Don't grease anything - for exactly the reasons you say. The slideout doesn't really slide - it runs on rollers.
There are a couple things that can make it gradually harder to "slide".
1. The track (the aluminum strip on each side of the floor) is dirty or gritty. At one point, we had the misfortune of getting some overlooked kitty litter on the track. Yup - it got REALLY hard to slide. When the slider is all the way out, you can see most of the track.
2. During setup and teardown, are you carrying more weight on the couch than you used to? Is your husband sitting there while you try to slide it? Are you carrying cases of wine or soda on the couch? This will make it harder to slide.
3. On older TMs, like my 2002, the edge of the slider floor (in front of the couch) eventually began to sag a bit in the middle. As a result, it began to drag a bit more as it slides over the carpet. At some point, TM added an extra roller to overcome this problem, but I don't remember if it was in place for the 2004 models.
The solution may be to raise the slider with a jack (easy to do), and shim up the rollers a small amount (maybe 1/4"). Works great. If you think this would be a solution, send me a PM and I'll give you more detailed advice.
Bill
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