Servicing electric winch (lewmar 40)

[coot]

I was servicing winches this week, and I came across a problem with the one electric winch we have on board. It is a Lewmar #40.

The problem is: How do you get the small gear assembly out to clean it? On a normal winch (and on the large gear assembly in this one), you just lift the pin the gears turn on. Then pull the gear assembly to the side and it slides out.

But the electrically driven gear is connected through to the electric motor under the deck. It seems that the gear assembly is resting on a shaft that sticks up from the motor, so I would have to lift it to get it out. Of course, it is still under the stationary frame inside the winch, so I can't lift it.

Now it looks like one of these options applies:

1. You have to dismount the entire above-deck portion of the winch to clean it.

2. You have to go below and drop out the electric motor.

3. There is some clever way to do it that I haven't thought of. (I hope it is this one.)

I looked in the papers that came with the winches, but that documentation was less than helpful. The instructions work (though are kind of sparse) for the manual winches. The electric winch book has only one page on servicing, and it basically says "take it apart, clean it, and put new grease on".

I looked on Lewmar's web site, but didn't find anything useful. Finally, I called Lewmar and they talked me through downloading PDF files that turned out to be the paper documentation that I already have.

Has anybody here been through this procedure before? Any suggestions?

[leehaefele]

2 weeks ago I converted a Lewmar 40 from manual to electric. I am foggy on how the shaft inserted, but I did it from the top before hanging the motor.
The shaft that goes down from the top is not affixed to the motor, the motor was slid up onto this shaft which had a key. I hope this helps, I was sent a second brass casting piece, I could look at that and see if it gives me more ideas. I am in NY, the boat in FL, will be back with the boat about Jan 1, 2008.
Lee

[Joli]

http://www.pyacht.net/online-store/s...ice_Manual.pdf

[seafox]

We punched the shaft out from the top to the bottom. There is a brass cone that the shaft slides through. It can be pressed back on when it is re assembled. You will need a large block of wood and a big mallet. The motor underneath can stay put. It may pay to take it off once the shaft is out. Clean up all the terminals and repaint it with pa10. You could also get an auto electrician to check the bushes etc while it is off.
There are some nylon washers under the winch drum. They look like they were cut from an icecream punnet. Lewmar charges a small fortune for them. Replace the seals when you re assemble it all.

[seafox]

Just saw the date of the first post. Coot must have gone to sleep waiting for a reply. He posted his question August 06.

[leehaefele]

I went to the garage and looked at the spare spindle casting. When the electric conversion was installed, a bottom plate was inserted between the winch and deck, this plate was bolted to the deck. Then the main spindle casting was bolted to the plate with 5 short machine screws. Remove these screws and the spindle lifts off giving access to all the gears and bearings. These screws are not the ones going through the deck, they just thread into the plate. The plate stays in place and the motor is bolted to it, so the motor stays in place too. The shaft to the motor should lift out, it is just slid in place.