Stiff winch

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IanP

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I have a pair of Girdlestone G16 winches, and I want to fit them on my new to me Hurley 27. One of the original winches on the boat has just disintegrated. These girdlestone winches have never been used, but one of them is much stiffer than the other. Since it has been sitting on a shelf for probably 30 years I reckon the grease has turned to tar.
What to do to free it up? I cant find any service info online on the G16, so I am wary of opening it up, in case springs and ballbearings come shooting out. 1 friend advises just to fit it, and it will free up with use. Another thinks that spraying a can of wd40 into it will soften the grease.
Any of these ideas seem reasonable ?
 
You are going to have to service them at some time in the future anyway (preferably every winter) so take them apart now and give them a good clean in paraffin. Add new waterproof grease to the bearings, oil the pawls and they should be like new. At least with them off the boat any part that does make a bid for freedom won't drown.
 
understand your reluctance - i can only suggest that you disassemble in a bucket or similar! having spent my life looking for the bits that i lost from just about everything i disassembled i try to avoid the problem. however, wouldn't have thought that simply removing the barrel would cause things to fly off. and once you can see things avoiding problems is easier.
 
What I might try is: put it in a bucket of acetone,so it percolates right inside,and turn it a lot,and it will free up as the solvent dissolves the grease on the rollers. Then get the acetone out,it will evaporate easy. Then get some motorbike chain spray in there,it is an aerosol with a tube which you can hopfully squirt in side the winch,it is lithium or graphited grease,carried in a solvent which will evaporate,hey presto,new grease in cleaned winch,without opening it. Of course if you are in the cuds and cant get acetone,petrol would work great,obviously a bit dangerous. Let us know what works,Jerry Hurley 24'.
 
alahol2 said:
You are going to have to service them at some time in the future anyway (preferably every winter) so take them apart now and give them a good clean in paraffin. Add new waterproof grease to the bearings, oil the pawls and they should be like new. At least with them off the boat any part that does make a bid for freedom won't drown.
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Agree completely with all of this. Cunning suggestions on how to lubricate it without opening are beside the point - winches are meant to be serviced.

Pete
 
jerrytug said:
put it in a bucket of acetone,
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I wouldn't do that. If it has plastic bits inside that don't like acetone then it could be damaged.
Of course, if you know what it's like inside, you'll know whether acetone would be likely to damage things....but the only way to know that is to take it apart.......

Best thing is to take it apart in a bucket with a cloth over it to stop anything pinging too far. Odds are it will come apart without any drama though.
 
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Thanks to you all for your answers. I'm very embarrassed Mash that you found that page so quickly. I searched for 2 hours yesterday without any success. I'll blame it on my age.
My winches are 2 speed, but I expect they wont be much different inside. So I will have a go at opening it.
I read this forum almost every day, and at least once a week there is a great tip to remember. This tip with the bucket is excellent. Wish I had thought of it last week when opening my fishing reel !
 
IanP said:
I have a pair of Girdlestone G16 winches, and I want to fit them on my new to me Hurley 27. One of the original winches on the boat has just disintegrated. These girdlestone winches have never been used, but one of them is much stiffer than the other. Since it has been sitting on a shelf for probably 30 years I reckon the grease has turned to tar.
What to do to free it up? I cant find any service info online on the G16, so I am wary of opening it up, in case springs and ballbearings come shooting out. 1 friend advises just to fit it, and it will free up with use. Another thinks that spraying a can of wd40 into it will soften the grease.
Any of these ideas seem reasonable ?
Click to expand...
i had a pr of 16s when they first came out. both broke beyond repair after a few seasons. they are injection moulded plastic bodies / drums/roller bearing cages.
Girdlestone`s main business was pumps based in Melton Nr Woodbridge Suffolk
 
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If your winch is of the same layout as the one pictured (don't worry about the search, different search engines work differently!) which seems likely it is pretty standard stuff and there isn't anything to "ping" out inside, the pawl springs are contained and though they might just fall out they won't jump. If the barrel is secured by a circlip do the job inside and hold the circlip down under a cloth/rag while you prise the end out. I usually dismantle things like that in an old washing-up bowl if there are ball-bearings present which is not very likely in a winch.

Its usually a dead easy job. The only trouble I've ever had with servicing a winch is sometimes the grease forms a hard crust with salt deposits inside making the barrel hard to get off its axle. It turns, moves a bit up and down but won't come off. If so invert it, fill it up with paraffin or diesel and leave it for a bit. It'll come apart just fine after an hour or so.
 
All valid guidance.

You may be able to persuade a friend ( with clean hands ) to use a digital camera at each step of your 'dismemberment' of the winches. Peering at the pics when you come to re-assemble can save a wee bit of frustration....

BTW, it is usually important that the little pawl-springs are replaced the correct way around, so have a close inspection of how they are located before removing them. Also, it is easy to put too much grease on the pawls and their springs so that, after some use when ground-up salt crystals thicken the grease, they stick from being 'gummed up'.
 
oldbilbo said:
Also, it is easy to put too much grease on the pawls and their springs so that, after some use when ground-up salt crystals thicken the grease, they stick from being 'gummed up'.
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...and then the winch suddenly spins the "wrong" way and possibly breaks someone's wrist. Stick to oil on the pawls, not grease. The grease can go on the rest of it.

Pete
 
One might first of all ask what happened tot he original winch. From comments by one poster you might do better fixing the old winch. Or just replace one winch. Anyway winches are a thing the boat owner should be very familiar with dismantling and reassembly. So do it before you fit them. I have been know to open up my single speed winches between tacks just to blast some WD in to get it frre and holding. or on another occasion an expert dismantled a big 2 speed in 5 mins between races to lubricate and free it up while sailing around under mainsail. So don't be afraid to open em up. good luck olewill
 
William-H The original winch was an old tuffnol winch, impossible to get parts for. The inner workings were all just rusted away. Not too worried about a bad review of the girdlestone winches. They were free, new old stock, and I will surely get a couple of years out of them. Especially as I know how to service them now thanks to this forum.
Just an update on this. I disassembled the winch completely last night, in a bucket. It was really quite easy. Whatever type of grease they had used had settled in a lump on one side if the rollers. It had dried into a thick plastic consistency.
I could not scrape it off, and it would not wash off. So I took a chance and attacked it with a paintbrush and acetone. That did the job quickly. I washed it in warm soapy water, dried it and lightly oiled the pawls and roller barrel.
The whole thing took less than half an hour. Absolutely delighted. Will fit them on tuesday when I go down to my mooring in lovely youghal bay. Thanks to you all for the great advice.
 
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