gabriel is a friend from mexico. he was having trouble with his penn international 20 so he sent a video.
at 00:30, he still has freespool even though the reel is in gear. first thought, the drag washer and the spool pressure plate are not engaging for some reason. at 05:14, you can see the return spring. it's too long. he needs one of those short springs that are about a half inch tall. even under a full load, i think the compressed spring will not allow the drag washer to come in contact with the pressure plate of the spool.
as far as difficulty cranking goes, he probably has a bad right main side plate bearing. of course, that is the bearing that the spool shaft fits into at 06:38. that is always the first bearing to go.
and finally, cam problems he is having at 10:15 will go away once the reel is properly assembled.
guys, take a look and let me know if i missed anything!
https://youtu.be/RhmhcI9aiKo