Trick to remove spindle on Lewmar 30?

[bareboatskipper]

I have an older (~1986 if it's original) Lewmar 30 that I'm trying to overhaul. I have removed the winch and removed everything but the spindle. The spindle will not pull out of the base. After removing the plastic key, it pulls out about 1" then feels like it's jamming. When I look in from the bottom, there appears to be a sleeve in the center stem that it's jamming into. That sleeve will rotate if I rotate the spindle, but will not push out of the base (spindle just slides back in). This sleeve is not on the only exploded diagram I can find, http://www.oysterbayboatshop.com/pdf...r/V2/L2_30.pdf

I cannot see any burrs or galling on the spindle, anyone have any ideas?

Thanks, Chris