Decades ago,I inherited a family gun, a Remington Model 11. Same design and patents. Having learned a few things over the course of life, I took it to a gunsmith I trusted. He took the thing apart, cleaned and lubed everything, put in all new springs,calling it the 10,000 round rebuild. Total cost, about $20 then, including the springs, which were for the A-5. Outside of an occasional feeding problem where it would fail to pick up the next round,it worked perfectly, after who knows how many rounds and abuse.
I suggest taking it to a good smith for cleaning and checking out. New springs are cheap insurance, and the smith can explain how to set the friction rings up.
Note, if it's old,and it sounds the same, have the smith check the chamber to see what length it is. Some very old A-5s may have short chambers, like 2 9/16". And, 3 inch chambers are recent additions, so check that out also.