Gave Shimano a call....

[Joey Herring]

Upon further inspection of the reel when i got home I noticed that it was indeed the fault of the drag knob. The part that extends into the spool had melted and caused the wire clamp to dislodge...this caused the drag not to work properly. The smooth drag washers are still in perfect condition. I feel better about the reel now. Had I had the "new" drag knob..there would not have been a failure.
I am still confident in this reel.

[mythosbeer]

Upon further inspection of the reel when i got home I noticed that it was indeed the fault of the drag knob. The part that extends into the spool had melted and caused the wire clamp to dislodge...this caused the drag not to work properly. The smooth drag washers are still in perfect condition. I feel better about the reel now. Had I had the "new" drag knob..there would not have been a failure.
I am still confident in this reel.

That's good to hear! Next time that fish is in for a whoopin!

Mitch

[Sea Draggin]

I am still confident in this reel.

I'm not, at least until I have seen a big fish landed without the new knob failing. I would hate to loose my biggest prize of the year over a few hundred dollars of reel investment.

Its going to be a busy week, but I'm going to try to hit Icast in July for a day, in hopes of seeing something better, for the price, from diawa. I understand penn will play in this price range as well.

[CoolChange]

Joey,
I just got my 18000 F in the mail today. What is it exactly should I look for, modify, etc...?

[austin ensor]

I think that I may sell a kidney this summer and buy a stella.......[/QUOTE]

can you do that?? lol

[WildeOne]

On the back side of the drag knob there a black plastic piece about 9/16" diameter and held in place by a SS "C" ring. If you have C ring pliers and the correct tips, it's a 2 minute job. I got Shimano to mail me the piece and I replaced it myself. Otherwise mail the deal to Shimano and they will do it free.

[Big Jay]

Pfffft....you guys are lucky. Ain't nobody want my kidneys.

I just gave the plastic a workout for 2 Shimano 50waLRS's. Thats a cool $1300 minus the sticks to go with them.

Shimano is real good with taking care of customers.