Lofrans Windlass - oil change

[emandvee44]

According to the manual we are long overdue for an oil change. I have the new oil (SAE 90), but cannot see how to remove the old oil.
It is a Tigres model.
Any advice please?

Thanks,

Michael.

 

[little_roundtop]

I removed mine (I was changing the brushes in any case) and simply inverted it over a plastic pot for an evening with the filler screw out.

 

[Robih]

you need an oil extractor to suck the old oil out the inspection level hole. Something like this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003G2YV...de=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B003G2YV1I

Rob

 

[emandvee44]

Thanks guys.
I have one of those brass-bodied oil extractors for the engine, so I will see if the suction tube fits in the windlass oil filler hole. If not I can maybe rig up a reducer tube. I do not fancy dismounting the windlass to invert it!

Cheers,

Michael.

 

[David2452]

As there is so little oil in there I guess you could try poking the filler tube all the way to the bottom and displacing the old stuff as you fill, not sure if it would be practicable and certainly not elegant but it might work.

 

[Norman_E]

Cold 90 SAE gear oil is hard to get out with an extractor. You may find that the old oil is loaded with bronze from the gears as well. When I serviced mine I took it off and inverted it the first time, but last year I had it properly serviced, and it was dismantled and washed out before refilling.

 

[WightMistress]

Hi All,
I had been avoiding this issue for a long time; well, the windlass was working fine. Anyway a severe bout of guilt of the jolly old thing came over me. I tried (again - one of many efforts) to see if I could get the 'suction-pipe-that-goes-down-your-dipstick-hole thingy' and again it proved that it would not go through the filler because there is a big gear wheel in the way (well, there would be, wouldn't there?) I wandered down the yard for a swift half and a natter when, at the bar I espied some clear plastic drinking straws. I begged on and dashed back to my windlass, attached the drinking straw with the ubiquitous black duct tape, to the previously mentioned suction-pipe-that-goes-down-your-dipstick-hole thingy' and inserted the new, smaller end, right to the bottom of the windlass. It took well over an hour of pumping the vacuum in the suction tank but I managed to get it all out. Actually the oil looked fine (been there since we bought the boat in 2002 and probably for the life of the windlass.) So, I am now rewarding myself with a 'jolly well done,' and I will put the new oil in tomorrow.

 

[Neeves]

From memory the gear box oil is not the only part requiring attention, greasing the main shaft is another area and if you take the windlass apart cleaning and greasing the shaft is easy.

According to Maxwell, whom I quizzed, the absence of shaft lubrication is up there as one of the major reasons for windlass problems.

Its good to hear people actually service their windlass.

Sadly windlass appear to be installed with no thought, whatsoever, fort servicing and they can be a devil to remove - much more difficult that the service. This may be one reason they are ignored.

Jonathan

 

[WightMistress]

Wow!
Thank you Jonathan. Is it me or is the servicing information for the windlass difficult to obtain?
If I get to strip my windlass I intend to drill and fit an oil filler and maybe even a drain. I have just now started to wonder if there could be a way of fitting a shaft greaser(s) I am a reasonably dab hand with a helicoil kit.

When I served in the Royal Navy as an engineer, we were trained to consider Availability, Reliability and Maintainability (ARM) in all systems and installations. I am amazed that commercial engineering can leave Maintainability out of the equation.
Steve

 

[RichardS]

This will probably be a controversial view but I really wonder whether with modern oils there is ever any need to change the oil in a windlass unless there has been water ingress due to a failed seal. The seal failed on mine a few years ago so I had to strip it down. I changed the oil for a modern synthetic and will never change it again.

Modern cars have differentials and gearboxes which are delivering a million times more force than a windlass on a relatively continuous basis and some of those are sealed for life.

Richard

 

[Graham376]

This will probably be a controversial view but I really wonder whether with modern oils there is ever any need to change the oil in a windlass unless there has been water ingress due to a failed seal. Richard

I think many will disagree with you but I don't. Fit and forget until it goes wrong as far as I'm concerned. Ours, used often, has done 16 years so far with no trace of oil leaks. I suspect lack of regular use is likely to create more problems.

 

[chubby]

I think many will disagree with you but I don't. Fit and forget until it goes wrong as far as I'm concerned. Ours, used often, has done 16 years so far with no trace of oil leaks. I suspect lack of regular use is likely to create more problems.

I have actually topped mine up this season after a similar bout of guilt at zero maintenance, when I also stripped the dog clutch manual override and the main clutch and straightened the chain stripper, all after finding u tube videos on the subject. Regarding the oil, surely must be minimal wear compared to any engine gear box in terms of hours use, so I tend to agree with above.

 

[pvb]

This will probably be a controversial view but I really wonder whether with modern oils there is ever any need to change the oil in a windlass unless there has been water ingress due to a failed seal.

Absolutely! There's no real need to change the oil in most people's boating lifetimes.