Best practice for servicing Lewmar winches

[dmksails]

My boat has 8 Lewmar winches. I'm not sure how long its been since they were serviced - since buying the boat I've had other priorities. I've finally reached that point on my ToDo list for getting them service and I'm wonder about best practices to follow.

I've downloaded the service manual, and it seems fairly straight forward. I plan to do that this winter in my warm garage. The videos I've seen show the work being done on the boat. I'm thinking my options are to disassemble on board and bag the parts by individual winch or to remove the entire winch.

Is it ever a good idea to completely remove the winch from the boat? I'm tempted to do that, but since none of the winches appears to be leaking I don't want to make trouble for myself unnecessarily.

Thoughts?

[5BTM]

I do mine every year, dissamble on the boat.

Depending on the model all parts can be removed without removing the base.

Get a bunch of these:

https://ca.binnacle.com/p5061/Lewmar...duct_info.html

Wrap a cloth around the winch to catch any parts, some will be covered in grease and only fall out once cleaned. Don't lose any most are made from unobtanium.

My winches are from 1976, the inspector scratched in the date and their initials under the top cover.

I bag mine and clean them in the garage using brake cleaner.

[Franziska]

Can easily been done on the boat.

Just be careful not to loose the little springs and pawls.
Import, no grease on the seat of the pawls and springs, just a drop of oil.
A bit of a good marine grease on the gears and shafts.

Good luck.

[leecea]

I can't see any reason to remove the base from the boat just as a maintenance item. Just take all the parts home.

If they haven't been done for a while it will be a chore to get all the old dried grease out. If you do them each year or two it becomes easier.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by leecea

I can't see any reason to remove the base from the boat just as a maintenance item. Just take all the parts home.



If they haven't been done for a while it will be a chore to get all the old dried grease out. If you do them each year or two it becomes easier.

Agree fully. Leave the base on the boat.

[jamhass]

Cardboard box with a hole in the bottom to just fit over the winch will help avoid lost parts.

[SailingHarmonie]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Can easily been done on the boat.

Just be careful not to loose the little springs and pawls.
Import, no grease on the seat of the pawls and springs, just a drop of oil.
A bit of a good marine grease on the gears and shafts.

Good luck.

Feel free to lose the springs and pawls. REPLACE THEM. if the pawls wear a bit, they can get stuck, and a stuck pawl does not prevent the winch from spinning in reverse. Having a winch suddenly free-wheel in reverse is EXTREMELY dangerous, even on small boats.

Those tiny pawls and springs are really really important. They are not expensive, just change them.

[jkishel]

No advantage to removing the spool from the boat, the winch has to be disassembled to reinstall the spool on the boat anyway. Best to do one winch at a time to avoid confusion. The spindle gear on older two speed Lewmars tends to deform a bit, the gear teeth can then bind in the spool bore. Carefully touch up the gear teeth with a Dremel if necessary to get the spindle out. Do not over grease anything, a light film on all parts is all that is needed, too much grease will gum things up. No grease in the gear stacks at all, just light machine oil. Take a photo of the winch when the drum is removed, don't rely on your memory.

[Jim Cate]

Take a photo of the winch when the drum is removed, don't rely on your memory.

IMO, better to do them one at a time, thus having a "model" for what it should look like when reconstructing the disassembled one.

Jim

[Gary Mc]

I too recommend servicing them on the boat. I get a wash tub with mineral spirits in it, and put all the parts in there and clean with a cheap paint brush. Then dry and reassemble. Grease and oil as required. One winch at a time.
As mentioned, pawls and springs are not expensive, and since you do not know how old they are, I would replace them.
Good Luck

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

IMO, better to do them one at a time, thus having a "model" for what it should look like when reconstructing the disassembled one.

Jim

Oh let me plus that right there

[ChrisJHC]

Another vote for doing it on the boat.

Another good tip is to take photos as you take each piece off so you remember the order they go back on.

Also, Yachting Monthly have done a good video on how to do this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybsq_4RwBJA

[CrispyCringle]

I did all 7 of mine this spring. Took about an hour + for each one. The 2 speeds taking the longest because more bearings.

Definitely dont take the units completely off. Cause more problems than it would solve IMO. I used diesel to clean the parts, as well as a stiff plastic brush and a pic. Lewmar sells a specific grease, that is of course pricey. Not sure if its worth it, but I bought it. Goes a long way. As mentioned, it just takes a light coating. Lewmar recommends you actually brush on the grease, and the lube kit comes with a nice brush. Remember for the bearings, you aren't packing automotive wheel bearings. They just need a light coat of brushed on grease. And a drop of light oil on the pawls.

They are well designed and easy to work on winches. Mine only required a phillips screwdriver to take the whole thing apart. There were only a few parts that were not obvious which way they went back together. Some plastic washers specifically. Thats where having another assembled unit is handy.

I dont think mine had been serviced in a long time, Lots of dry hard grease between the gear teeth. That was the hardest part of cleaning them.

[lifeofreilly57]

I usually do it bi-annually, rotating the winches every other year. I have 8 winches on the boat.
When disassembling them I use a box, like a beer case box which I cut a circular hole in the size of the winch, place it over the winch to catch any flying parts, so far its never failed me in 35 years.
Cleaned, inspected and greased.
If you have a subscription to Practical Sailor they did an article on winch grease, comparing the winch company grease to over the counter grease brands. What they settled on was Green Grease, which can be purchased in most automotive supply stores, just as good as the winch company brands at a fraction of the cost. I've been using it for about 12 years and have had no winch failure or appreciable wear, I've yet to have to replace parts.
That includes the previous boat which I raced regularly, then our present boat which we cruised for 4 years.

[Jammer]

I purchased an empty gallon paint can for a few dollars at a big-box home center paint department and filled it 1/3 full of solvent. I put winch parts in there for cleaning. When I'm finished I put the lid on and put it away. For solvent I use Klean Heat which is a high quality, low-odor kerosene.

Be careful with brake cleaner. It's flammable, toxic, or both, depending on the formulation. Some of them have chlorinated solvents that, when inhaled, end up in your liver and stay there "forever." Kerosene, diesel, mineral spirits, etc. are safer and still get the job done.