came apart.  i was amazed at how easily the stock drag washers tore.  just like paper. 



the right side plate dropped into place easily and i greased the screw holes.



in replacing the spring washers, note that the orientation is "()".



a little grease around the star.



now for the handle.  yes, about that handle.  here's a close up of the rivet that holds the spindle on.



i ground it down with a bench grinder and punched out the spindle.  this separated the arm from the spindle and grip.



i bolted on one of my own grips....



bolted the handle assembly back onto the reel and i was done.  total elapsed time was 30 minutes.  in and out and done in 30 minutes!



i took it down to the local shop and had it loaded with 350 yards of 65 pound power pro.  and like a dummy, i forgot to check on the maximum drag.  the carbontex upgrade for the last torium 16 that i did had maxed out at 24 pounds.  this one should easily exceed that.  i will get the max drag later this evening. 

so with a stack of saltiga/saltist "5+1" drags versus the trinidad/toriums "3+1" drag stack, the saltist should hit 25 pounds easily, maybe even more.  so does this make the saltiga/saltist reel better than the trinidad/torium line?  not really.  who would use more than 15#'s of drag anyway?   i'd say the carbontex washers pretty much level the playing field.  to me, that's what greased carbon fiber is all about. 

Thanks again.... Alan.  I've been hearing lots of good things about the Daiwa's Saltiga and the new Saltist.  You opinion es muy importante! 

BTW.... Charkbait put out this side-by-side comparison between the Shimano's Torium and Daiwa's new counterpart - the Saltist.
http://www.charkbait.com/specialsFH2.htm
http://www.charkbait.com/cs/images/rodsnreels/Compare/Daiwa_Shimano_compare1.jpg

Alan, what are your thoughts on one of SoCal's favorite casting and yo-yo jigging reels --- Daiwa Sealine X SLHA line????
Any teardown\upgrade photos photos?

after the carbontex drag upgrades, i would call these two reels equivalent.  i fished the saltist 30T with a stack of three penn ht-100 drag washers on a 10 day trip two years ago.   great reel.  that would be my personal choice.  with the drag and handle upgrade, you'd never know the difference. 

as for the sealine, i think they're a great bargain.  drag and handle upgrades are helpful as well.