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I've got a pair of Barlow 2sp 32STs and one has delrin bearings and the other has stainless bearings. Any opinions?
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The delrin bearings last a long time. I think the problem is if any grit were to get into them then they would grind up quick. I don't see any way that would normally happen. None of mine showed any wear. The precision fit makes for no wiggle to a cause more wear.
Getting mine apart was pretty easy. A hex wrench down the winch top unscrews the top from the spindle and I just lifted it off. My bearings were stuck to the spindle so the top was apart. For some reason I expected pawl springs to go flying. They didn't of course, but through out the whole time I was doing the
jib winches I felt like I was going to drop something in the
water. I was very careful not to lose the pawl springs but last two. Since it's a 45 minute drive to west marine I bought 7 packs of 3. Why they come three to a pack is beyond me. In the end I was glad I replaced them all. A few were pretty weak.
I did not remove all the spindles from the gears, but got all the assemplies apart easily. I just broke things down enough to take everything that could be cleaned apart. A tooth brush works well with a little bit of kero. Then use the tooth brush to apply the grease on most things. Good rags that are not too fuzzy help wipe out the bits of residue left over.
The old grease was some nasty waterproof grease that was too thickly applied but it kept the gears from wearing, yet added far too much friction once it got so stiff.
The springs were a bit odd. The
Lewmar springs are V shaped with a couple twists at the apex to form the spring. The Barient springs on the one V side also has an extra ten degree bend outward about mid way. It fits inside the captive of the pawl that holds it in place better and closes flat and parallel that way. Took a while to figure out which way but looking and playing with it it's not hard to see one way is right. I sure could not rmember how it came apart so that took a while. So if the V sides of the springs are straight wire I have to think Lewmar springs would
work. They were the same size wire and overall dimension as the Barient. The pawls are hard
steel and West Marine has Barient and Lewmar in stock for those ($10). I needed none as mine were all totally unworn. Those may not be so interchangeable.
The good news is all the gears looked almost brand new after 17 years. I doubt they got cleaned often. Some had dark stains on them but the metal looked great and no wear at all on any of the teeth. The precise cut of the gears really shows why these things last like they do and cost so much. It's a great example of fine machine work.
The
windlass probably needs some attention too