you can start by spraying it down with some type of lubricant. keep working it up and down untill it free's up. You will need to remove it anyway to clean the shaft up. The floorboard will also need to be removed. What most are doing is once they get it off is drillling a hole and installing a grease fitting in the brake lever itself. a few squirts every now and then will keep the mud and dirt from setting back up in it.