Mike,
I had an issue with my 3 year old C3 6500 reel last year and went through the crap you're facing with Pure Fishing tech support here in Canada....
I decided to try the US location and it was like dealing with another totally different company ...I dealt directly with the support person who does the reel repairs and after discussing my frustration with how my "reel" blew apart, she gave me an RMA# and told me to send it back for repair at "no charge"....she ended up sending me a new reel!!
It's worth the try....here's the info:
Pure Fishing USA
1900 18th Street
Spirit Lake, IA 51360
Phone: Tel: 1.800.228.4272