Sticky Winch

[lans0012]

Hey all. One of the Barient winches on my boat spins freely in cold weather and sticks like crazy when it is warmer than 60 degrees. I took the drum off and regreased it. That didn't work. I swapped out the drums to see if it was the drum or post. The drums work fine on the starbord post but neither of the drums spin freely on the port post. It seems like the post must have gotten out of round somehow or something like that, and the cooler weather contracts and so it spins with less friction.

I use these for my jib sheets on a 22' sailboat. I don't know what size or model they are. I can find out though. I'm not sure I'm using the right vocabulary so if you need to correct me please do. The post looks like aluminum. It is a dark grey. The drums are stainless I believe.

What are my options here.

Thanks

[sailingfool]

Check the operation of the pawls...if they have any grease in them they may lock up when cold. The pawls should be treated only with a light oil...no grease. Be sure their springs are in place and working.

[AllThumbs]

I might try sanding the post with fine sandpaper until it's a little looser. The fact that is free when it's cold means it's really close, so it shouldn't take much. Use fine sandpaper, I would say 320 or 400. Cut a long strip 2" wide. Work it back and forth with an end in each hand, moving around the post. You could clean the post first then "colour" it with a magic marker. Put the winch on and spin it. Remove the winch. The ink will be removed where it's tight. Sand those areas.

Eric

[NOLAsailing]

It's hard to say. The best advice I can give is to remove the winches from the boat, give them a very good cleaning, and reinstall.

Break the winches down into their component parts, but do one winch at a time (never mix the parts). Soak the parts in diesel fuel and clean them up with rags, a toothbrush and whatever other tools are necessary to remove all grime and lubricant. Rinse all the parts very thoroughly in warm water.

As you reassemble, be sure to check all parts for wear - particularly where the pawls sit in the upper part of the drum. You may want to replace the pawls and pawl springs while you're at it.

You should lightly grease the post and roller bearings. Do not grease the pawls at all. Some people (including me) hit the pawls with a very light coat of 3-in-1 oil.

This may not address the problem, but it might also! It may also help you find out what's wrong. I've never heard of metal contraction due to temps rendering a winch inoperable, though that's not to say it's possible.

I had a link to a detailed guide to breaking down and cleaning these winches - I'll see if I can locate it.

[merc2dogs]

It's possible that the post is out of round, all I can say is inspect it carefully.

Tear it down, clean it up then paint the post with a magic-marker and reassemble (no lube). turn the drum a few times then tear apart again to look for areas that the marker has been rubbed off.

do the same with the working one for comparison if you need to.

If the post looks fine, check any shims or spacers and swap them side to side to see if the problem follows them.

Drop the the in the icebox, and then warm water to check temp effects.

Calipers, or a wrench and some feeler gauges will show if it's out of round.

Ken

[lans0012]

Thank you for the great replies. I'm sure it's not the pawls. I'm going to try try the magic marker approach. I did inspect the drum and the post to see if there was any pitting or grooves but it looked the same all over to me. I'll try the magic marker and send an update.

Thanks

[CalebD]

Is there any noise associated with the 'sticky' winch when it is warm? Does it just not work well in warmer temps with no change of noise?
I second most of the above except I doubt you could sand down the barrel as AllThumbs suggests (I do think that he could though). If the winch body is bent as suggested it is going to be pretty tough to fix.
Clean those innards carefully.

[AllThumbs]

Originally Posted by CalebD

Is there any noise associated with the 'sticky' winch when it is warm? Does it just not work well in warmer temps with no change of noise?
I second most of the above except I doubt you could sand down the barrel as AllThumbs suggests (I do think that he could though). If the winch body is bent as suggested it is going to be pretty tough to fix.
Clean those innards carefully.

It really has to be very very close as is since it works well in the cold. It should not take much. I suspect there is a high spot somewhere on the shaft. If it was bent I doubt it would spin freely under any temperature conditions.

Of course, cleaning it should be step one, but I had assumed he had tried that already.

Eric

[sailingdog]

One thing to be aware of, on some older winches, corrosion can cause the post to change dimensions, so that may be the cause of the problem.