Maxwell 800 windless

[meridian28]

I’m working with a friend who has acquired a boat with a 20 year old Maxwell 800 windless. We don’t believe the windless has ever been serviced. The write up on removing the main shaft is straight forward however the shaft won’t budge. We believe the shaft is seized to the gear, which is keyed. Has anyone run into this before?

[Davo1404]

Have you undone the large nut that holds the gearbox to the spline? Are you trying to remove the gearbox?

[meridian28]

Everything is frozen. The nut won’t come off, the shaft won’t come out. Not enough room to work. It might be sawzall time.

[Davo1404]

Originally Posted by meridian28

Everything is frozen. The nut won’t come off, the shaft won’t come out. Not enough room to work. It might be sawzall time.

Okay use a hammer & punch to undone the large nut that holds the gearbox. Have you soaked it with CRC. I had a similar problem with the salt getting into the alloy spline. The spring that holds the main shaft in that located at the bottom of the gearbox needs to be removed. Then you should be able to tap it up. Have you removed all the above deck bits like the chain wheel?

[meridian28]

No room to use a hammer on the shaft at the bottom. We’ll take a shot on the large nut