Just bought a Lew’s Mach II speed spool and took it out.  Made less than 10 casts with a 1/2 oz spinner, hooked a bass in the 1# range and had a lot of trouble getting it in.  One cast later and the spool would not reel in.  I pulled the reel apart and the spool shaft pulls right out of the spool.  Not sure if it’s supposed to be press fit, staked, or pinned.  There is no sign of damage or rub marks on anything.  Has anyone ever seen this before?

That’s not normal. I have the Mach 2 Speed Spool combo and mine does not do that. It should be pinned. 

 

If you bought a combo combo off the shelf it could have been tampered with. When I bought mine I saw one on the shelf with a tension knob missing. People pilfering parts off of combos on box store racks is epidemic over here.

 

Return it for an undamaged one of contact Lew’s customer service and let them know. They can send you a new pin.

Taking a reel apart usually (always?) voids the warranty.  Don't let them know you did.

45 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

Taking a reel apart usually (always?) voids the warranty.  Don't let them know you did.

I hope what he meant by "pulling the reel apart" was just opening up the sideplate.

From Dicks? Should be easy to replace. I don’t own one but reviews are good. 

I just pulled the spool out, the bearing/Drive pin was there, it was a complete failure of the spool to spool shaft connection.  They just dropped a new one in the mail, pretty impressed with the customer service.

Great to hear. For $99.99 combo a lot of guys are liking it. Things happen. Things are overlooked. Glad to see you are taken care of. Lew’s puts out a good product. Back in the early 80’s all my trout rigs were Lew’s. 

 

I thought they were were a spin off of one of the big guys or vice Versa back then. 

Actually bought another one this morning from Dicks, they have the combo with 7’ rod for $100 right now.

Lews customer service is excellent.  I would have guessed theyd handle it just the way they did. I like their products and the service just tops it off. Had a problem with a spool from a different company.  They refused to send me a new one. It was either send it in or buy a new one. I couldn't let the reel go at the time so I bought a new one. They sent the wrong spool and then had the nerve to ask me to pay for another while I returned the wrong one.