Facnor SD 165 Furling Drum

[nigel1]

Good day, my first post, so hello all, and a plea for advise.

The inner forestay on my boat is fitted with a Facnor SD 165 furling system. When I purchased the boat, the inner forestay had been in storage for about 4 years, but I had it re-rigged.
At the time I noted the drum unit was not turning easily, not rough by any means, but stiff, which has eased with use, but nowhere near as free turning as it should be.

I plan to strip the drum down and rebuild. I contacted the UK distributers, but they advise me that parts are no longer supplied by Facnor. However, I believe the bearings used in this unit are sealed stainless steel ball bearings, with lip seals fitted to keep watertight. My guess is that these parts should be available from a bearing supplier.

Question is, has anyone stripped one of these drums down, and can confirm the above??

Any advise would be appreciated

Cheers