servicing lewmar towable genoa cars

[Bosun Higgs]

towable cars that wont tow because the friction is too high. probably never cleaned since new in 96. question is how to do the job since the boat is afloat and i dont want balls cascading over the deck.

there are screws into both ends . obvious question is do i undo the screws or the end stop of the track and slide the car off the track?

 

[sailorman]

View attachment 33262 towable cars that wont tow because the friction is too high. probably never cleaned since new in 96. question is how to do the job since the boat is afloat and i dont want balls cascading over the deck.

there are screws into both ends . obvious question is do i undo the screws or the end stop of the track and slide the car off the track?

DO NOT REMOVE THE CARS,unless you have a spare section to run the cars onto.
why not wash them out with hot soapy water or a good strong hosing down, then lube with silicone or similar

 

[Bosun Higgs]

whats the reason behind the warning? what happens if i undo the screws in the ends of the cars?

 

[wilkinsonsails]

Your balls will fall out!

 

[sailorman]

Your balls will fall out!

 

[wilkinsonsails]

 

[Schuss39]

Loads of tosh.

I have similar on my yacht and took them off a month or so back to clean. Balls are still in their bag!

When I got mine off there is a graphite bar on each side of the car which runs on each side of the track.

As someone else has mentioned lots of warm soapy water and brush to shift the dirt. Search the Lewmar web site if you need to replace parts.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Loads of tosh.

I have similar on my yacht and took them off a month or so back to clean. Balls are still in their bag!

When I got mine off there is a graphite bar on each side of the car which runs on each side of the track.

As someone else has mentioned lots of warm soapy water and brush to shift the dirt. Search the Lewmar web site if you need to replace parts.

They must have been gummed up with something then.

Certainly on mine, taking the ends off the cars or the cars off the track would result in balls everywhere. As said above, a spare piece of track to slide the cars .on to is required.

 

[charles_reed]

Don't disassemble.

Wash thoroughly until clean, then use dry PTFE spray.

Don't use silicone or any other wet lubricant - it will just hasten their seizing in the future.

 

[sailorman]

They must have been gummed up with something then.

Certainly on mine, taking the ends off the cars or the cars off the track would result in balls everywhere. As said above, a spare piece of track to slide the cars .on to is required.

So its not a load of Tosh then.
Ole sailorman fitted the mainsheet track system to his Co32, so he knew the correct answer unlike Schuss39

 

[Martin_J]

and the many balls are so hard and light that 1) they bounce extremely well on grp decks and 2) they blow away nicely in any breeze... Add to that the fact they will roll quickly downhill and once you've heard the splashes, you'll not know how many balls you had to start with.... best to try and wash/lube in situ..
A good spray of McLube seems to be quite effective at both cleaning and lubricating.

 

[Jamesuk]

DO NOT REMOVE THE CARS,unless you have a spare section to run the cars onto.
why not wash them out with hot soapy water or a good strong hosing down, then lube with silicone or similar

Boiling water would help, i would not use a silicone spray until you have done the boiling water treatment over and over. Also if you can get a power washer to blast out any debris that might be in there (not full blown power tho ;-))

If you remove it then get a track section (hidden somewhere on board) and remove it that way. Perhaps it is time to get new ones, or perhaps new ball bearings. We replaced some which literally had 'crumbled' UV damage.

Oh to add, we did have the whole track up because of a leak, when they re-sealed it, the cars would not run fully, we found the smallest fragments of 'gunk' along the base we removed this and it slid like new.

 

[Martin_J]

or as some have said, undo the screws on the end of the car itself and remove one ball at a time. It is easier putting them back in if you have three hands.

 

[Jamesuk]

or as some have said, undo the screws on the end of the car itself and remove one ball at a time. It is easier putting them back in if you have three hands.

I like it )

 

[sailorman]

Torlon balls are expensive

 

[Graham_Wright]

Loads of tosh.

I have similar on my yacht and took them off a month or so back to clean. Balls are still in their bag!

When I got mine off there is a graphite bar on each side of the car which runs on each side of the track.

As someone else has mentioned lots of warm soapy water and brush to shift the dirt. Search the Lewmar web site if you need to replace parts.

Lewmar make two varieties, one with slide bars, the other with balls. On my fit, they are interchangeable.

If you remove the end caps and you have balls fitted, they will probably escape! They are incredibly agile!

Even if catch them all, refitting is nigh impossible. You need a spare piece of track. Lewmar do a plastic substitute for £7.00. A good investment.