I suspect that the spring "cable" inside the shaft is binding up due to corrosion and inactivity. You would have to pull that cable out (its basically a long wound spring so it can flex) and lubricate it. My father was a strong proponent of using only powdered graphite on those cables. Any kind of oil based lubricant will only attract dirt and lead you back to the same problem down the road.
The cable was already greasy when I made the change. So maybe it got gummed up during the switchover?
