Can I fix this winch?

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R

Rich

I have a Lewmar ST40 on my 376 that is used for the main halyard and main sheet. My tail of woe is that the winch started giving me a side to side rocking motion while grinding one day so I broke it down. I discovered that one of the gear spindles had popped up and actually bent. After several tries I managed to get the appropriate replacement from Lewmawr, cleaned and serviced the winch and reassembled. Next time out...same thing. Took it to a Lewmar dealer and had them replace the spindle and service the winch(just to make sure I was doing it right). You guessed it only this time the entire line cleat broke apart and the self tailer bent. Spent the bucks to replace all of those pieces and have re-built the thing again. I can tell already it's still not right. It does not operate smoothly and the internal gears fit together loosely at best. There were also a lot of metal shavings inside of the winch when I took it apart. Has anyone had this happen? Any solutions or is it time to just scrap this thing. It's less than 4 years old but I've already spent over $200 on parts and repairs and right now it makes an interesting doorstop. It's just too big to be a paperweight.
 
S

Steve O.

bad winch

Sounds like you got a bad winch from the git-go, unless its being overloaded. I would get in touch with Lewmar, explain the situation and maybe they will help you. Its worth a try.
 
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Tim Schaaf

agree with Steve

Must be a bad winch. It certainly should not be overloaded! For example, the primaries on my 33 are also Lewmar 40's, and I am sure the load is way more than your halyard. They are 21 years old and going strong.
 
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