Spring requires cold lubricant (4)
I believe the answer is:
coil
'spring' is the definition.
(coil spring is a kind of spring)
'cold lubricant' is the wordplay.
'cold' becomes 'C' (eg on taps).
'lubricant' becomes 'oil' (I've seen this before).
'c'+'oil'='COIL'
'requires' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for coil that I've seen before include "Twist" , "Curl, loop" , "Something wound" , "Wind (wire, rope, etc)" , "Wound length (of rope)" .)