Stiff Facnor LS165 top swivel Halyard

[Moonston]

I have a LS165 headsail furler (2013) on my Jeanneau 379. The upper halyard swivel is very stiff. I have tried rinsing it, WD40, PTFE spray although it rotates it still seems very stiff. Do you think that if I wrap it in plastic and then apply steam inside the bag that this might ease it or will it cause more damage? Does anyone have any other solution please?
Chris

 

[tross]

Most recommend pouring boiling/hot water to try and disolve the salt crystals !

 

[Moonston]

Thanks for the advice. I guess I should try that first. Though do you think the steaming idea makes sense?

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

It is possible that some lubricant was applied previously and grit and atmospheric grime has since accumulated on it. Torlon balls do not require any lubrication.

I would try spraying some kitchen de-greaser so as to remove any oils or greases while rotating the swivel back and forth, followed by rinsing with copious quantities of fresh water; repeat as necessary. When the swivel is free it should be possible to spin it by hand. Once you have reached this stage do not apply any lubricant, not even PTFE.

 

[Moonston]

It is possible that some lubricant was applied previously and grit and atmospheric grime has since accumulated on it. Torlon balls do not require any lubrication.

I would try spraying some kitchen de-greaser so as to remove any oils or greases while rotating the swivel back and forth, followed by rinsing with copious quantities of fresh water; repeat as necessary. When the swivel is free it should be possible to spin it by hand. Once you have reached this stage do not apply any lubricant, not even PTFE.

Thanks for the advice. I have some Gunk for cleaning the engine. Do you think will do the job?

 

[cmedsailor]

Wd40 or something similar to clean what is inside, followed with lots of hot water. Let it dry completely (or use a hair blower) and then apply some Mclube one drop. Google it of you don't know what it is. It is an excellent product for ball bearings. I was about to buy a new swivel but luckily this product saved a lot of money for me.

 

[Moonston]

Wd40 or something similar to clean what is inside, followed with lots of hot water. Let it dry completely (or use a hair blower) and then apply some Mclube one drop. Google it of you don't know what it is. It is an excellent product for ball bearings. I was about to buy a new swivel but luckily this product saved a lot of money for me.

Thanks for that advice. I have ordered some McLube One Drop, I already have the WD40 and my wife has the hair dryer- my hair wouldn't be worth having one of my own. I will try this out when I get to the boat again-hopefully next week.
regards Chris

 

[dom]

As a matter of interest, are you 100% sure the swivel is the torlon ball version and not the older stainless ball bearing one? The reason I ask is that such stiffness is very unusual on the torlon version.

It's also worth getting a feel for the problem. Lower the jib and disconnect its head and tack. Then spin the swivel to see what it feels like, checking for any stiff points. Give it a good wiggle to establish whether any bearings have fallen out. Next use a strop to connect the swivel to the point on the roller the tack is normally attached and wind up the tension to establish at what point the stiffness appears.

If everything mechanical is sound, cut a big 2l Coke or similar bottle in half and then split the top end length-ways. Fit this around the forestay trimming the cap as necessary and then tape it up with waterproof tape like Gorilla tape. You can now give the swivel its first warm soapy bath with a good degreasing detergent! Remove, give it a really good rinse and soak again, overnight if you like and rinse again.

If it's a torlon system, you're hopefully done; if stainless spray PTFE, or apply a drop of light oil.

Good luck :encouragement:

 

[Moonston]

As a matter of interest, are you 100% sure the swivel is the torlon ball version and not the older stainless ball bearing one? The reason I ask is that such stiffness is very unusual on the torlon version.

It's also worth getting a feel for the problem. Lower the jib and disconnect its head and tack. Then spin the swivel to see what it feels like, checking for any stiff points. Give it a good wiggle to establish whether any bearings have fallen out. Next use a strop to connect the swivel to the point on the roller the tack is normally attached and wind up the tension to establish at what point the stiffness appears.

If everything mechanical is sound, cut a big 2l Coke or similar bottle in half and then split the top end length-ways. Fit this around the forestay trimming the cap as necessary and then tape it up with waterproof tape like Gorilla tape. You can now give the swivel its first warm soapy bath with a good degreasing detergent! Remove, give it a really good rinse and soak again, overnight if you like and rinse again.

If it's a torlon system, you're hopefully done; if stainless spray PTFE, or apply a drop of light oil.

Good luck :encouragement:

Yes it appears to be the Torlon (2013) although I now understand that they don't make them with Torlon anymore in the new "improved" version £ 539.73 plus vat ex works. So I will try the Coke bottle or the healthier version in this "avoid sugar age" of a water bottle although that is against the "avoid plastic"- life is getting complicated. Thanks again everyone for your advice.

 

[Kinsale373]

I had major pain from an older Facnor C38 top swivel a few seasons ago. I suffered a couple of jib hallyard wraps. I dropped the jib and had two different riggers take a look at the swivel and they both thought that even thought there was some wear , it should be ok and probably was not the cause of the wraps. I finally called Eurospar in the south of England who are the Agents and found them very helpful. The first thing they told me was that you have to load up the swivel in order to test it. Drop the Jib, Tie the end of the swivel to some fixed point and crank up the jib halyard to normal tension,. Now turn the swivel and see what the action is like. When I did this I immediately foundthat under load it stuck and jammed. The difference was surprising under load.
Replacing the swivel immediately fixed my issues. No more halyatd wraps. One thing I will say is that I found the brand new top swivel to feel faily stiff. By that I mean you have to apply pressure to get it to turn, it doesnt "spin freely" i was actually surprised by this. anyway it works fine on the boat. I wonder is this apparent stiffness normal for Facnor?

Its worth calling Eurospars to see what they say.

Regards, Kinsale 373