Squeaky fightstick even after applying lubricant

Opened up my Sanwa stick completely and applied lube to the joint(?) of the stick, but it still sqeaks in exactly the same manner after reassemby - downward motions cause squeaks. The stick started doing this fairly shortly after I bought it brand new, so I don't know how likely it would be that it's a worn out part. Any suggestions as to what it might be?

Thanks