So far,  this has been a tough little reel but,  two days of striper fishing in the Chesapeake Bay can cause some problems.

Into the second day,  I noticed the a slip in the crank right at the beginning.

A friend and I opened it up and nothing seemed broken.  We thought maybe it was just dirty and needed a good cleaning.  I did just that and it is now no better. When I put it back together, nothing changed.  I thought maybe I had the disc that looks like a saw blade in backward so,  I flipped it.  No change.

Basically,  the first turn of the handle is NOT re-engaging the reel.  If I flip the thumb bar manually,  the reel works with no problem.

What should I be looking for? (besides another reel...LOL)

See if the kick lever that the ratchet hits is deeply grooved. A deep (frame off) cleaning may very well free up the clutch assembly. 

Thanks Mike,  your clue made me look closer at that part.  I am pretty sure it's not supposed to look like it looks.

 

Looks right from what I can see from this angle. If worn the leading edge will have a groove in it. I'm pretty sure cleaning and oiling the rest will take care of it. 

Take it back to Academy 

20 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Looks right from what I can see from this angle. If worn the leading edge will have a groove in it. I'm pretty sure cleaning and oiling the rest will take care of it. 

The kick lever has a ton of play in it for the thumb bar lever to "swim" around in.   It seems as if it is allowing the kick lever to move away from the drive gear.

 

4 hours ago, Sneed618 said:

Take it back to Academy 

Too old.