Slide trouble

[nast70]

I have a 2004 Cougar 281 bhs 5ver. The last 2 years i have been having issue with our slide.
At the end of our trips the slide would be very very slow retracting.
It stared when i switched to 2 6v batteries from 2 12v. I thought it was a power issue at first.
Started running the genny charging batteries the night before, but still very slow. It got worse this year, prompting a very detailed inspection underneath. I found the tracks were a bit dirty, but nothing that would hinder movement. I then looked at the motor. It was getting all the juice it needs for operation. I ignored the drive system, as its a sealed unit. I was sure it was a power issue with the behavior.
After this last trip and the same issue i looked at the drive system again. I found the bar that extends out from the drive system to be super sticky from grease i guess. Ive never greased the unit, its sealed from factory and no mention of user service points in the manual.
I cleaned it up and operated the unit. It worked great. I cycled it a couple times and it slowed down a bit each time. Im pretty sure i have the problem nailed, but how do i dismantle it to clean it thoroughly?