Before giving up and changing out expensive spinnerbait ball bearing swivels : How many try to clean them first (i.e. soaking them in lighter fluid ?) Visually looking at a small #2 size ball bearing swivel on a spinnerbait - it's hard to understand why some turn more freely than others ? I can only think to clean them by soaking in lighter fluid first to see if that helps remove any internal debris the eye can't see ? If that doesn't work - then I suppose it's simply time to throw out the ball bearing swivel and install a new one ... Worth a shot to try cleaning my #2 size ball bearings first as I have quite a few spinnerbaits ! 

If your lighter fluid doesn’t contain naptha you might be better served with acetone.  Changing to a different blade configuration might help.

If the bearing is gunked up, then cleaning it will work, but most bb bearings that misbehave are defective and require replacement.

You can ''tune'' a ball bearing swivel by putting a doubling a piece of wire around one split ring, putting the two ends of the wire in an electric drill chuck.  Then you hold the other split ring with pliers and you turn on the drill.  At that time, a bit of WD40 on the bearings can sometimes bring them back.

In all my years of bass fishing, I have never had a ball bearing swivel go bad.  My spinner baits don't last long enough.   They are destroyed by fish long before that happens.  

4 hours ago, Jig Man said:

If your lighter fluid doesn’t contain naptha you might be better served with acetone.  Changing to a different blade configuration might help.

Just be careful with the acetone.  It'll eat a lot more paint and plastics than naphtha.  

7 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

In all my years of bass fishing, I have never had a ball bearing swivel go bad.  My spinner baits don't last long enough.   They are destroyed by fish long before that happens.  

 

This is what happens to me as well. 

 

Allen