Welcome back agenthex! :)
the tight seal has been discussed in _the_ original Z5 review (link), quickly read over, still no solution. Some of the sipik68s "solved" this problem by substituting the rubber O-ring with a metal C-ring, but this not only destroys the water seal, but also creates the metal-grating sound with every zoom. if you don't care about waterproofing, if there is an o-ring around the lens, maybe you can snip that o-ring, and leave the broken ring there to hold the lens. I'd advise against it though. Look at it this way, most people prefer their zoomies fixed either in the Flood or Zoom position, so this "bug" is actually a "feature", allowing you to temporarily change the zoom, let go of it, and it snaps back into position. :)
Simplest solution without any cutting would be to just "twist and zoom" to allow air in.