CLEANING AND REASSEMBLY

1 A wipe down with a clean rag may be sufficient, but if there’s any more than clean grease, it’s best to use a solvent. Professionals often have cleaning baths which most of us don’t have access to. Using mineralbased solvents such as diesel, petrol or thinners will work, but shouldn’t be used if you’re doing the servicing on board, as they are environmentally harmful and can mark or damage decks. Water-soluble degreasers such as bike cleaning products are better. Pour two inches into the bottom of a bucket and use a stiff-bristled tooth brush to get all the grease out. Flat bearing surfaces can be cleaned with a plastic Scotchbrite pad, but never wire wool or a metal scraper. Rinse the parts with a detergent to remove traces that would degrade the new grease. 2 If you’ve laid out the parts in the order they came off, putting the winch back together should be straightforward. Otherwise an exploded diagram from the manufacturer will be a help. You can regrease each component as you put it back together. Racing boats that are serviced regularly use oil to minimise friction, but suitable grease is fine for everything but these elite boats. You’re aiming for a thin, even coat on any surfaces with metalon-metal contact, with no blobs that will harden and gum up over time. This is best done by brushing the grease on with a one-inch brush. A white or coloured grease, rather than clear, will help you see if you’ve missed any bits. 3 When it comes to the pawls, the viscosity of grease can make these stick and stop the ratchet engaging. The springs, pawls, and their housings, therefore just need a two drops of mineral oil – one below and above the pawl socket. Use proper pawl oil here, as standard oils such as 3-in-1 are too light and will quickly rinse out. When replacing the pawl spring, note that for some makes, one arm is straight from the circular part and the other is bent perpendicular. The straight arm lies against the pawl, and the bent arm lies against the pawl housing in the gear ring. 4 Pinch the spring and pawl together and slide into the gear ring before replacing the assembly. Give it a spin to make sure it’s engaging properly with the gear. On modern winches the ratchet gear ring can be bi-directional, meaning its internal teeth with engage with the pawls whichever way it’s put on. Every other year, flip over which way this is put on to prolong life, but older winches need the gears to face one way – make sure the end face of the pawl sits flush against the gear ratchet and clicks positively onto the next one. Place the pawl cover plate over the gear ring before greasing the shaft, and the give the outside of the bearings a light brush with grease. 5 The main bearing rings of modern winches are self-lubricating nylon rather than metal. They should just need a rinse off to remove the salt, though a little grease on the central bearing surface is a good idea. With the central housing dropped back in place, replace the screws to be hand-tight. If you have a torque driver, you can check this, but not it’s not essential. Tighten the screws nearest to the drive gear first and then work your way round. If stainless screws go into bronze, it’s worth using Tef-gel paste to prevent corrosion between the dissimilar metals. At each stage of reassembling the winch, spin the gears to make sure they are engaging properly and you've put it all back together correctly. 6 Before you replace the drum, make sure the ring gear teeth around the inside of its base are all evenly coated with grease. If your winch is self-tailing, replace the rope stripper. Most winches give some options of how to line this up. You want it pointing into the cockpit so the line coming off the winch doesn’t go overboard. The self-tailing gripper rings are held together with springs. If you’ve found thin ropes slipping in these, at this point you can add extra springs to increase their holding power. Replace the socket and screw into place, or if your winch has a circlip or other fastening, replace this. If your winch is screwed together, you can use a drop of Locktite 243 to protect against vibration, but it isn’t essential. Insert the winch handle and make sure the winch works in both directions.