2 of 6 Ibanez SR tuners turn hard: could break?

[dbcandle]

On my Ibanez SR 6-string (bass), I put some TI Flats back on, and the A & D string tuners "turn hard" once the strings get up to tension. I seem to recall this when I had the TIs before, but I had Labella Flats on for a couple of years and didn't notice this. With the La Bellas, the tuners all turned evenly (approximately same torque on each one). With the TIs, the A is comparitively hard to turn, and the D too (but less so). I checked the windings on the post, but they are not so numerous that they are touching anything they shouldn't.

The TIs are "low tension" by comparison, and the string gauges are smaller than the Labella mediums I just took off (I thought maybe the nut was "catching").

I've got the "stock" Ibanez SR tuners; bass is about 5 years old. I'm just trying to minimize "wear" (breakage), since I don't have much to spend on repairs.

Any thoughts?