Please help - dropped BFS baitcaster in the stream!

[dirtyceo]

I dropped my daiwa gekkabijin in a fresh water stream as I was landing my 20" PB brown trout and now the retrieve feels gritty and the star drag is very stiff even on the lowest setting. I cleaned it by running the whole baitcaster over purified water, shaking off the excess water, hand drying all the part, using compressed air to really get all the water out, and overnight drying it. Even after all that, the retrieve still feels gritty and the star drag feels like it's on a 6 out of 10 drag even though it's wide open on the lowest setting. Any ideas on how to fix this? I'm desperate!

[a1712]

Disassemble, clean, flush all bearings, relube with the correct lubricants (oil and grease) and reassemble. If you aren't sure about the process, send it to Spanky at the Tackle Trap and he'll get you fixed up. Brian.

[DirtyD64]

It is just a simple mechanical system, I bet a small piece of grit or bearing slipped past you. I fixed a reel a while back that I couldn't get smooth, and it ended up being a small piece of line around the spool lip.

Just as the other post said, I would redo a cleansing/service to try again. If that doesn't work maybe send her in. I would assume it is something small and the Gekka will be repairable.