Servicing the Lewmar windlass?

Mine has seen a fair amount of use over the last 6 years and has performed without a hiccup. That being said, I do want to break it down, clean it up and lubricate the internal components/gears.

Has anyone done this or have any recommendations or links on how to it?

I seem to recall that Porkchunker did that in a project post in years past.
Do not remember if it was a repair, or preventive maintenance.

Yeah I found his post earlier.

I just found this recent vid on you tube. There are several parts to it.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&featu ... wsS4_MsZxI

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&featu ... 4qJtsppsI8

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... b03CrRcw2c

Today I took apart my Lewmar 700 that I purchased new in 2006. It has never failed me .

I just had this feeling it needed to be checked, cleaned and lubed...........I didn't think it would be this bad.

This is going to be an all day job just to clean it up. Don't think I need any parts.

I think your feeling was correct. :shock:

Megabyte":12m68utv said:

I think your feeling was correct. :shock:

Click to expand...

She sure is shiny and new looking on the outside.

Lordy, lordy I feel like a bad parent who was neglecting his girl.

Still at it. Got the gears off and soaking overnight. Scraped a ton gunk out of the housing. Gave it a quick wipe down. The main shaft bearings are still good.

Should have it back together tomorrow.

Something I'd never even considered. Wow..ignorance *was* bliss...

I'm sure I'll think about this all season :shock: and dig into it in the fall.

Wow!

Scared to open my 500.

It has been a good windlass with heavy use each year.

Thinking about replacing it with a 700 series.

How useful is the free fall on the 700?

Whenever we anchor I run up to the bow and pull back on the rode a little and let it slip through my fingers. Works great and is fast. Just don't know if the free fall on the 700 would allow the rode through as fast.

Jim... What will you be repacking with?
Wheel bearing grease, or something else?

OMC triple guard waterproof grease perfect for this application.

Still at it.

Gears and case cover soaked overnight. Impressed with this WD40 rust soak product. These bearings/races were completely rusted/fused together. After the soak they are smooth and rotate easily.

After looking things over and trying to figure out if this salt/rust intrusion could have been minimized or prevented, since the main shaft bearing is for the most part intact and rust free, I would have to say the sealing of the housing down the middle by Lewmar is highly suspect. Looks like they used a white sealant similar to 4200 which is OK but it just wasn't applied well enough.

JTR":3jn9ooeg said:

Wow!

Thinking about replacing it with a 700 series.

How useful is the free fall on the 700?

Whenever we anchor I run up to the bow and pull back on the rode a little and let it slip through my fingers. Works great and is fast. Just don't know if the free fall on the 700 would allow the rode through as fast.

Click to expand...

Mine is not a freefall version. I deploy the same as you........manually. That's the way I like it. Don't apply power to the windlass until ready to retrieve.



I was thinking about using this grease here..............wouldn't mind taking this expensive stuff back and using a cheaper equivalent.

Some grease and sealant and I'm done. Got away with not having to replace any parts.

just like new

Do you add grease to the gears or is filled in completley?

What are you using for sealant?

thanks

Brent":d39syd39 said:

just like new

Do you add grease to the gears or is filled in completley?

What are you using for sealant?

thanks

Click to expand...

In post 3 the third video recommends silicone sealant. I have never liked silicone on a boat so I haven't decided yet on the sealant. I had to pound pretty good with a mallet to get the side cover off so maybe some marine grade silicone might be the best choice.

I think I will slather on the grease as he recommends.

Greased and ready to button up.

thanks

good job

I just watched the you tube videos which I overlooked earlier

I ended up sealing it with 3M 4000 UV. The silicone skins up in 10 minutes. The 3M product about 20-30 min.

It was tedious/time consuming applying the sealant to the side cover and then fitting and tapping the side cover in place and snugging down 6 bolts. The silicone would have skinned up before I could have gotten everything in place, so I am glad I went with the 3M product. Clean up was easy with mineral spirits/paint thinner.

Did I already say that I hate silicone? :mrgreen:

thanks
great write up
Which grease did you use?