How to Reassemble Simpson Lawrence HySpeed Windlass

[Banjoman]

Bazz,
If you have to replace bushing/bearings, then you are going to have to tear the unit down to bare bones as the bushings are difficult to get out otherwise.

First you must remove the spindle assembly. Just unscrew that as you would a large nut. Then you can pull the gypsy off the shaft. If it is seized, you'll need. To use a wheel puller, but it will come off. That will expose the clutch cone. In order to get that off you need to drive out the spring pin. A pin driver works best, but any flat head punch that is sized just under the diameter of the pin will work. I can't remember the size off the top of my head, but I think it is around 1/4" or less. The clutch cone should come off pretty easy, but if not, use a puller. This is made of tuffnol and is somewhat fragile so ease it off. This will expose your shaft completely and allow you to remove the cover. On the port side of the unit you will have to pull the drum off. Again, a puller works great here. Once inside the unit you can remove the chains by removing the master links at the operating lever. You only need to take off one end of the chain to accomplish what you want. This will free the gears and you can now pull the shaft with the gears from the housing. At this point you can go through the whole unit and decide what needs replacing and repairing. Let me know if you get stuck somewhere. Good luck.

[Bazz]

Banjoman,

Thank you for your reply. I guess I'm baffled by the first step: "remove the spindle assembly" How do I do that exactly? I try to unscrew the first "wheel" (clutch wheel nut, item #6 on the exploded view - see attached), going counterclockwise? If not, please advise.

Best,

[Banjoman]

Yes, I'm pretty sure it is counter clockwise. If you look closely at the threads you can double check the direction. Good luck. Sorry for the short response, but I'm working right now.

[Bazz]

Yes, counterclockwise - I can see it from the threads, now that some rust is gone. But it is STUCK. This part has been soaking in WD-40 and Liquid Wrench for a week now. I'll try with a torch and some hydraulics tonight.

[Banjoman]

Mine, too, was very seized and it took a great amount of force and a bit of hammering as I recall. Good luck. Be patient and kind to it. It is a great piece of equipment that no doubt was neglected at some time. It deserves some TLC. I just recently rebuilt a 35 year old Yanmar 2qm15 that was very neglected and is now like brand new, but between the two rebuilds, my partner thinks the windlass was the bigger miracle.... and I tend to agree. Again, good luck!

[groundtackle]

Did you get my email and photo? It was pretty easy to reassemble.


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[groundtackle]

Oops wrong discussion! Sorry


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[Sya]

For future reference as I am sure this thread gets lots of visits from people figuring out how to fix there windlass I have added my photo's from my project.

Does anyone happen to have the dimensions of the bearings, trying to find them someplace else because 50 pounds for a plain bearing is a bit of a rip off in my opinion. Also the UK is not that easy to order from, for my location that is.

[Sya]

Originally Posted by Sya

For future reference as I am sure this thread gets lots of visits from people figuring out how to fix there windlass I have added my photo's from my project.

Does anyone happen to have the dimensions of the bearings, trying to find them someplace else because 50 pounds for a plain bearing is a bit of a rip off in my opinion. Also the UK is not that easy to order from, for my location that is.

Found the bearing sizes for the main shaft

Oil Filled Bronze Flanged Bearing Bush 1-1/4x1-1/2x1-1/4 inch
Oil Filled Bronze Flanged Bearing Bush 1-1/2x1-3/4x1-1/2 inch

Purchased them through 'Simply Bearings' in the UK. 55 pounds including shipping to the Netherlands with 2 spares.

Bearings will be to long, I shortend them on a lathe but with some patience perhaps also possible with an angle grinder. Heating the housing of the windlass in the oven to 50C and freezing the bearings made them slip in with little force.

Painted the housing in hammerite after sandblasting it. Should be fine for the coming years this windlass

Still looking for dimensions on the handle which was missing for my unit and dimensions on the grease nipple so if anyone knows, please let me know.