winch maintenance
- Thread starter Christophe
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OEM Lewmar grease AND oil, sold here at the forum store.
If you haven't done winch maintenance in a while (or never) buy the maintenance kit with pawls, springs, bushings plus grease for the gears and oil for the pawls.
Instructional video:
If you haven't done winch maintenance in a while (or never) buy the maintenance kit with pawls, springs, bushings plus grease for the gears and oil for the pawls.
Instructional video:
The video that Gunni posted is an excellent production from Lewmar. Beware that winch grease should only be used on the gears and shafts. NO grease on the pawls & springs; only light weight oil. I use Lewmar grease and oil for my Lewmar winches. I am sure that there other manufacturers that supply grease & oil for this application. I used mineral spirits as well as a stiff parts brush clean all of the old grease & grime from the winch before reassembly and lubrication. It is much easier to degrease if you soak the parts before cleaning. It is best to have a large container to place the winch in to disassemble and clean before lubricating. Definitely don't want these parts to get away from you and fall overboard.
I purchased an 87 Oday 272, and when I tore down the winches... OMG! The dirt and grease was CRUSTED inside. I had to soak the parts in cleaner for a day, brush with tooth brushes, regrease and rebuild. It was not a hard job, and what a difference it made! After a couple seasons now, I am ready to do it again.
The Lewmar products work fine.
The Lewmar products work fine.
I've seen the suggestion to put a cardboard box around the winch for the disassembly to catch any parts that want to get away. Seems like a good idea -particularly for first timers. I took mine off the boat for the job, which made it easy because I could work in my shop.
Any grease will do, provided you maintain your winch regularly. For the pawls, any light oil will do, with the same caveat: regular maintenance.
As a newb, I did my four a few months ago, and found it to be really simple, if you pay attention. Taking some pictures with your phone at each step of disassembly may be worthwhile. With some google searching, you can also probably find diagrams of your winch.
Two important things, that cannot be overemphasized, and have already been stated above:
1) Find a way to make sure you DONT drop anything overboard, and
2) No grease on the pawls or springs, only light oil. Grease on the pawls will get sticky, which will quickly overcome the very limited "snap" that these tiny springs impart to the pawls. This could cause the winch to not work correctly. A runaway winch can be extremely dangerous.
I suspect that any winch manufacturer's grease will work. I used Harken grease on my Barlows, and some very light pump oil on the pawls.
Two important things, that cannot be overemphasized, and have already been stated above:
1) Find a way to make sure you DONT drop anything overboard, and
2) No grease on the pawls or springs, only light oil. Grease on the pawls will get sticky, which will quickly overcome the very limited "snap" that these tiny springs impart to the pawls. This could cause the winch to not work correctly. A runaway winch can be extremely dangerous.
I suspect that any winch manufacturer's grease will work. I used Harken grease on my Barlows, and some very light pump oil on the pawls.
My fave is Super Lube .. and oil for the pawls/springs. Since the Super Lube is great for the head piston lube, I have it on board and tend to use it for everything that needs grease. http://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-21...52182911&sr=8-1&keywords=super+lube+with+ptfe
Cardboard box trick: I've seen this written so many times it's almost becoming like an urban myth. It works, for sure, but only if you really think you need it. How do you know? 1) first timers; 2) if your winch pawls are "outside," usually on smaller single speed winches
Instead of the box, use some towels, easier.
And for many of us with two speed winches on 30 foot boats, at least for Lewmars, once you remove the drum, ALL of the pawls (all two of 'em?) and gears are INSIDE the metal around the spindle and the base. To even get to them you have to remove pins that hold the gears in and slide them out. If you're knimbnuts with these huge gears and are concerned about dropping them over the side, then sure, get some cardboard boxes, but if that's your problem then you might have difficulties keeping winch handles from dropping overboard on a regular basis.
Good luck.
PS - I bought a box of the Lewmar service kit with pawls, springs and lube in 1998, still going strong. Regular service will keep your original pawls & springs almost forever.
Instead of the box, use some towels, easier.
And for many of us with two speed winches on 30 foot boats, at least for Lewmars, once you remove the drum, ALL of the pawls (all two of 'em?) and gears are INSIDE the metal around the spindle and the base. To even get to them you have to remove pins that hold the gears in and slide them out. If you're knimbnuts with these huge gears and are concerned about dropping them over the side, then sure, get some cardboard boxes, but if that's your problem then you might have difficulties keeping winch handles from dropping overboard on a regular basis.
Good luck.
PS - I bought a box of the Lewmar service kit with pawls, springs and lube in 1998, still going strong. Regular service will keep your original pawls & springs almost forever.
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I cleaned my nasty winches with foaming engine degreaser and wiped cleaned. I sprayed the sticky pawls with choke cleaner too. I just used 3 in 1 oil on the pawls and coated the roller bearings lightly with waterproof boat trailer wheel bearing grease.
When the topic acceptable grease products for winches comes up on the forum, the discussion reminds me of the danger of unsuitable types. Here is the cut-and-paste from a major winch manufacture's proprietary winch grease page: I've X'd out the company name. The bold and underline was done by me for emphasis:
"We strongly recommend always using XXXXX winch grease, when lubricating your winch. XXXX winch grease is a high quality silicone/Teflon® grease product. Most other types of grease, including “marine grease” are not suitable for lubrication of winches. Non-suitable grease products can cause malfunction, which could result in fatal injuries for the user and others."
The photo of the actual product on the webpage describes the formulation "Multi-Purpose Silicon/Teflon Grease".
Several years ago when trying to decide whether to re-grease my winches with a product that I already had on hand, I found on a winch manufacturer's website a link to the MSDS sheet for their brand of winch grease. Going to it, the MSDS was under the logo of a bulk supplier. The grease type was formulated primarily for use on/with food processing machinery. So didn't look like the lubricant in a winch manufacture's tube is any proprietary formulation for "sailboat winches only". But considering that a tube of Lewmar or Harken or Andersen grease is only the price of a six-pack of micro-brew beer, and that the tube should last for years and years of winch maintenence, that is probably the way to go.
"We strongly recommend always using XXXXX winch grease, when lubricating your winch. XXXX winch grease is a high quality silicone/Teflon® grease product. Most other types of grease, including “marine grease” are not suitable for lubrication of winches. Non-suitable grease products can cause malfunction, which could result in fatal injuries for the user and others."
The photo of the actual product on the webpage describes the formulation "Multi-Purpose Silicon/Teflon Grease".
Several years ago when trying to decide whether to re-grease my winches with a product that I already had on hand, I found on a winch manufacturer's website a link to the MSDS sheet for their brand of winch grease. Going to it, the MSDS was under the logo of a bulk supplier. The grease type was formulated primarily for use on/with food processing machinery. So didn't look like the lubricant in a winch manufacture's tube is any proprietary formulation for "sailboat winches only". But considering that a tube of Lewmar or Harken or Andersen grease is only the price of a six-pack of micro-brew beer, and that the tube should last for years and years of winch maintenence, that is probably the way to go.
Card box trick. Cut the box to right height. Cut a hole in centre and slot over the winch. Tape any gaps between box base around the hole and coach roof. Now you have a bundwall around your winch to contain any small stuff dropping while dismantling.
I bought a tub of ordinary white lithium grease probably 10 years ago and use it for just about every mechanical lubricating job around the boat, including my self-tailing winches. I use plain old sewing machine oil for the springs and pawls. I think I have about a 1/4 of the tub left. Sometimes "marine grade" is worth it. Sometimes it's not. Use whatever works for you.
thanks for all of your input. I experimented with lithium grease on one then broke down and bought lewmar grease for the others. We will see what happens.
When looking at lubricating sailboat parts its important to remember that its possible to make something TOO SLIPPERY.
Too slippery and a part designed to roll will just slide. Then it will flat spot and soon fail. Use what the manufacture of your gear recommends.
Too slippery and a part designed to roll will just slide. Then it will flat spot and soon fail. Use what the manufacture of your gear recommends.