After way too long owning my F36 I am dissasembling the barient 27 winches.
They have come apart quite easily with one exception, the upper mainshaft roller bearing.
It appears that the main shaft (the one the winch handle goes into) rides metal on metal against the stationary spindle (called the gearbox in some diagrams) which is the component that takes the thrust from the winch drum. This metal on metal contact is apparently only the weight of the main shaft against a shoulder in the spindle just above the upper main shaft bearing but over time this contact has caused a ridge above the upper mainshaft bearing which does not allow that bearing to be removed for cleaning and lubricating.
I broke the bearing cage on that bearing on the first winch I dissasemled and don’t want to do that again. I have thought of having a hardwood dowel made to just the right diameter to fit up under the bearing to push it out but am not sure that won’t break the second bearing too. Even if it does work I will have to remove the ridge to reinstall the bearing. I can grind it off with a dremel tool but I’m not sure that is a good idea either.
AA picture is said to be worth a thousand words so here are some pictures.
Picture 865 shows the spindle with the mainshaft installed in it. The mainshaft top is barley visible over the top of the spindle. The bottom of the mainshaft shows its splines at the bottom. Beside this assembly is one of the mainshaft bearings.
Picture 866 shows the mainshaft removed with the top bearing in place (held by a piece of tape you can see behind it).
Picture 870 is looking into the top of the spindle where the problem is. The shoulders from the top:
The top of the mainshaft bears against this shoulder
The bearing rests on the next shoulder down
The mainshaft rotating against the top shoulder has caused a lip to form at the shoulder on which the mainshaft rests. This lip prevented easy removal of the bearing just below it. I broke the bearing’s cage on the first winch I took apart (I didn’t realize that the bearing cage was plastic). I was more carfull with the second winch and got it out by pressing it out with a socket wrench forced up from the bottom of the spindle. Alas the bearing cage on this one is damaged, I don’t know if it was functioning in that condition or if I broke it on disassembly. I’ll replace both.
This still leaves the problem of the lips. Because the lip protrudes only slightly I plan to grind it off with a dremel tool. This will not, I hope, cause a problem with the new bearings because the rollers do not come up that high due to the bearing cage. Any comments on this procedure would be appreciated.
I have to say that these 25 year old winches look very well made and in good condition except for the problems mentioned above. The only other problem discovered was a slightly misshapen but still functioning spring on one of the pawls.
I am considering adding a few drops of oil monthly around the top of the mainshaft to help prevent the lip from forming again. This can be done without disassembly. Doing this very sparingly will hopefully not result in this oil washing the grease out of the bearing just below. Comments?
