I haven't had any problems with the drag on any of the Sustains. But I do rinse them with fresh water by hosing them down when they're sticking in my rodholder in the truck. But I've only had the 6000 for this season.
I did have some problems when I greased up the first one I got a little too much. They don't like white lithium grease!!!!
An acetone rinse followed by light Penn reel oil fixed the problem.
Several times, I've dragged mine through the sand and dunked them in the surf to clean the sand off, and have had no problems. But, then again, I rinse them off farily often.
When all I had were Penns, it wasn't unusual to have to strip and clean them after every use during the surf season.
I really like the Sustains. Today I got an Okuma and we'll see if it holds up. It's just the little one.