DISASSEMBLY

1 All winches will have some form of top plate holding the self-tailing arm on and the rest of the winch in place. Harken winches have a screw at the base of the handle socket, and once loosened, the screw will remain captive. First, remove the socket and top cover. Lewmar winches have an O-ring that locks the stripper arm in place, and two small collets sit in a groove to hold the spindle in place. Older winches such as those manufactured by Gibb and less modern Antal winches often have a circlip holding a top plate in place, while Andersen winches are secured with three screws. On the Harken winch, (above), there are three screws under the top plate to remove the self-tailing arm. 2 Slide the main drum up. While you are doing this, be sure to tip the top of the drum away from you, so that the base is pointing inboard. Be careful when you are doing this because any bearing rings that have come off with the drum could easily slide out and roll away from you. The inner-drum assembly takes much of the lateral loading in the winch and the bearing surfaces and ring gear are most likely to get gummed up with salt and dirt that has mixed with winch grease. Slide the bearing rings up and off the inner drum, carefully checking the bearing cage and bearings for cracking, scoring or any other problems.

3 Next, undo the screws holding the inner drum assembly together (found on the Harken winch). It may need a light tap to loosen it — then lift it off and tip it away from you again, as there are more bearings inside. Around the bottom of the inner-drum assembly, your winch may also have a ring of bearings, though some have simple bushings. It should not be necessary for you to take these bearings apart – a spray cleaner should be sufficient. You should also check that there is a gap of a couple of bearings’ width so that the bearing can spin freely. Be sure to have a look inside the inner-drum assembly. This may well be the worst for salt and a build-up of dirt, as it is positioned immediately underneath the handle socket. 4 You can then remove the spindle and bottom gear. The bottom gears connect the shaft to the drum, so they take much of the rotational loading of the winch. The bottom gear may need a screwdriver underneath it to persuade it upwards. Place the whole assembly in a pot to avoid it getting muddled with other parts. Inspecting the gears is a crucial step, as a failure here can result in gears not engaging, and the full load on the winch being passed into the winch handle. If you find excessive wear, it could be due to dirt or lack of servicing, or the fact that the winch has been used in too high a gear. Reversing the handle and using the easier gear sooner can help prevent wearing the edges of pawls and gears. 5 When removing the pawls, make sure that you keep the right pawls with the right gear because these range in size from 8-12mm. Do this for each of the gears, including the idler gear and main drive gear. Check all the surfaces and if they’re looking worn or if they are cracked or dented they should be replaced. 6 Pinions are the vertical steel pins around which the gears revolve. On older Harken winches, these were set directly into the base metal but not supported at the top, while on newer winches they are supported top and bottom and held in plastic bushings, and on Lewmar winches they are slotted in from above, in which case you’ll have lift them out to remove the gears. Any movement in these at all is a major concern and if it is an issue you should definitely talk to the manufacturer about it. The plastic bushings at either end of the gear pinions on modern winches need to be checked to make sure that the bushings are not worn or cracked — but if they are they can be easily removed, cleaned and replaced.