VCR noisy head drum, what to do about it?

[shpadoinkle]

My Blaupunkt RTV-830(Panasonic F77, let's keep it simple) makes a rather loud humming sound as soon as I try to play a tape.
You can clearly hear it slowing down as I eject the tape.
Just a year ago, it only made this noise occasionally after 10-20 minutes of play time, but still rarely.
Handturning the drum feels smooth and makes no unusual sounds, so I'm pretty sure it's the bearing.
I don't know what to do, is it over for this unit?

[shpadoinkle]

Fixed it. Just oil and grease the head drum using this official guide. I used sewing machine oil and lithium grease.