aunty, i have never opened a lever drag salt reel before. could try. i would try for you of course.
HOWEVER twice in years past i've tried to tinker with 2 seperate penn reels. and well i never got them back together. since that time i've had many requests to clean penns. i refuse to touch those reels. i recently was told they require a certain kinda tool thing to reassemble them. i just refer all penns to ollie damon's.
Brewer's reel cleaning service is up and rolling. Contact me through PM for info and address.