Lubricated like a spring, but not with carbon (5)
I believe the answer is:
oiled
'lubricated' is the definition.
('oil' can be a synonym of 'lubricate')
'like a spring but not with carbon' is the wordplay.
'like a spring' becomes 'coiled'.
'but not with' is a deletion indicator.
'carbon' becomes 'c' (C is the chemical symbol for carbon).
'coiled' with 'c' taken out is 'OILED'.
(Other definitions for oiled that I've seen before include "running smoothly?" , "Lubricated or drunk" , "tipsy" , "Anointed" , "Oldie (anag)" .)