lewmar standard 40 servicing

[pfirth]

My boat has a couple of standard Lewmar 40's that need cleaning and oiling. I have never serviced a winch but have read the service manual and understand generally how to go abut it, but am leery of doing it on the water. Any hints about how to protect the parts from scattering to the bottom as the winch comes apart?

[jrd22]

Cut a hole in the bottom of a cardboard box the same diameter as the winch base and set it over the winch, you can cut a hole in the end of a box if you are doing mast mounted winches. You won't believe how easy it is to take apart and service, don't worry about it.

[Gary M]

I take a berth cushion from down below and lean it against the lifelines to provide a big barrier to stop parts from going swimming.

And I need to pratice this again shortly if the weather ever improves around here.

[sailingfool]

First you should have a set of spare pawls and springs before you start your service, so you can replace any worn or broken parts, then losing a spring wont really matter. The pawls can popout if they stick to the teeth as the drum is raised, if you turn the drum slowly as you raise it, the pawls should stay in place.

[KeelHaulin]

If you are reasonably careful there should not be much fear of losing parts in the water unless the winches are on the foredeck or the mast. On the 40 the pawls are inside of the gear cogs so they should not come flying out. the difficult part on these is getting the gear spindles out of the winch body. You probably will have to tap with a hammer and chisel (or screwdriver) to get it to pop up. If you never have greased/oiled them you should probably fully disassemble (clean everything with mineral spirits); for routine semi-annual maintenance just pull the drum off, wipe clean the grease on the main spindle and roller bearings; then re-grease the roller bearings with plenty of Lewmar grease and add some grease to the gears. On Lewmar 40-42-55ST's (among others) the self tailing heads should also be disassembled and greased; all mating surfaces of the aluminum and fasteners should also be greased to prevent water intrusion and galvanic corrosion.

watch out for roller bearings that are stuck inside of the drum body when you lift the drum off of the winch base. They can fall out at an inopportune moment and go overboard. Prevent this by putting your hand underneath the drum as it lifts off of the spindle.

[noelex77]

As others have said its very easy.
Take some digital photos as you disassemble so you can check how the parts go back.

[pfirth]

Thanks guys...I appreciate all the info. I have a lot more confidence going in now.