Hello, I have a 85' H40, and I am going to attempt to disassemble, clean and lube the winches in the next couple of weeks. I have the assembly diagram for the 2 sizes of winches, but I would appreciate any tips/advice on how to acomplish the fist step of disassembly. I was told to use a screw driver and a hammer to tap loose the top nut, by tapping in a counter clockwise direction. Is this correct? Is there a better way/tools/technique? I do know to put a cardboard box around the winch to catch flying parts. Thanks! Fred
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I have some Maxwell
23ST's on my boat and they are easy to disassemble and clean. On mine, the lock nut on top is simply tapped in a counterclockwise direction to loosen. I use a broad bladed hefty screw driver and a mallet (although I can usually start the nut turning by hitting the screw driver with the palm of my hand). A lot depends on when these winches were last serviced as to how hard they may be to open. Once the nut is off, you can pull the drum up and off the spindle. That exposes the race and three screws to pull the spindle off. I clean everything with an old tooth brush and mineral spirits. Lay everything out on clean piece of cloth in the order you took it apart. My old Maxwell's seem to be well made and work well. There are some diagrams of these winches in the Library of the Resource section on this site.
23ST's on my boat and they are easy to disassemble and clean. On mine, the lock nut on top is simply tapped in a counterclockwise direction to loosen. I use a broad bladed hefty screw driver and a mallet (although I can usually start the nut turning by hitting the screw driver with the palm of my hand). A lot depends on when these winches were last serviced as to how hard they may be to open. Once the nut is off, you can pull the drum up and off the spindle. That exposes the race and three screws to pull the spindle off. I clean everything with an old tooth brush and mineral spirits. Lay everything out on clean piece of cloth in the order you took it apart. My old Maxwell's seem to be well made and work well. There are some diagrams of these winches in the Library of the Resource section on this site.
Matt, absolutely NO WAY
should that winch have been "reassembled" by pounding on it with a block of wood. And then it wouldn't work right? No kidding? Obviously something wasn't right. It's possible the bearing sleeve (if it's like mine) wasn't oriented properly. I had that happen. You can buy Lewmar's winch grease for the bearing and gear surfaces but I've used white lithium grease with good results. A little dab'l do ya. A light film to coat working surfaces. Any more will simply gum things up. Use light machine oil on the clutches and springs (my maxwells don't have pawls.) Do NOT use grease on those. It will cause them stick apart which means the winch can back-spin when under heavy load. With a winch handle inserted it's a perfect device for breaking bones.
should that winch have been "reassembled" by pounding on it with a block of wood. And then it wouldn't work right? No kidding? Obviously something wasn't right. It's possible the bearing sleeve (if it's like mine) wasn't oriented properly. I had that happen. You can buy Lewmar's winch grease for the bearing and gear surfaces but I've used white lithium grease with good results. A little dab'l do ya. A light film to coat working surfaces. Any more will simply gum things up. Use light machine oil on the clutches and springs (my maxwells don't have pawls.) Do NOT use grease on those. It will cause them stick apart which means the winch can back-spin when under heavy load. With a winch handle inserted it's a perfect device for breaking bones.
That's not good
Captain Grumpy and I disassembled and cleaned the winches on both our Hunter 34 and our Hunter 40. Both were waaaaay overdue for the service. You did something wrong if you can't tell the difference on the ones you did. Did you use mineral spirits to really clean all the parts? I had to soak and scrub, soak and scrub. The old lube had solidified and was very stubborn to get off. But the difference when we were done was incredible. I cannot guess at what the problem might be with the drum you can't get off now. When my hubby put them back together he was very careful to not force anything. Not trying to give you a bad time but if your results aren't good, maybe try again?
Captain Grumpy and I disassembled and cleaned the winches on both our Hunter 34 and our Hunter 40. Both were waaaaay overdue for the service. You did something wrong if you can't tell the difference on the ones you did. Did you use mineral spirits to really clean all the parts? I had to soak and scrub, soak and scrub. The old lube had solidified and was very stubborn to get off. But the difference when we were done was incredible. I cannot guess at what the problem might be with the drum you can't get off now. When my hubby put them back together he was very careful to not force anything. Not trying to give you a bad time but if your results aren't good, maybe try again?
not much news yet
We worked on the three winches we use frequently: the two big jib winches and the winch we use for the mainsail halyard. I cleaned every part as best I could with degreaser and a brass wire brush. IMHO the jib winches weren't in bad shape to begin with, so I'm not surprised I didn't notice improvement. We probably used too much grease. I'll do better next time. On the other hand, the main halyard winch had pretty high friction. Unfortunately that was also the one that we couldn't reassemble properly. For now, we've removed that winch and moved the rarely-used jib halyard winch (the jib is on a furler) into its place.
We worked on the three winches we use frequently: the two big jib winches and the winch we use for the mainsail halyard. I cleaned every part as best I could with degreaser and a brass wire brush. IMHO the jib winches weren't in bad shape to begin with, so I'm not surprised I didn't notice improvement. We probably used too much grease. I'll do better next time. On the other hand, the main halyard winch had pretty high friction. Unfortunately that was also the one that we couldn't reassemble properly. For now, we've removed that winch and moved the rarely-used jib halyard winch (the jib is on a furler) into its place.
Need suggestion on disassembling my Maxwell
I was able to disassemble one of my Maxwell Jib winches but the other has corrosion that is preventing me from unscrewing the top nut. I tried 'Liquid Wrench' penetration liquid and pounding with a screwdriver and mallet but no luck. Any other suggestions on how to get this nut loose?
I was able to disassemble one of my Maxwell Jib winches but the other has corrosion that is preventing me from unscrewing the top nut. I tried 'Liquid Wrench' penetration liquid and pounding with a screwdriver and mallet but no luck. Any other suggestions on how to get this nut loose?
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