Servicing winches - excessive grease?

KompetentKrew

KompetentKrew

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Do the below look excessively greased, please?



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Related previous thread for those who missed it: Barient winches: 28 vs 28+ models - what's the difference?
 
I agree with masterofnone, give it a really good clean, a good degreaser such as Gunk or Jizer, then just a smear of grease on the gearing etc. and a drop of oil, 3 in 1 is fine if you don't have winch oil, on the pawls.
 
I use a paint brush ... usually 1/2' medium bristle job.

I clean it all up and then lightly brush the grease on so only a thin film is applied. General lubricating oil such as 3in1 for other bits.

Reason for not smothering in grease .....

Grease captures and holds salt / crud / any grit and can actually lead to it doing damage. Light smear is less likely to do that. Second - the excess actually never does anything except just be excess !
 
It is surprising just how little grease is recommended. I use a dedicated Lewmar brush to brush on a light coating (but only because I got it free from a Lewmar rep). It is like a cheapo 1/2" paintbrush with stiff bristles and does the job just as well as anything similar. We all have our own recipes for removing the grease, varying from petrol to detergents, but I use paraffin, cleaned off with meths. It is very satisfying.
 
None of it's doing any good stuck to various non-moving parts. Dunk the whole lot in a bucket of paraffin for several hours then brush it all off. Then dry it thoroughly and apply oil to the bearings and pawls - oddly enough the stuff that's in your car's gearbox unchanged from the day you buy it to the day you scrap it 150,000 miles later. Grease just attracts grit and holds it and doesn't actually get anywhere you need it unless it's forced into a bearing with a grease gun. It's no good just wiping it around with your finger and hoping for the best.
 
KompetentKrew said:
The gears and bearings are soaking in white spirit right now - is paraffin more suitable?
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All you are looking for is a 'washing medium' .... those who don't like old gasoline - why not keep a jug for this sort of job ?

Washing away grease ? Any lighter distillate will do the job ... gasoline, diesel, kerosine / paraffin ....... or spirit.
 
Clean with diesel and leave it. No grease at all, the diesel residue provides adequate lubrication. You just need to service more often, which takes only a moment as you don't have to dig out all that kuck.

A tip passed on to me from the BN on an old IOR Maxi, which was a veritable winch farm.
 
I have a 'lidded' bucket filled with old diesel in the back of the garage which I use for de-greasing, or un-seizing various bits and pieces, and have left a seriously greased up winch, which I acquired, in it for a couple of days, it's a very good, but for all my winches that are in use, as they only get a light smear (applied with a 1/2" paint brush) on the gears bearings etc, and a drop of oil on the pawls, I clean them down with Gunk or Jizer which is washed off with water after use. I think both of these propriety degreasers contain white spirit or similar.
 
michael_w said:
Clean with diesel and leave it. No grease at all, the diesel residue provides adequate lubrication. You just need to service more often, which takes only a moment as you don't have to dig out all that kuck.

A tip passed on to me from the BN on an old IOR Maxi, which was a veritable winch farm.
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I blend diesel and I would not advise relying on modern diesel as a lubricant. Its what we term a 'Dry' product. The old diesel pre ULSD days - yes that was much better but as Sulphur levels were reduced - the 'dryness' of diesel increased to such extent that we had to start introducing Lubricity agents to combat the scar wear factors.
Various additions to refined base diesel are used : Light Cycle Oil, Lubricity Improver .. etc.

They are added in 'economic' volumes.
 
Here is a tip!
When I serviced our Harken winches the first time, (I had only worked on Lewmar previously), I got my other half to photograph every stage of the dismantling, then printed the photos, reversed the order and put them in files. Paid off when I re-assembled:)
For cleaning the parts, I use white spirit, a bath of some kind (half a 5 litre water bottle), and an old toothbrush.
M.
 
Not necessarily important for a winch - but when cleaning up greased parts - its worth remembering a simple rule .....

Stay in the similar product group as cleaner. You could introduce a chemical cleaner to a part and find it damages it - such as seals etc. If you have a fuel oil / diesel part to clean - I advise paraffin / kerosine or if really needs to break down crud - gasoline.

If you have a part that is stubborn ...... you can use a hand gel such as Swarfega and a toothbrush. There are many cheaper versions of that ... one I had on the boat looked like white petroleum jelly ... it was safe on literally anything.
 
That's an excellent example of excessive grease!
The only parts of a winch that need lubrication are those that slide against each other. The pawls and the gear spindles. I use bicycle chain oil, very spareingly for the pawl hubs and gear spindles and a very light smear of waterproof greas on the pawl teeth and ratchet. The gear teeth do not need anything as they don't rub against each other. They roll! Anything more than that will eventually combine with dust and grit to form a grinding paste.
Incidentally, gearboxes on vehicles usually contain oil as a means of removing heat from gears. When gears are in constant use, unlike our winches, considerable heat is generated by the compression of air trapped between the rolling faces of the gear teeth.
Mike
 
Incidentally, gearboxes on vehicles usually contain oil as a means of removing heat from gears. When gears are in constant use, unlike our winches, considerable heat is generated by the compression of air trapped between the rolling faces of the gear teeth.
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Maybe in a well constructed gearbox ... but if you go back to the days of the 2.8i Capri- Ford tried all sorts to cure the 4th layshaft problem. Due to lack of oil feed to that - it would wear excessively quick and start to 'whine'. Some would happen within a year of sale ! Mine happened in its second year. Ford changed from thick gear oil to common multi-grade engine oil ... still no cure - so automatic transmission fluid was there answer ... still no cure. They resisted for long time the real cure which 3rd party box replacements had - extra oil feed added.

Of course typical Ford ... actually any manufacturer and still today - they insisted for Warranty that you use Ford Dealer provided oil replacement in the box. It was standard Automatic transmission hydraulic fluid ... and at 3x the price.
 
johnalison said:
It is surprising just how little grease is recommended. I use a dedicated Lewmar brush to brush on a light coating (but only because I got it free from a Lewmar rep). It is like a cheapo 1/2" paintbrush with stiff bristles and does the job just as well as anything similar. We all have our own recipes for removing the grease, varying from petrol to detergents, but I use paraffin, cleaned off with meths. It is very satisfying.
Click to expand...
A good way to use up "stale" 2T fuel !
 
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