Why do I have this much play in the lever
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The reason why you loose free spool is because the reel utilizes a pull system. when you pop the lever to the right, it pulls the spool to the right and the drag pressure plate is not in contact with the drag washer. The travel in the spool from left to right is not very much to apply drag. It's somewhat of a common problem when the spring under the pressure plate is worn or doesn't have an high enough spring rate. There is a balance between that spring rate and the ease to move the shift lever forward. Also, another thing that could help resolve this is if there is a spring under the tension knob. That could also be worn from being compressed all of the time, left out by mistake, or not provided. The spring in under the tension knob helps keep the lever pushed down so you loose this jumping of the lever as in your videos.