The middle leg section of one of the legs on my Gitzo 1349 Mountaineer carbon fiber tripod started to bind at near full extension recently which rather surprised me since I had not regularly had it in any adverse operating conditions to speak of during the time I have owned it such as salt water, fine sand or mud.

Looking at the parts schematic and taking that section apart, there really are not that many pieces within the tubes. Two plastic circular over washer pieces that fit in grooves and a brass grommet which gets tightened on to lock the lens at a particular length. I ordered a new set of the plastic over washers in hopes that this will cure my ailments. Anyone else go through a similar iteration with carbon fiber tripods that can share some of their experiences with me to get this issue resolved?

Thanks!