Fixed my neighbor's slides this morning - felt great

Good job, thanks for sharing.

Personally, I would tell the neighbor to get another shaft and duct tape it somewhere out of the way but easily accessible.

He may never need it but, for $5 he's prepared. And, if he does need it in the not too distant future you will need to figure out what is causing it to fail. Maybe something is out of alignment?

Hopefully you made a permanent repair.